The United States will maintain its military financing without any limitations towards Egypt.
The authorities shared with Congress on Wednesday their plan to grant Egypt $1.3 billion in military aid, as announced by their spokesperson.
Egypt, under the leadership of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, has been under criticism for alleged widespread human rights violations. However, Egypt plays a significant role in talks relating to Gaza, a point the spokesperson raised when explaining why the full funding would be provided.
The spokesperson commented, "This decision is instrumental in maintaining regional peace and Egypt's vital contributions to our nation's security priorities, particularly in securing a ceasefire for Gaza, rescuing hostages, boosting humanitarian aid for Palestinians, and promoting an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict. This decision also highlights Egypt's pivotal role in brokering a ceasefire in Sudan and facilitating humanitarian aid to the Sudanese population."
$225 million of this aid is contingent upon Egypt meeting certain human rights standards. $95 million is dependent upon Egypt improving its treatment of political prisoners, ensuring due process for detainees, and halting the harassment and intimidation of American citizens.
The majority of the funding – $980 million – lacks such conditions.
Last year, the mentioned agency withheld $85 million due to Egypt's lack of progress in addressing political prisoners. Rather than holding onto this amount, it was reportedly reallocated to Taiwan and Lebanon, according to sources familiar with the matter.
This year, Blinken has decided that Egypt has met these conditions and progressed in these areas, making it suitable for the funding to be released. The spokesperson confirmed this.
The State Department spokesperson justified this decision by acknowledging "the strides Egypt has made: drafting legislation to improve pre-trial detention and the broader penal code, releasing over 950 political prisoners since September 2023, and lifting travel bans and asset freezes on foreign-funded NGOs."
The spokesperson emphasized the need for further action from Egypt to build upon this momentum and solidify our relationship.
However, the most recent State Department human rights report – covering the year 2023 – noted that there were no noticeable improvements in Egypt's human rights situation.
The report highlighted "numerous reports of political prisoners and detainees," and regretted that "humanitarian organizations were denied access to political prisoners and detention centers."
The decision to release the majority of the military aid to Egypt, despite human rights concerns, is justified by the spokesperson due to Egypt's progress in improving its penal code and releasing political prisoners. However, the State Department's recent human rights report shows no significant improvement in Egypt's human rights situation, with continued reports of political prisoners and detainees.
