In what can only be described as a shocking and humiliating incident, it has been reported that the Head of the Egyptian Delegation at a UN Conference (and current President of the AMCEN), has lashed out against other African representatives, calling them “dogs and slaves” in Arabic.
In a document that was shared online, believed to be a memo sent by Yvonne Khamati, the Chair of the Africa Diplomatic Corps Technical Committee, a more detailed version of the incident is included.
It is stated in the memo that the extremely racist remark was made by the Head of the Egyptian Delegation during a division that took place on a Gaza resolution. It was then that the Head of Egyptian Delegation said “they will speak in their sovereign capacity”, and proceeded to call Sub-Saharan Africans dogs and slaves.
“When the memo above recommends that Egypt “should not negotiate or take any leadership position on behalf of Africa”, one can’t ignore the fact that this happened because of the ignorance and racism of an Egyptian delegate.”
As a result, the Africa Diplomatic Corps Technical Committee has made a few recommendations in light of this undiplomatic behavior, all of them listed above. It is extremely saddening to see this extent of racism still exists, and even flourishes, in Egypt. When the memo above recommends that Egypt “should not negotiate or take any leadership position on behalf of Africa”, one can’t ignore the fact that this happened because of the ignorance and racism of an Egyptian delegate.
After the incident, Egyptians took to Social Media to express their disapproval of this kind of behavior and apologize to the very Sub-Saharan Africans the Egyptian delegate insulted.