The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council began its review of Egypt's record on human rights yesterday, reports Gamal Essam El-Din An 11-member delegation led by Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Moufid Shehab left on Sunday for Geneva to participate in the UN Human Rights Council's (UNHRC) periodical review of Egypt's human rights record. The review, which began yesterday, continues for three days and will cover the full range of human rights issues in Egypt over the last five years. The delegation includes Amal Othman, a former minister of social affairs and current chairwoman of the People's Assembly's Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Edward Ghali El-Dahabi, chairman of the assembly's Human Rights Committee and Wael Abul-Magd, Deputy Foreign Minister for Human Rights Issues. Minister Shehab indicated that as many as 11 states, the majority European, had expressed an interest in participating in the discussions of Egypt's record on human rights. "All of these states submitted a long list of questions about different aspects of human rights in Egypt and we are ready to answer them all," said Shehab. The review, he said, will focus on three major issues: continuation of the 29-year-old emergency law; judicial independence and international monitoring of the elections and Egypt's respect for international conventions on human rights. "We expect that other issues will also be raised, including the trial of civilians before military tribunals, freedom of speech, sectarian strife, torture, sexual harassment and capital punishment." According to Shehab, the government is keen to answer all UNHRC's members questions "in order not to give any forces the chance to continue painting a distorted picture of human rights in Egypt". "Foreign and local forces have been trying their best in recent years to tarnish the image of Egypt in the area of human rights," said Shehab. "As a result the Egyptian delegation decided to go to Geneva, not to stand as defendants but because it is our duty to tell the world that Egypt has come a long way towards respecting human rights." During a press conference on 11 February Shehab said the government had prepared a 20-page report containing all the information necessary to respond to UNHRC's questions about human rights in Egypt. "The issue of international organisations participating in monitoring elections in Egypt is under study although there is little government enthusiasm for such participation," said Shehab. "In principle we are not against inviting some of these organisations to participate in the process of monitoring but we will not countenance such organisations entirely monitoring the poll, supervising the voting and vote-counting," said Shehab. "We view international supervision as interference in Egypt's internal affairs since it could amount to an admission that there is a degree of electoral fraud." Shehab defended the continued application of the emergency law. "The proliferation of terrorist acts in the region has forced us to keep the law in place," said Shehab. He also accused "a number of local and foreign organisations" of exaggerating the extent of sectarian strife in Egypt. "All I can say is that Egypt is free from sectarian strife though there are isolated sectarian clashes from time to time between extremist Muslims and Copts. The government has vowed that it will do more to correct reports made by some organisations in this respect." The 20-page report, Shehab continued, itemises government measures taken to guarantee that civilians receive a fair trial when referred to military tribunals. "Also the prosecution authorities do their best to ensure that there is no torture in prison cells or police stations. Several officials and police officers have been referred to trial on charges of mistreating detainees." The report praises the extent of freedom of speech and press freedom in Egypt. "Egypt has flourishing press freedom. Independent, state-owned and party-based newspapers exercise supervision on public money and help hold state officials to account," said Shehab. Sources suggest that in their questions UNHRC members will draw on reports prepared by organisations such as the Higher International Commission on Human Rights, the government- affiliated National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), and the independent Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR). Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former UN secretary- general and president of the NCHR, has said that an NCHR delegation has also headed for Geneva to participate in the discussions. An NCHR report submitted to the UNHRC called for an end to the long-standing state of emergency. In Boutros-Ghali's words: "the state of emergency provided a loophole by which the authorities prevent some Egyptians enjoying their right to personal security." Boutros-Ghali explained that the UNHRC has asked the Interior Ministry several times to respond to complaints lodged by citizens about torture, announce a full list of names of detainees and free detainees in bad health. Boutros-Ghali stressed that the NCHR welcomes international monitoring of the elections. "There can be no respect for human rights without first respecting democratic practices and the right of citizens to have free elections." Hafez Abu Seada, president of the EOHR and a member of NCHR's delegation to Geneva, contests Shehab's claim that independent human rights organisations try their best to tarnish the image of Egypt. "We have urged Shehab many times to enter into a direct dialogue with us about human rights in Egypt," says Abu Seada. "Recently the EOHR sent Shehab a letter asking him to include some of EOHR's recommendations in the government's report to the UNHRC." Abu Seada said the EOHR report also recommended revamping laws on the exercise of political rights in order to ensure the staging of free and fair elections. "The report explained that the press and publication laws should be amended so as to prevent journalists being imprisoned for making comments about the government or the president," said Abu Seada. "And the fact that it is the Ministry of Interior that supervises prisons makes it very difficult to end the phenomenon of torture." Meanwhile, the newly-appointed board of the NCHR will meet on 25 February to prepare its agenda for the coming period. The replacement of Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd as NCHR's vice- president by Mokbel Shaker has been the focus of much criticism. The former is an enlightened Islamic scholar who had always been a critic of the government's record on human rights, the latter a former chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Court of Cassation. Many expect that NCHR's long-term secretary-general Mokhlis Qotb will also be replaced next week by a retired police office.
