![Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry seen at the Libyan peace talks held in Tunisia on February 20, 2017 [Amine Landoulsi / Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/20170220_2_21961309_19098588.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The Middle East countries suffer from the presence of terrorist groups, which negatively affect their stability, Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, warned yesterday.
Speaking at the 40th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in the Swiss capital of Geneva, Shoukry said that the world was “facing many challenges that require more international efforts.”
He explained that one of the most important challenges faced by the world was “fanaticism and extremism,” adding that such phenomena “lead to the occurrence of terrorist operations everywhere.”
“These challenges threaten the entire global and increase the likelihood of using force to overcome them,” the minister stressed.
The Egyptian government, Shoukry pointed out, has taken several steps in the field of human right “based on its belief that the Egyptian people are the basis in any development programs.”
Egypt has long been accused by international rights and humanitarian organisations of violating human rights. Last week, the government executed nine citizens over their alleged involvement in killing the country’s top prosecutor in 2015, a move that has sparked a major outcry in Egypt and internationally.