With the National Council for Human Rights becoming a reality, Amira Howeidy seeks answers to pertinent questions On Monday, the Shura Council -- a consultative upper house with no legislative powers -- appointed the board of the National Council for Human Rights. Former UN Secretary-General Boutros Ghali will be the new council's president, while Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd, an information minister under late President Anwar El-Sadat, will be its vice president. Twenty-five board members were also named. The Shura Council appointments signify the resurrection of a stalled and controversial project -- the establishment of a government council for human rights. The idea emerged from the ruling National Democratic Party's (NDP) policies committee last year, and was adopted by Parliament in June 2003. Last September, at the fringes of the party's first annual conference, NDP officials including Information Minister Safwat El-Sherif also held meetings with several human rights activists. But the project threatened to slip into oblivion when nothing emerged from the flurry of activity and meetings except complaints by activists that the NDP was apathetic, and bent on marginalising rights-related issues such as the NCHR. Now that the Shura Council has activated the project, observers are wondering whether the NCHR will prove effective in improving the human rights situation, especially when the government's own security apparatus is accused of tarnishing it. Critics cite the human rights office in the prosecutor-general's office, which was specifically set up to receive complaints of rights abuses. These complaints, they say, continue to be overlooked. Because "there are international watchdogs which will be monitoring everything hour by hour," said Abul-Magd, the council will have to maintain a serious posture regarding human rights violations. Asked if the council's mandate reflects such seriousness, Abul-Magd argued that, "mandates are written on paper but evaluated upon implementation." The former minister said that his job description hasn't yet been specified but since Ghali lives in Europe, Abul-Magd will be more involved in the council. His biggest worry is "whether the organisations that will be working with the government [within the NCHR context] will in fact be empowered [to advance human rights]". The NCHR is affiliated to the Shura Council, which will be in charge of appointing NCHR members for renewable terms of three years each. NCHR's functions will be as diverse as mapping out a national plan for advancing human rights, verifying citizens' complaints regarding human rights abuses, and ensuring honest implementation of international treaties on human rights. Other functions include fostering a culture of human rights and presenting an annual report on the human rights situation to the president, the People's Assembly and the Shura Council. NCHR will be located in Cairo and empowered to have offices in different governorates. Despite a division in the human rights movement over the underlying reasons why the NDP decided to establish the NCHR, the Shura Council's choice of board members -- many of whom are respected figures in their fields -- was welcomed by many. The NCHR's board includes Fouad Riad, a former judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Mohamed Fayek, head of the Arab Organisation for Human Rights, Bahieddin Hassan, director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights, Hafez Abu Se'da, secretary-general of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR), Galal Aref, chairman of the Press Syndicate, Osama El- Ghazli Harb, editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram's quarterly Al- Siyassa Al-Dawliya (International Politics) and member of the Shura Council, and Mounir Fakhri Abdel-Nour, a Wafdist member of parliament. While Abul-Magd said that, "many of the names are a source of comfort," some rights circles remained sceptical. "These people remain the government's choice," said Aida Seif El- Dawla of Al-Nadeem Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture. "As long as the Emergency Law is in force, even if all of Al- Nadeem's activists were on the NCHR's board, the whole thing would be nothing more than window dressing." Seif El-Dawla -- who was honoured by Human Rights Watch last November -- told Al-Ahram Weekly that the government had to take certain "steps" to prove its seriousness about improving the human rights situation. These include lifting the 23-year old Emergency Law, stopping torture in prisons, apologising to the victims of violence and human rights abuses, allowing more freedom to form political parties and issue newspapers, and lifting the stringent measures that cripple NGO activities. With rights groups accusing the government of primarily persecuting Islamists, the significance of appointing Abul-Magd -- who is categorised as an Islamist, albeit an "enlightened" one in today's political jargon -- was another talking point that accompanied the formation of the NCHR. A prominent intellectual, practicing lawyer and professor of international law, two years ago Abul-Magd also became an Arab League commissioner responsible for promoting dialogue between civilisations. Similarly, Ghali -- who is a Copt -- provoked some debate on the political calculations behind the appointments. "I think it's unfair to both men to view them from this narrow perspective," said Bahieddin Hassan. "There is consensus on the two men's expertise." Others are critical of Abul-Magd and Ghali's limited engagement in human rights issues. Hassan said that, "since the council idea emerged three years ago [when human rights groups demanded that such a council be formed], there has never been any consultation with rights groups, nor were they ever involved at any given stage in this regard. The law that established the NCHR does not give a role to human rights groups. Given this background, we shouldn't dwell on the people who are involved in the council as much as how they will translate the law and implement it." While Hassan called the government's constant pursuit of a "negative" policy regarding human rights organisations "a worrying concern", the EOHR's Abu Se'da offered a different take, giving more weight to the council leadership's potential role in actually improving the relationship between the government and rights groups. "Abul-Magd is a man who understands the government, and knows how to alleviate its fears [when it comes to] the human rights violations issue. This is very important." For his part, Abul-Magd said that, "if the council succeeds in achieving 20 per cent of its goals regarding freedoms, that in itself would be an achievement. The value of giving someone his rights back or compensating him is priceless."
