Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

Egypt’s COP27 PR disaster

Egypt’s COP27 PR disaster

A hunger striker, a stream of sewage and filthy hotel rooms. Organizers are under pressure over climate summit failings.

This country, famous for one mighty river, will be hoping the stream of sewage that flooded through the COP27 conference site was the nadir of an event that is quickly turning into a public relations nightmare.

That seems unlikely.

Hosting the conference was supposed to showcase Egypt as an ambitious champion of renewable energy, a tourist destination and a reliable international actor. The talks themselves, held in a beachside resort town, were supposed to push forward the global response to climate change.

Instead, top officials from Europe and elsewhere have been investigating reports that youth delegates have been left without beds, subjected to extortion, forced to sleep in rooms with no locks and woken up in the night by arbitrary demands for documents — all as part of a program sponsored by the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports.

According to three people familiar with the situation, around 80 youth delegates who had paid around $700 each for their accommodation arrived at their hotel late on Saturday to find they either had no rooms, or were being asked to pay an additional fee of between $300 and $600 per night.

Following hours-long negotiations, some were forced to find new accommodation in the early hours of the morning. Those who finally entered their rooms — in some cases after agreeing to the extra fee — found them filthy and with only four beds for six or seven people. Several were forced to sleep in rooms with no locks and were woken by men entering and demanding their passports.

The Egyptian COP organizers are now under intense diplomatic pressure over the situation, after key negotiators had to leave the talks to ensure their youth delegates were safe. The EU and other delegations raised their concerns with the Egyptian government, the EU’s top international climate policy adviser Jacob Werksman said.

On Thursday, Egyptian authorities said they were “working pretty much around the hour” to address the problems.

“The COP presidency through government officials have intervened,” Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt's special representative to the COP27 president, told reporters. “I know that issues that happened in one case, at least, where people were asked to leave [the hotel]. The instruction, I can assure you from the highest level of government, was that doesn't happen, shouldn't happen, will not happen.”

The COP27 talks have also been lambasted for shortages of food and water — with some delegates noting that the talks felt like a simulation of the hunger games-style deprivation with which climate change threatens millions of people. Or, as POLITICO’s Global Insider put it, a “green Fyre Festival.”

On Thursday, organizers cut food prices in half. Drinks were free — meaning delegates no longer needed to pay for bottles of Coca-Cola, the official sponsor and largest plastic polluter on Earth.


Human rights crisis


There was some degree of sympathy among delegates for Egypt’s efforts to host the conference while also negotiating a major food and economic crisis.

Even the richest countries struggle under the strain of hosting the major diplomatic events that involve some 30,000 or more delegates descending on the host city — the COP27 headcount is 46,028, a U.N. official said. Last year's COP26 summit — hosted by the U.K. — became legendary for its sad sandwiches and mile-long queues.

“I think people see that we've put in place the best we could as a developing country, to prepare a venue to bring people together to succeed,” said Aboulmagd.

But that sympathy largely runs dry when it comes to the Egyptian government’s human rights record. Multiple rights groups have described Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, a former military general, as an authoritarian ruler who has locked up critics and stamped out protest.

“We’re holding COP in the midst of a climate crisis, in the midst of a human rights crisis,” said Agnès Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International. “This is not just one or two unlawful detentions, these are thousands of unlawful detentions. This is the biggest prison on the planet right now for political dissent.”

Western security advisers have warned delegates not to download the summit's official app


POLITICO spoke to analysts who said the official COP27 smartphone app, which the government encouraged delegates to download, is a "cyberweapon" that could allow authorities to listen to private conversations and access encrypted texts and emails.

Aboulmagd denied this and insisted that was “technically impossible” because of the scrutiny that Google and Apple’s app stores place on products.

Criticism of the Egyptian government's crackdown on political dissent has concentrated on the treatment of imprisoned activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, who escalated a months-long hunger strike to coincide with the first day of the summit.

The case has been a focus for much of the global media coverage of COP27, particularly in the U.K. where the political activist holds dual citizenship. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, along with French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Olaf Scholz have all advocated for El-Fattah in COP27 meetings with El-Sisi.

On Thursday, Egyptian authorities notified El-Fattah's mother they had “medically intervened” to save his life.

Speaking to POLITICO, El-Fattah's cousin Omar Hamilton said the activist's fate "hinges" on a visit from U.S. President Joe Biden, who arrives in Sharm El-Sheikh on Friday.

U.S. officials said he would to talk about human rights with El-Sisi and that the U.S. government was “concerned about that case and the reported condition of his health.”

Asked about the case, COP27's Aboulmagd said: “We engaged directly [with the U.K.] and gave a full explanation to many of the allegations that were made.” He noted that El-Fattah’s sister Sanaa Seif had traveled to the summit and held public events to advocate for her brother, one of which was noisily interrupted by Egyptian MP Amr Darwish.

Seif's attendance was “part of free speech,” said Aboulmagd. “But at the same time, while it is an important issue … We don't want to lose focus on the climate catastrophe that is killing people around the world.” He pointed to the historic decision made on Sunday to hold talks on financing recovery from climate disasters as a huge boon for the conference.

Asked by POLITICO if the issues regarding human rights left the government concerned for Egypt's image, Aboulmagd said: “So far, I think our record is going well."

Human rights activists argue that climate change and justice are inextricably linked. Even if the Egyptians didn’t truly believe that, they should at least pretend more convincingly that they do, said Callamard.

“If they don't do it out of compassion, they should do out of self interest,” she said, warning that if El-Fattah dies, “I can assure you that nobody will remember COP27 in any other way historically than with the death of Alaa.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
×