United Nations officials responsible for security at the annual climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh said Monday they are investigating allegations that some attendees were being watched by Egyptian police.
Many COP27 participants, including activists, experts and NGOs, said they felt “under surveillance” at the summit, which started on 6 November in Egypt’s Red Sea city.
The United Nations Security Ministry, which worked closely with the Egyptian police at this summit, said that today it had become aware of “alleged allegations” of violations of the code of conduct and was “investigating these allegations”.
The accusations came after the German delegation held an event with Sanaa Seif, sister of pro-democracy dissident Alaa Abdel Fattah, who was arrested and on hunger strike.
Abdel Fattah has been refusing to drink since November 6, which coincided with the start of COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, seven months after he went on hunger strike, to protest the situation he and 60,000 other political prisoners are facing in Egypt.
His lawyer, Ali Khaled, said on Monday that he had written a letter to the Egyptian-British detainee’s family in which he said he was “well” and had started “drinking again” since Saturday.
Sanaa Seif was scolded at two press conferences by insiders of the government, who told her that her brother was a “criminal”, not a “political prisoner.”
Egypt tried to improve its image by hosting the climate change conference, but was criticized for its human rights policy during the event.
A German diplomatic source said a complaint was filed with Egypt because the delegation “feels being watched”.
Liane Schalatek of the Heinrich Boll Stiftung said she was “observed” and felt “clearly more disturbed than any previous COP”.
Climate finance expert Schalatek, who has attended these UN meetings since 2008, said there are cameras in the meeting rooms in Sharm el-Sheikh that aim at the faces of the participants.
“It’s as unnecessary as it is unusual for internal coordination meetings,” he said. “And the possibility that everything is being recorded cannot be ruled out,” he added.
Human Rights Watch has previously condemned Egypt’s policy of “full surveillance”, which includes the installation of cameras in hundreds of taxis in Sharm el-Sheikh.
The New York-based group also warned that the COP27 smartphone app raises “surveillance” suspicions, as it requires access to the device’s camera, microphone and geolocation.
source: Noticias
