HR groups to boycott UN review

Seven Egyptian human rights organizations released a statement saying they decided to boycott the UN’s Universal Periodic Review session on Wednesday for fear of government retribution and prosecution.

The signatories include the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, the Centre for Egyptian Women, and Nazra for Feminist Studies.

The statement added that some of the organizations are also cancelling previously announced conferences that were scheduled to take place concurrently with the review session, “in light of the current hostile environment towards independent human rights organizations in Egypt.”

The signatories made a list of 100 recommendations to the Egyptian government on November 2, including “12 rights issues involving violations in law and practice.”    

Five days remain until the end of the ultimatum given to unregistered human rights organizations.

“A number of organizations attempted to start dialog with the government and meet with the PM to discuss withdrawing the ultimatum until the issuance of a new NGO law that’s more consistent with the Constitution and Egypt’s obligations towards international treaties,” but according to the statement, their attempts were met with arbitrary measures from the government.

A statement was published by the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper on October 26, maintaining the government has no intentions of discussing requests to lift or postpone the ultimatum.

On Wednesday, Egypt will be put in the hot seat as it undergoes a review of its human rights record as a UN member state.

Every four years, UN member states are given the opportunity to outline the actions they have taken to protect human rights. Organizations in the respective countries are permitted to submit recommendations to be discussed during the session, along with a report authored by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

After the session, the UN presents its recommendations. Should the states accept them, they commit to ensuring their implementation over the four years until the next review. 

Member of the National Center for Human Rights delegation in Geneva, Hafez Abu Seda, said that the International Council for Human Rights has identified eight key topics to discuss with the Egyptian delegation during the review session, the state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported on Tuesday evening.

The proposed topics include the current environment for NGOs and human rights organizations, including the Ministry of Social Solidarity’s stance against unregistered rights centers, restrictions on freedom of expression and the imprisonment of journalists.

The use of excessive force by the police is also on the agenda, with significant mention of the forceful dispersal of pro-Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins at Rabea and Nahda squares in Cairo last year, as well as the issuance of mass death sentences, the amendment of the protest law and torture in detention facilities.

Old case files regarding accusations against military personnel for performing virginity tests on female protesters during the early days of the January 25 revolution will be reopened, and the prosecution of homosexuals will also be addressed during the session.

MENA’s report accused the US, Europe, and the International Muslim Brotherhood organization of severely influencing the topics chosen for discussion.

Egypt participated in a 2010 review that resulted in 165 recommendations. The state accepted 119, rejected 21 and responded to the rest. So far, 125 countries have expressed interest in directing questions or recommendations to the Egyptian government, compared to only 51 countries four years ago.

Abu Seda predicted Scandinavian nations would have the most to say on the issues raised, MENA added.