Sisi’s failure to consult Egyptians over Renaissance Dam sparks legal complaint 

A legal communication has been submitted to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights by US registered NGO, Egyptians Abroad for Democracy, on behalf of five Egyptian victims of human rights violations under the African Charter. The communication, submitted last week, raised concerns over the actions of the Egyptian and Ethiopian government in relation to the Renaissance Dam.

Cairo and Addis Ababa are embroiled in a bitter row over the construction of a $5 billion dam near the border with Sudan. Ethiopia says it will provide the country with much-needed electricity and economic regeneration while Egypt believes it will restrict its access to Nile waters and wants the east African state to guarantee its access to 40 billion cubic metres or more of water from the Nile.

The focus of the communication, details of which were seen by MEMO, is on the failure of the governments of Egypt and Ethiopia to meet their obligations to conduct effective consultations with Egyptian citizens who will be impacted by the dam.

Egyptians Abroad for Democracy say that since 2011, construction and operation of the dam, and high-level negotiations between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan- a third country affected by the dam – have been conducted in the absence of consultations with local communities. There have been no efforts to ensure their participation in decisions about the dam which impact their rights. This includes the victims’ rights to development, right to natural resources and rights to property and employment.

According to the legal communication, Ethiopia has taken unilateral actions to construct, fill and operate the dam before an agreement is reached between the states affected and before studies on the impact of the dam are completed. Egypt too has failed to conduct open and meaningful consultations while moving forward with inter-state negotiations.

READ: Ethiopia: 80% of dam construction complete

The failure of Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s government to consultant Egyptians is said to be having a devastating effect on lives. Farmers have seen policies from the Egyptian government which have restricted access to the Nile’s water and limited their land use. Such policies have detrimentally impacted their livelihoods. Complaints have been made locally to the Egyptian government, including by Egypt’s Hope Party, on the impact of the dam for Egyptian citizens and lack of consultations, however the Sisi government has failed to respond.

The communication alleges that Ethiopia and Egypt have violated the rights of the five victims, and other Egyptian citizens, under the African Charter. The commission is asked to find that Ethiopia and Egypt have violated rights enshrined under Article 22 of the African Chamber. The article on the “Right to Economic, Social and Cultural Development” requires effective and meaningful consultations to properly ensure no rights to a peoples economic, social and cultural development is violated.

Haydee Dijkstal  of  33  Bedford  Row  Chambers,  who  acts  as  international  counsel  for  Egyptians  Abroad for  Democracy  and  the  individual  victims  before  the  African  Commission,  said:  “The  African  Charter  and international  human  rights  law  requires  that  States  protect  all  citizens’  rights  to  determine  their  own economic,  social  and  cultural  development  by  creating  conditions  which  are  favourable  to  exercising  this right. To do this, States must allow its citizens to be active participants in decisions which affect their own development through communications and good faith consultations. The available evidence indicates that Egypt and Ethiopia failed to meet this obligation to those most impacted by the Dam. The African Commission is looked to in order to recognise these violations, and ensure their rights are protected going forward.”

Never-ending fight between Egypt/Ethiopia and Sudan over the Renaissance Dam – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

READ: Hamdok: Ethiopia dam is a ‘very serious issue’