Salah Eddin Abdel Sadeq, new head of the Permanent Committee for Refugee Affairs
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbuly has appointed former State Information Service (SIS) chair Salah Eddin Abdel Sadeq to lead the Permanent Committee for Refugee Affairs, the state body created to review asylum applications by Egypt’s new law on asylum seekers, according to a decision published in the February 16 edition of the state’s Official Gazette.
The nature of Abdel Sadeq’s work for the committee is unclear, however, since his appointment comes prior to the publication and ratification of bylaws for the entire, new national asylum system described in the 2024 law.
The asylum law, ratified by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi in December 2024 after a rapid journey through the House of Representatives, would see Egyptian authorities assume, for the first time, responsibility for reviewing and granting asylum status to foreign nationals in the country — a competency that until now has been handled by the United Nations refugee agency in Egypt.
The law’s issuance prompted widespread criticism from rights groups and organizations working to support and protect refugees, who noted that they hadn’t been consulted on the law’s design.
Abdel Sadeq’s appointment comes without announcing other members of the committee, its headquarters or its operational mechanisms, and without issuing the bylaws of the new law yet.
Manduly’s decision, 507/2026, appoints Abdel Sadeq to head the refugee committee for four years.
The prime minister is empowered to establish the committee under Article 3 of the asylum law within three months of the law’s issuance. The article states the committee should include “representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, justice, interior and finance.”
Article 2 of the law states that the prime minister should issue the law’s bylaws within six months of the law’s ratification.
The sudden appointment of Abdel Sadeq – months after the period of time designated in the law – was described by two sources working in immigration law and administration who spoke to Mada Masr to be a partial step that fails to clarify the law’s status.
Although over 14 months have passed since the asylum law was issued, Madbuly has effectively started to implement it, but has done so only by appointing the head of the committee, an informed source said to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity.
The source noted that the sudden appointment was preceded by government bodies inviting United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) representatives to discuss the draft bylaws, although the government didn’t share a copy of the proposed bylaws with attendees.
This also happened during the preparation of the law, the source said, as the Foreign Ministry also refused to provide a copy of the bill, claiming it was “a sovereign Egyptian matter in which interference is not permissible.”
The source expressed concern about the direction of the approach to managing refugee affairs in light of the ongoing security campaign on refugees, which the source said cannot be separated from the process of implementing the law.
Lawyers have estimated that the campaign has led to the arrest, detention and deportation of 5,000 to 10,000 people so far.
A source close to UNHCR, meanwhile, estimated the number of asylum seekers stopped by the authorities to be around 3,000, about half of whom are Syrians, while the rest are of other nationalities, including Sudanese and Eritreans.
The source also expressed concern about the unconditional support the European Union provides to the Egyptian government regarding its management of refugee affairs without seeking to exert pressure to improve conditions by suspending financial aid if violations against refugees continue.
Abdel Sadeq was appointed to head the SIS in December 2013 by then-interim President Adly Mansour. He remained in the position until 2016, when Sisi appointed him ambassador to Romania, and non-resident ambassador to Moldova.
The legal framework for dealing with asylum seekers in Egypt for the past decades has been based on the 1951 Refugee Convention to which Egypt is a party, and its subsequent 1954 memorandum of understanding with UNHCR.
A number of State Council rulings prohibiting the deportation of refugees and asylum seekers also shape the legal environment.
While Egyptian authorities have boasted the “hospitality” that the country offers to millions of foreign nationals and refugees, a number of steps in recent years have narrowed the freedoms and restrictions faced by refugees in daily life and work.
Those living in Egypt without official residency have been required to find an Egyptian sponsor and pay a US$1,000 regularization fee to guarantee their legal status. The step has driven thousands of foreigners, particularly Syrian nationals who were living and working in Egypt, to switch from tourist visas to asylum applications.
Obtaining asylum status has also become increasingly difficult. UNHCR must first schedule an appointment for the refugee applying with the Interior Ministry’s Passports, Emigration and Nationality Administration to obtain residency. The first available appointments were initially scheduled for 2029, later brought forward to September and October 2027. This means that thousands of refugees are currently living without valid residency permits, waiting for their turn to come round in a few years’ time.
In an official statement sent to Mada Masr by its media office, UNHCR said it is aware of the increasing number of detained refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt. The statement explained that the agency is in contact with Egyptian authorities “to ensure due process and protection guarantees are followed” in cases where it receives complaints or reports from the families of detainees.
The UN refugee agency clarified that it has received “assurances” from Egyptian authorities “that detained registered asylum seekers and refugees will be released in accordance with international law.”
Ahmed Mamdouh, a lawyer specializing in refugee cases, stated that he has been attending investigations daily with dozens of refugees at the public prosecutor’s offices for the past two months, considering the current campaign to be the longest and most intense in the last five years, noting instances of detention and deportation even for those possessing a UNHCR card, a valid residency permit or a passport.
The climate of fear created by arrest and deportation has driven many refugees to stay home and stop working, said the lawyer, ultimately forcing them to leave the country — a situation he described as “disguised deportation.”