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National Council for Human Rights Report on the Human Rights Situation in Egypt in the Context of the Universal Periodic Review
Presented by
Dr. Hossam Badrawi, Committee Chairman
1-This report aims to contribute objectively to the comprehensive periodic review of the human rights situation in Egypt. It adheres, in terms of methodology, to the guiding principles set by the United Nations Human Rights Council. It covers the years 2006-2009.
2-Prior to finalizing the report, the Council held extensive listening sessions with representatives from various civil society organizations concerned with “The Council’s Agenda for Promoting Citizenship Rights and Enhancing Respect for Human Rights.” These sessions took into account the geographical diversity between Cairo, the coastal region, and Upper Egypt, as well as the specialization of human rights organizations, development organizations, women’s rights organizations, child rights organizations, and organizations promoting the rights of persons with disabilities, as well as the diversity of experiences among academic and research experts and activists.
First: Legal and Constitutional Framework:
3- In March 2007, Egypt carried out the first comprehensive constitutional amendment since 1971, eliminating provisions that were surpassed by the political and social reality. It affirmed citizenship as the basis for the relationship between citizens and the state, strengthened the role of parliament in overseeing the government, and provided greater representation for women in parliament.
4-However, the constitutional amendment, on the other hand, allowed for the establishment of new legislation to combat terrorism (Article 179) as an alternative to the state of emergency that had been in effect in the country since 1981. However, this constitutional amendment, in a serious precedent, undermined the anticipated legal fortification by raising concerns about its constitutional legitimacy in case its provisions conflict with Articles 41, 44, and 45 of the constitution, which guarantee personal freedoms, the right to privacy, and the inviolability of the home. It also allowed the President of the Republic to refer any crime of terrorism to any judicial body specified in the constitution or the law, including military courts, thus opening the door to undermining the principles of fair trial. These provisions are subject to great reservation by the Council.
5-Despite the government’s commitment in 2005 to end the state of emergency, which restricts many human rights guarantees, the state of emergency was extended for another two years in May 2008. The Council calls for the end of the state of emergency and all accompanying exceptional measures.
6-The Council urges the Egyptian government to cooperate with the United Nations Commission on technical cooperation to rehabilitate law enforcement agencies for the post-state of emergency phase. These agencies have been accustomed to exercising extensive powers under the state of emergency for decades. The rehabilitation should also include reintegrating detainees and prisoners, who have been held for long periods for security or political reasons, into society and securing decent livelihoods for them.
7-The government has begun translating some of the principles established by the constitutional amendments into legislation. On June 8, 2009, it submitted a positive draft law amending the Political Rights Law to the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council. This law allocates 64 seats for women in the People’s Assembly, accounting for approximately 12.5% of the total seats after the increase. However, it is limited to two legislative terms (only ten years) and applies only to the People’s Assembly, excluding the Shura Council and local and popular councils, which hinders the achievement of the desired goal.
8-The state has amended the Child Law (Law No. 129 of 2008), introducing important reforms in line with international standards and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These reforms include criminalizing female genital mutilation, raising the minimum age of marriage for females in line with the principle of equality, raising the age of criminal responsibility for children from 7 to 12, and establishing a specialized judicial system to address the situations of juvenile offenders.
9-The Council calls on the government to promptly translate the principle of citizenship, established by the 2007 constitutional amendments, into action. This includes issuing a unified law for places of worship, as proposed by the National Council for Human Rights, as well as the Council’s proposals for enacting a law on equal opportunities and the prohibition of discrimination, and establishing a General Monitoring Office to oversee its implementation.
Secondly: Civil and Political Rights:
10. Several legislations have been issued and various measures have been taken to enhance basic human rights, including the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Law No. 145 in July 2006 to reform the pretrial detention system, which was on the verge of becoming a punishment in itself. Additionally, the Military Judiciary Law was amended in April 2007 to establish the right to appeal military court rulings before a higher military judicial authority. Furthermore, a coordinating committee to combat human trafficking was established in July 2007, which proposed a draft law to address the issue of human trafficking. Another committee for transparency and integrity was established in October 2007 under the Ministry of State for Administrative Development to enhance transparency, accountability, and combat corruption within the state’s administrative apparatus and government and public sectors.
The Council calls on the government to:
a. In order to protect the right to life, it is necessary to amend national legislation to limit the use of the death penalty to the most serious crimes, in accordance with its legal obligations arising from its accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Currently, there are more than 70 crimes punishable by death in the penal laws.
b. In efforts to combat torture, it is important to overcome the deficiencies in legislation that often result in the perpetrators of torture and those involved in it escaping deterrent punishment. This should be done in response to the proposed legislative amendments put forward by the National Council for Human Rights in this regard, as well as joining the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and responding to the request of the Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit Egypt, which has been pending since 1997.
c. In order to enhance the right to freedom and personal security, the government must respect the judiciary’s rulings of innocence and settle the status of administrative detainees who have served their sentences or have been re-arrested administratively after the maximum detention periods under the Emergency Law. The Council also urges the government to expedite the amendment of the Penal Code to provide further protection for women facing violence and to issue a unified law criminalizing human trafficking.
D. In the field of judicial independence, the Council continues to call for further guarantees that ensure the elimination of any interference by the executive authority in the work of the judicial authority. This includes, for example, adherence to specific objective criteria regarding the loaning and appointment of judges as consultants outside the jurisdiction of the judicial authority. It also involves transferring the administrative supervision of judicial inspection to the Supreme Judicial Council instead of the Minister of Justice, in a manner that guarantees the independence of judges and enhances their right to a fair trial.
C. While the amendment of military justice has strengthened the right to a fair trial for military personnel and those subject to its jurisdiction by adding the right of appeal, the trial of civilians before military courts and the emergency state security courts in their various forms remain a significant loophole in guaranteeing fair trial safeguards. The Council calls for the prohibition of all forms of exceptional trials.
H. In the treatment of prisoners and other detainees, the government has introduced multiple improvements to the conditions of prisoners and detainees. However, overall detention conditions still fall far below the minimum international standards in terms of overcrowding, food, and healthcare. This is evident from numerous complaints received by the Council, in addition to some unfair restrictions related to parole systems that are generally not applicable to those sentenced to imprisonment for crimes described as state security offenses or political and security cases. The Council also calls for amending Prison Law No. 396 of 1956 and its regulations to align them with the minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners and other detainees, as well as amending the Criminal Procedures Law to adopt a system of judicial supervision of implementation. The Council calls for strengthening the capacities of prisons as productive and income-generating rehabilitation institutions, in order for their resources to contribute to the efforts of prisoner rehabilitation and improving living conditions within them.
12- In terms of freedom of opinion and expression, the government made amendments to the Penal Code in 2006 regarding opinion-related crimes. These amendments included removing certain actions from the scope of criminalization, abolishing imprisonment as a penalty for some crimes and replacing it with fines, and adjusting the wording of several articles to achieve discipline and precision in the criteria for criminalization. Additionally, the penalties of closing or suspending newspapers were abolished. However, these measures did not completely eliminate freedom-restricting penalties for journalists in other publishing-related crimes. Several newspaper editors have been subjected to imprisonment penalties, which were replaced by fines in appellate courts, and the President has used his constitutional powers of pardon to avoid imprisoning some of them. The Council believes that there are necessary measures to enhance respect for freedom of opinion and expression, including:
a. Completely abolishing freedom-restricting penalties in all remaining publishing crimes covered by a few laws.
b. Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure to ensure the necessary guarantees to limit lawsuits used against thinkers, writers, and journalists to infringe upon their rights to freedom of expression, belief, and scientific research, in response to a proposal by the National Council for Human Rights.
c. Enacting a law that ensures freedom of information dissemination.
d. Respecting the freedom of expression for bloggers within the bounds of the law, in a way that encourages their participation in political and cultural life.
13- Regarding the right to establish political parties, the Political Parties Law No. 40 of 1977 and its amendments restrict the freedom to establish parties. The Party Committee, established by the law, has rejected more than 70 applications for party establishment since its inception, and most existing parties were established through judicial means. The Council emphasizes the need to review the laws regulating political parties to incorporate constitutional amendments, affirm the freedom to establish parties, and uphold their right to promote their policies and programs.
14- In terms of freedom of association, the Law on Civil Associations No. 84 of 2002 restricts the implementation of this right through negative penalties for those who violate its provisions. It also grants administrative authorities the right to dissolve associations through administrative decisions and imposes the burden on associations to resort to the judiciary to challenge the administrative decisions to dissolve them. This has had an impact on some active human rights associations. The Council calls for expediting the process of amending the law to eliminate state interference through administrative dissolution, which contradicts the constitution. The aim is to remove obstacles and administrative interventions, and to widen the democratic margin.
15-The same applies to the Law on Professional Syndicates, as Law No. 100 of 1993 represents a major obstacle to the exercise of trade union rights and has paralyzed a number of syndicates (as elections have not been held in some of them for over fifteen years). It has also placed other syndicates under the supervision of unelected committees, effectively turning them into permanent committees. The Council calls for a swift review of the laws regulating professional syndicates to remove existing obstacles and avoid cases of placing syndicates under guardianship or administrative committees. It also emphasizes the need to ensure democratic practices in elections.
16-The government has positively responded to a number of peaceful forms of assembly, such as meetings, marches, and sit-ins, during the years covered by the report. However, the law still grants significant discretionary power to security agencies, which often hinders the exercise of this right on many occasions. This sometimes leads peaceful marches to turn into acts of rioting where excessive force is used. The Council calls for a review of the laws regulating peaceful demonstrations, particularly Law No. 10 of 1914, which contains provisions that contradict the Egyptian Constitution and Law No. 12 of 1923 on meetings and demonstrations.
17-The government has been slow in implementing decentralization in the administration of local affairs in accordance with Article 161 of the Constitution. The Council calls for amending the Local Administration Law to align it with the principles of decentralization.
18-The government regularly holds presidential, legislative, and local elections. Despite several amendments to the electoral laws in recent years, including the electoral system, supervision, and oversight, they have been marred by several fundamental flaws that have affected popular turnout, participation, and expression of political and social forces in society.
The Council considers it of utmost importance to review the laws regulating parliamentary and local elections as follows:
a) Implementing the proportional representation electoral system, which was successfully applied in the 1984-1987 elections, to encourage political parties, women, youth, and Copts to participate in a conducive environment.
b) Reconsidering the electoral oversight system, as the local elections that were held after the direct supervision of judges over the ballot boxes was abolished revealed significant shortcomings.
c) Completing the process of purifying and updating the voter lists before the parliamentary elections at the end of 2010.
d) Taking the necessary measures to conduct elections using the national identification number.
e) Facilitating the exercise of Egyptians abroad in their right to vote.
Thirdly: Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights:
Despite the government’s relative success in increasing the economic growth rate in recent years, expanding social solidarity and the beneficiaries of health insurance, and creating job opportunities, the Council observes the suffering of citizens in obtaining their economic and social rights, the increase in poverty rates, extreme poverty, and unemployment rates. The Council also observes the hardships faced by citizens in obtaining their rights to high-quality education that qualifies them to compete locally and globally and harness human potential, as well as in receiving healthcare that complies with international standards regardless of their financial capabilities. Additionally, the Council highlights the situation of citizens residing in informal settlements, which have spread in society and violate the economic and social rights of citizens, especially considering that their population exceeds 10 million people according to some estimates.
20-While appreciating the initial consideration of “capabilities” and “gradualness” recognized by the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the government still has many means to improve the fulfillment of economic and social rights, which the Council identifies as priorities, including the following:
a) Establishing a social security network that guarantees insurance against unemployment, illness, and old age, while considering fair resource distribution, lifting burdens, and protecting vulnerable segments of society.
b) Issuing a law on equality and equal opportunities, as called for by the Council, and establishing a General Commissioner’s Office to monitor its proper implementation.
c) Activating transparency measures, combating corruption and monopolies, implementing accountability measures, restoring prestige and respect for the immunity of public funds through necessary legislative and administrative procedures, in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which Egypt has ratified and published in the Official Gazette.
21- Giving special attention to the efforts of caring for Egyptian citizens who are migrants or residing abroad, estimated to be around eight million individuals according to official figures. This includes assisting them in integrating into the societies of host countries, encouraging the continuation of their ties with their homeland through legal protection and facilitating their communication with their country, and encouraging them to invest their savings in their homeland. It also involves supporting the institutional conditions for their care in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Labor.
22-Urging the government to issue new legislation that ensures respect for the citizen’s right to healthcare, without this right being affected by individuals’ financial capabilities. It should guarantee equitable access to this service with equal quality in all geographical areas, for all members of society.
23- Enhancing the state’s efforts to prevent dropout from education and obligating it to eradicate illiteracy by the year 2015, in line with the Millennium Development Goals.
24- In the context of promoting development efforts, the Council renews its request to the government to develop a comprehensive plan within a timeframe not exceeding five years to clear the North-Western Coastal area from landmines, in collaboration with responsible countries that were parties to World War II and international organizations operating in this field.
25- Demanding that the government include environmental preservation and the rights of future generations in its plans for natural resource management and protection against all forms of pollution, which has become one of the most critical threats to the right to health and the right to development in Egypt.
Fourth: Promoting a culture of human rights:
26- The inadequacy in promoting a culture of human rights remains a fundamental challenge facing Egyptian society, despite the government’s increasing interest in promoting such a culture and educating on it since 1999 through training programs targeting police officers, public prosecutors, judges, journalists, human rights activists, and the media. However, the Council believes that the efforts made have not yet achieved the desired goal and that their effectiveness should be enhanced and expanded.
The government has shown cooperation with the Council in promoting a culture of human rights by establishing institutional relations with the Ministry of Information. Additionally, the government has announced its intention to integrate the National Human Rights Plan prepared by the Council into the state’s five-year plan.
27- The Ministry of Education has also approved the Council’s report on purifying the curriculum from materials conflicting with human rights principles and enhancing their values in these curricula after conducting specialized surveys. The ministry has already implemented some of the Council’s recommendations in this regard and committed to completing their implementation within three years.
Fifth: International Commitments and Obligations:
29- Egypt has joined most international agreements related to human rights and has pledged to accede to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. However, despite its early openness to international standards, it has not joined the protocols attached to the conventions or some other international agreements, including the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.
30- Egypt has also joined a large number of International Labour Organization agreements concerning human rights, including those related to forced labor, freedom of association, collective bargaining, elimination of discrimination, child labor, and the rights of persons with disabilities.
31- Egypt has not made any reservations on any provision of the international conventions against torture, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and limited itself to an interpretative statement on one of its provisions. Egypt withdrew its reservations in July 2003 on the International Convention on the Rights of the Child concerning adoption (Articles 20, 21). In 2008, it withdrew its reservation on Article 2/9 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women regarding granting women equal rights as men in relation to the nationality of their children, but it continued to maintain its reservations on Articles 2 and 16 of the same convention. It also maintained reservations on Articles 4 and 6/18 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
32- The Council calls on the government to fulfill its commitment to promptly ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and to accede to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. It also urges the government to review the reservations it has made on the conventions it has ratified, specify their scope, and withdraw its reservation on Article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which represents the essence of the convention.
33- In the context of the voluntary commitments undertaken by the Egyptian government and the orientations of the National Council for Human Rights, the Council demands the following:
(a) Hosting the Regional Office for North Africa of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
(b) Given that Egypt’s international commitments are broader than those stipulated in the Arab Charter on Human Rights, the Council calls on the Egyptian government to work on its development to align with international standards.
(c) Joining the Charter establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
(d) Cooperating with international mechanisms to fulfill its obligations, particularly by extending an open invitation to these mechanisms to visit Egypt.
(e) Establishing a governmental mechanism to collaborate with the National Council for Human Rights and non-governmental organizations to monitor the implementation of recommendations arising from the Universal Periodic Review and other treaty bodies’ recommendations that Egypt has ratified.
