This statement, delivered under a speaking slot of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and supported by WCLAC, Al-Haq and WILPF, was delivered during the interactive Dialogue (ID) with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism at the HRC49. It highlights the misuse of counter-terrorism legislation as a tool to repress civil society and peaceful dissent in the MENA region, including in Algeria, Egypt and in the occupied Palestinian territories.