Former rights council member: Moushira Khattab’s resignation is ‘belated attempt’ to sidestep poor performance

Moushira Khattab has stepped down as president of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) as she intends to pursue a role at an international institution, the council announced on Sunday.

Former council member Nasser Amin, however, described the move to Mada Masr as a belated attempt by Khattab to “wash her hands” of what he said was the council’s worst performance in two decades.

The council was reconstituted by presidential decree in 2021, as the government worked to stage a shift in how it handles rights and political representation, launching a national human rights strategy, reopening the council, which is tasked with nominating prisoners to the president for amnesty among other roles, and beginning the National Dialogue as a forum for political dialogue.

In a phone call with Mada Masr, Khattab declined to comment on the statement or name the international institution she intends to join. 

A source close to the former council head, however, denied to Mada Masr that her resignation had nothing to do with Khattab’s future career plans. Since Khattab has already had a long career, an international appointment is unlikely, the source continued. 

They described her resignation instead as a long overdue development, adding that through her four-year tenure on the council Khattab has repeatedly voiced frustration over her inability to effect meaningful change in any of its human rights working files.

The source cited Khattab’s repeated but unsuccessful attempts to amend the law that governs the council in order to elevate its international ranking, as well as several requests she made to visit prisons which were ultimately rejected. Prison visits are permitted rarely, and often only to limited areas of specific facilities under authorities’ supervision. 

The source put the lack of achievements down to the council’s political position, describing it as lacking any real leverage. Its recommendations are often ignored, they added. 

Khattab was also increasingly troubled by the frequent criticism directed at her from various circles, the source said. 

Amin, who also heads the Arab Center for the Independence of Judiciary and Legal Professions, warned that the council is very likely to face a downgrade in its international ranking by the end of the year, citing its lack of independence and retreat from its monitoring and advocacy role. “The talk of her seeking an international post is more wishful thinking than reality,” he said.

On November 20 last year, the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) at the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) recommended the council be downgraded to B status, raising serious concerns about its compliance with the Paris Principles — particularly in terms of its independence, effectiveness and transparency.

The SCA flagged the lack of transparency and public participation in the appointment of council members — who are selected by the executive arm of the government — as a factor undermining the body’s autonomy and ability to operate free from government interference. It also criticized the council’s inadequate response to major human rights concerns, including torture, enforced disappearances, conditions of arbitrary detention, as well as with regard to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.

The committee also called for sweeping reforms to bring the council in line with the Paris Principles, including measures to reinforce its independence, amend its appointment mechanism, improve its response to human rights violations and ensure regular distribution of public reports for civil society and other actors to access.

Khattab has previously pushed back against claims that the council lacks independence. In a televised interview in September 2024, she said the council had submitted a request for a presidential pardon for writer and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, but claimed that the council had been drawn into the issue of its pending downgrade by a complaint questioning the council’s independence filed by the writer’s father-in-law, prominent human rights advocate Bahey Eddin Hassan. 

Domestic and international calls are currently mounting for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to pardon the detained activist and writer — whose mother is now hospitalized in critical condition 246 days into a hunger strike. 

Khattab had confined her efforts as council head to “safe zones,” Amin said. She focused on awareness-raising and human rights education while steering clear of applying legal and human rights standards to document violations. Instead, he added, she echoed the narrative advanced by the state and its security agencies.

The constitution grants the NCHR the power to represent victims in court — a power exercised by previous iterations of the council, including in the case of activist Shaimaa al-Sabbagh’s killing. The current council, however, has ignored this mandate, which Amin said was a hard-earned achievement of earlier efforts.

Vice President Mahmoud Karem assumed Khattab’s responsibilities as of Saturday, the council’s statement said, and he will continue in the role until its term ends on December 27. 

Sisi reconstituted the council under Khattab’s leadership in December 2021 for a four-year term. Under recent amendments to the law governing the NCHR, the House of Representatives is permitted to begin forming a new council two months ahead of the current term’s expiration. Nominations are to be submitted by universities, syndicates and other institutions, after which the president and members are selected and approved via presidential decree.