Activities

President Mubarak’s Visit to Washington for Peace Talks shadowed by calls for immediate reforms in Egypt

Without a stable and democratic Egypt, the future of a two state solution is in jeopardy

The Egyptian Association for Change - USA and the Coalition of Egyptian Organizations call on President Obama to discuss Egypt’s future with President Mubarak. Mr. Obama’s invitation to the Egyptian President to participate in the Peace talks on September 2, 2010 does not address the severely deteriorating situation in Egypt.  Since it cannot be ruled out that this may be the last visit of Mr. Mubarak to Washington, we believe that this visit offers a perfect opportunity for President Obama to address the democracy deficit in Egypt to maintain stability and peace in the Middle East. With President Mubarak’s ailing health and the mounting dissent against his regime, Egypt faces an immediate security challenge ahead of the upcoming elections.  If the Egyptian regime does not make the necessary reforms to ensure a credible and competitive election process, it could unleash a tinderbox of unrest in Egypt and the surrounding region, which would further hinder prospects for a two state solution.

In addition to our own activities, we aim to provide a connection between activists working on the ground in Egypt and influential policy actors elsewhere. Recognizing the unique potential of the United States in this new administration to support the realization of democratic change in Egypt, we focus on the US policy scene in Washington DC, but also explore similar opportunities elsewhere. Our activities include:

1. Providing an online forum in Arabic and English through which ideas and initiatives from the community of Egyptian reformers, political activists, and human rights organizations can be exchanged with and presented to the world.  This forum will also provide up-to-date, translated information on U.S. policy that affects Egypt.  Additionally, the site will include relevant op-eds and scholarly writing on Egypt and provide links to related sites, including those of human rights organizations and others drawing attention to particular problem areas or individual cases;
   
   
2. Providing a weekly update on Egypt that is distributed to key members of the foreign policy community in Washington and beyond;
   
   
   
3. Publishing original work and acting as a resource for information and research on democracy and human rights in Egypt;
   
   
   
4. Supporting and participating in advocacy efforts in the U.S., Egypt, and elsewhere that are consistent with promoting freedom and democracy in Egypt; and
   
   
   
5. Hosting public events and lectures and supporting dialogue on the issues of concern.

On December 11, 2008, VDE held its first public event and panel on Capitol Hill entitled: “Human Rights in Egypt: Persisting Problems, New Opportunities,” and we were honored to have three noted speakers on our panel: Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Larry Diamond, and HRF’s Neil Hicks, all of whom made novel and compelling arguments for human rights promotion in Egypt.  The event was tremendously successful.

To read a detailed summary of the event and each speaker's remarks, click below.