Cairo must take steps to protect the poor, Amnesty

London, 16 Nov-(ANA)-The Egyptian authorities must take immediate and inclusive steps to protect Cairo’s poorest inhabitants, Amnesty International has said.

Amnesty Middle East and North Africa director Malcolm Smart said

“Thousands of Egypt’s poor are trapped by poverty and neglect that could ultimately end in their deaths.”

“The government must urgently address the risks faced by those living in areas designated as ‘unsafe’ and find solutions by consulting with those directly affected.” 

Amnesty International’s report, Buried Alive; Trapped by Poverty and Neglect in Cairo’s Informal Settlements, castigates the Egyptian authorities for failing to take effective steps to protect the residents of Al-Duwayqa, an informal settlement in Manshiyet Nasser in east Cairo, from the fatal rockslide that hit on 6 September 2008. 

The report calls on the Egyptian authorities to alleviate the threats to lives in the 26 “unsafe areas” in Greater Cairo, and to protect the residents’ rights to health and adequate housing. (ANA)

FA/ANA/16 November 2009----