By: Mai El-Sadany<\/p>\n
Shortly after President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi suggested<\/a> at a side meeting of the United Nations General Assembly that the state of human rights in Egypt should not be judged from a Western perspective, Egypt\u2019s cabinet gathered to approve a set of draft laws, one of which violates the right of Egyptians to their nationality in a completely unprecedented manner.<\/p>\n On September 20, 2017, the cabinet approved draft amendments to Law No. 26 of 1975 Concerning Egyptian Nationality that, if ultimately approved by the parliament and ratified by the president,[1]<\/sup><\/a> would set forth a number of additional circumstances in which an individual\u2019s citizenship may be withdrawn by Egyptian authorities. Under the draft amendments<\/a>, an individual can lose his or her citizenship if a court issues a verdict establishing that the individual belongs to \u201ca group, association, front, organization, gang, or entity\u2014whatever its natural, legal, or actual form and whether it is based inside or outside of the country\u2014that aims to undermine the public order of the state or to undermine its social, economic, or political order by force or by any unlawful means.\u201d<\/p>\n