Human Rights

​Egypt and Human Rights:

• The Foreign Ministry's interaction with the issue of human rights at the international level is rooted in a comprehensive vision based on building channels of dialogue and cooperation with various parties and related mechanisms, and the development of an international system that reflects national interests of states and preserves the principles and values that the United Nations was created to serve and confirms the special attention Egypt places on these issues, and its  respect for international agreements and commitments related to human rights which is fully reflected in the Egyptian constitution.


• This has been especially evident since the President of the Republic took office in July 2014. In this regard, preparing for Egypt's participation in the reviewing of its human rights file by the Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council (which was held on November 5, 2014) topped its list of priorities. It is worth mentioning that the aforementioned mechanism is a comprehensive one that deals with and evaluates human rights issues, and also all international rights and obligations related to civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. The mechanism also involves the Council reviewing three human rights reports on each UN member state ( a national report prepared by each state and relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations; a United Nations report, which includes the views of treaty bodies; and a report by non-governmental organizations and the national human rights organization of the concerned country, which in the case of Egypt is represented in the National Council for Human Rights).


• The Egyptian government's report has comprehensively outlined efforts of the State in the context of the process of democratization, and its work to ensure that citizens enjoy their rights as guaranteed by the Egyptian Constitution, topped by the protection of the freedoms of expression, belief, organization and assembly, and maximizing State support for economic rights and social security, ensuring justice and the rule of law, and promoting the protection of women and children, in accordance with Egypt's different international obligations. The review process witnessed members of the United Nations expressing appreciation for the achievements that have been made at various levels, particularly the steps that have been implemented in the context of the process of democratization and the advancement of political rights of the Egyptian citizen, as well as moves by the State to ensure the adherence of the national legal system to relevant international obligations, the process of building national human rights institutions, initiatives that have been implemented to activate protection at various levels, and efforts to protect and promote the rights of all segments of society, including women, children and youth, the elderly and people with disabilities.


• The Council also discussed the different dimensions of the Egyptian report and the information and data that it included, as well as the reports issued through United Nations mechanisms and human rights organizations based on data and assessment of the situation in Egypt. The review process ended with the adoption of the Egyptian government's report in accordance with the expression of appreciation by the countries for the achievements that have been made in the context of the roadmap, the efforts by the State to protect the various rights of its citizens, including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights; and the extension of the protection network to include all sectors of society. It is worth highlighting that Egypt accepted about 82% of the recommendations made to it, which confirms the openness of the Egyptian State to interact with the various proposals made and its intent to study them systematically to benefit from them. At the same time, Egypt is committed to promoting the national agenda for the protection of the rights of the Egyptian citizen and activating the various constitutional guarantees.


• Egypt's interaction was not only limited to working with the international system in the framework of the human rights periodic review mechanism.  The Egyptian government, represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has also worked on clarifying the reality of the situation in Egypt before the Human Rights Council and other international mechanisms. It has also countered attempts of interference in Egypt's internal affairs as has been attempted with some countries in the region that suffer from absence of law and the state's inability to exert influence and control over its territory. Egypt has also presented a number of initiatives in the context of the work of the Human Rights Council, and the third committee of the General Assembly, and the United Nations system in general. This has been done in an effort to ensure the system's development takes into account the Egyptian vision and strikes a balance at the same time when it comes to the international agenda concerned with respect for human rights in such a way that it reflects the importance of economic, social and cultural issues, and supports the ability of developing countries to cope with various challenges, particularly development challenges, achieving social stability and the fight against terrorism and organized crime.


• In this context, Egypt has presented a number of initiatives in the areas of the impact of terrorism on the enjoyment of human rights, the right to work, and the repatriation of looted funds to countries they had flowed out of. Moreover, it has stressed coordination with other developing countries with respect to various issues related to the right to development, including the right to education and the right to health, the right to food and poverty reduction.


• There was also great interest in working to ensure that Egyptian experts in various human rights treaty bodies are adequately represented as to achieve the required balance in the work of these bodies and ensure the representation of African, Arab, Islamic and developing country attitudes and positions within the United Nations system. These efforts have resulted in the membership of four Egyptians in the following: The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Committee to follow up on the implementation of international obligations pertaining to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Committee on economic, social and cultural rights, and the Committee on the rights of the child.


• ​ The Ministry is also in touch with the United Nations special procedures system, including the committees and special rapporteurs responsible for following up on key rights and freedoms, and the issues that are a priority within the human rights international system through clarifications and responses provided by the government with regard to individual cases that are raised.

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