Update to Information Request EGY14773 of 14 July 1993 on the treatment of Palestinians before and after the Gulf War, and on whether there have been changes in re-issuing residence permits to Palestinians since the Gulf War [EGY16054.E]

For information on the treatment of Palestinians in Egypt before the Gulf War, please refer to the attachment from Laurie A. Brand's Palestinians in the Arab World. Regarding the treatment of Palestinians after the Gulf War, Country Reports 1992 mentions that some 100 Palestinians have been detained for a long period of time for posing a threat to national security; some were reportedly tortured (1993, 995). Some Palestinians, although legal residents of Egypt, are being investigated for their political activities, especially for their opposition to Egypt's stand against the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (ibid.). This information is corroborated in the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights Critique: Review of the U.S. Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992 (1992, 101). For further information on the situation of Palestinians in Egypt since the Gulf War, please consult the attached documents.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References


Embassy of Egypt, Ottawa. 16 December 1993. Telephone interview with representative.

Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. July 1993. Critique: Review of the U.S. Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. New York: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. 1993. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Attachments

Brand, Laurie A. 1988. Palestinians in the Arab World. New York: Columbia University Press.

The Guardian [Manchester]. 16 September 1993. Deborah Pugh. "Harassed Exiles in Egypt Look for a Peace Dividend." (NEXIS)

The Houston Chronicle. 19 February 1993. 2 star edition. Peyman Pejmam. "Egypt Accused of Illegally Incarcerating Palestinians." (NEXIS)

The Jerusalem Post. 15 June 1993. "Wanted Gazans Held in Egypt Want to Return." (NEXIS)

Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. July 1993. Critique: Review of the U.S. Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. New York: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, p. 101.

Middle East News Network. 17 November 1991. "Middle East Watch Report: The Human Rights Record of the Principal Regional Parties in the Middle East News Network." (NEXIS)

The Washington Post. 3 November 1993. Final Edition. Caryle Murphy. "Cairo's Palestinians Have a Dream: That Accord Will Let Them Go Home." (NEXIS)