US officials should remain firm on the necessity of human rights to the maintenance of security and stability in their meetings with Egyptian representatives, Amr Kotb and Allison McManus write for The Hill. “Particularly, they must insist on the protection of civil society as important to a country’s social and economic health, especially during a time of economic crisis when non-governmental organizations are needed to hold the state accountable and provide essential services to citizens.” Kotb and McManus also believe the US should “reconsider the assistance package as an important point of leverage, catering defense equipment to the threat at hand, insisting on opportunities for monitoring and evaluation, and preserving conditionality on democracy and human rights issues.”

Tags: