(The Patriotic Defense for Rights and Freedoms) terminates the coin of the 43rd session of the International Council for Human Rights in Geneva

The delegation of the “National Council for the Defense of Rights and Freedoms” ends its work in the 43rd session of the International Council for Human Rights in Geneva

The delegation of the “National Society for the Defense of Rights and Freedoms” has finished attending the 43rd session of the International Council for Human Rights, by presenting a paper during the plenary session of the United Nations Human Rights Council concurrently with Egypt’s announcement of its position on the recommendations presented to it in its third periodic review of the rights file Rights during the month of November of last year.

The association welcomed the efforts made by the Egyptian government to support economic and social rights during the Egypt 2030 strategy, calling – at the same time – that the Egyptian government make more efforts to raise the efficiency of health centers in remote and border governorates, in addition to supporting and developing education, eradicating poverty and achieving Social justice for the Egyptian citizen.

The association also expressed its appreciation for the positive steps on the part of the government – which it has seen in the last period – to allow some civil society organizations to visit prisons, expressing its wishes that more accessible mechanisms for requests for visits by representatives of civil society will be put in place.

The association called for the participation of the Egyptian civil society in preparing and issuing the executive regulations for the National Labor Law, avoiding ambiguity in some of its articles, and working to stop the proceedings of Case 173 known as the Foreign Funding Issue and canceling all the effects it has had.

It was also stressed the need to review national legislation regarding the penal code for the crime of torture, as well as those related to freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of information, in accordance with the Egyptian constitution and international human rights agreements. And the need to open the way for the special rapporteurs and allow them to visit Egypt and cooperate with state institutions and civil society.

The delegation of the National Assembly and the Al-Haq Foundation for Freedom of Opinion and Expression had organized many official meetings and interviews with some of the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the offices of the special rapporteurs of the United Nations, on the sidelines of the 43rd session of the International Council for Human Rights.

Those meetings dealt with a review of the report issued by the society on the digital analysis of the recommendations of the third periodic review report of Egypt.

It also dealt with a proposal from the National Assembly and Al-Haq Foundation regarding the mechanism for developing the “universal periodic review” system, after what the association’s delegation sensed about “political use” by some countries of the UPR mechanism, in addition to what was monitored about the lack of The recommendations presented to a country are in conformity with the human rights situation in that country, which means that there are clear deficiencies in the system of work of the periodic review and the recommendations issued by the member states.
On the other hand, an extensive discussion took place around all the human rights issues that occupy the arena, and the meeting also exchanged views on some issues that formed confusion among the special rapporteurs in their follow-up and analysis of many human rights issues in Egypt.

The National Society for the Defense of Rights and Freedoms and the Al-Haq Foundation for Freedom of Opinion and Expression will work to present a memorandum that includes their vision in the mechanism for developing the universal periodic review system in order to limit political use, guarantee more protection and defend human rights and give more space to civil society in State periodic review mechanism.