US ambassador Thomas-Greenfield: Human rights are on our agenda every time we communicate with the Egyptians
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has said that her country’s government is following up on human rights violations in Egypt. In her meetings with Egyptian officials, she touched on human rights issues.
This came during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on the occasion of the United States taking over the presidency of the UN Security Council for the current month.
Reporters asked Thomas-Greenfield questions about the human rights situation in the Middle East, US priorities in the region, the status of detained political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, and the administration’s recent announcement to freeze nearly $130 million in military aid to Egypt.
The US ambassador said that human rights issues are an essential part of US foreign policy and a priority in its relationship with Egypt. She added, “We are following up on Abdel-Fattah’s case. In our dealings with the Egyptian government, I can say that we address human rights issues in every meeting we have with Egyptian officials and at every level. We can confirm that the issue of human rights is on our agenda every time we communicate with the Egyptian government.” Thomas-Greenfield said that the administration might take steps to pressure or change Egypt’s policies on human rights issues, “I emphasize that this is a high priority for the US government. This is also a big change compared to previous US governments, where we did not raise human rights issues and did not view them as a major priority.”
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