International watchdog Amnesty International called on the European Union and its member states to impose an arms embargo on Egypt and halt the transfer of security and policing equipment that can be used for committing human rights violations. In a statement released Wednesday, the organization said that “the types of arms used to commit or facilitate serious violations of human rights” should be banned for transfer to Egypt. If such an embargo fails to be implemented, it would risk breaching the EU’s Common Position on arms exports, as well as the human rights provisions of the global Arms Trade Treaty, the statement read. Further, Amnesty called on the EU to impose a ”presumption of denial” policy on arms transfers intended for use by the Egyptian army and air force. Such a policy would mean that weapons exports would be unauthorized unless a thorough human rights risk assessment is carried out demonstrating the lawful use of such equipment. “The EU should immediately impose an embargo on all transfers of the types of arms and equipment being used by Egypt to commit serious human rights violations. The EU and its members must stop…
