In Focus: A long way to go How can we address the deficit in citizenship rights, asks Galal Nassar The concept of citizenship has yet to take root in the modern Arab state and if it is to ever become part of our lives both the state and civil society will have to do more. One starting point would be to accept that we have never had a culture that accommodates, let alone embraces, the individual citizen, a major reason being that the structures and institutions that regulate both government and non-governmental organisations are inherently flawed. For any kind of meaningful citizenship to emerge in Egypt the concept of the secular state needs to be revisited in its entirety. The state is in essence a body of rules and institutions designed to protect the lives and property of the populace while enforcing law and order. Citizenry was a side-product of the state, especially in its modern form. In its intellectual, legal, political, and economic aspects the concept of citizenship is unthinkable without a state. Developed in the 18th century with the rise of liberalism, the market economy and individualism, ideas of citizenship were refined in the following hundred years to shore up political participation, ensure a minimum of secular rights and promote the idea of general suffrage. In the 20th century citizenship came into its own as nations subscribed to a wider range of economic, social and cultural rights. The main breakthrough came with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since then civic and political rights have become sacred. Some countries have gone a long way towards providing civil and political rights for their populations. They have infused rights with a sense of justice, setting the stage for the emergence of an organic citizenry. This implies the following: - Equal rights and obligations before the law for all citizens, regardless of creed, language, race, gender or social class. - The acceptance that freedom is an ultimate ideal without which other human rights are difficult to attain. Freedom is the gateway to democratic rights, including the right of free expression, the right to form societies and parties, freedom of religion, the right to political participation, the holding of elections, the right to ownership, freedom of mobility, a ban on torture, etc. - Acknowledgment of national identity as a general framework within which minorities should live in a climate of equality and freedom. The rights of the majority are not to impinge on those of minorities. Diversity is to be allowed in a context of unity, not antagonism. Unfortunately, repression of individuality and minority rights remains common. - A commitment to achieving development through justice. The ideals of sustainable development emphasise knowledge, empowerment, education, women rights, minority rights and social justice. Freedom was the main concern of the first generation of human rights activists who emphasised equality and respect for human dignity. The right to live, to not be tortured, to seek political asylum, to not be deprived of nationality and to own property all belong to the first generation of human rights. The aims of the second generation, enshrined in the 1966 Universal Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, covered a wider range of concerns from employment, social security, and education to women and children's rights and participation in cultural life. The third generation addressed the right to development, the right to peace, the right to a clean environment and the right to benefit from the scientific- technological revolution. Following the end of the Cold War democracy entered the picture. The Paris Conference of November 1990 and the Berlin Conference of June 1991 emphasised pluralism, rotation of power, the monitoring of elections and free trade. Unfortunately, major powers couldn't help themselves twisting these lofty principles to suit their own interests. When the winds of change that swept over Europe in the late 1980s finally subsided it became apparent that nation states were intent on pursuing their national interests regardless of the cost this might exact on other nations. This impeded the process of change in the Middle East, especially after 9/11. The war on terror was subsequently used as a pretext for the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the war on Lebanon. There is a dialectic relation between citizenship and human rights. The more the two converge the more citizenship -- in its universal dimension as well as its humanitarian and legal context -- evolves into a common human denominator, one that leaves room for religious, ethnic and linguistic differences. Citizenship is a quest for equality, justice and pluralism within a context of harmony and unity. Citizenship may be unthinkable without the state, but neither can it flourish without civil society. Only the latter can monitor violations of freedom, equality and rights. Civil society should have more than the power to protest. It should have the power to suggest policy and become an effective partner of government. Meanwhile, the government must provide its citizens not only with protection but with a climate conducive to their welfare, social harmony and peace. Citizenship needs institutions to sustain it, just as citizens need protection and care. These institutions should strive to provide all citizens with freedom and food, and protect them from cruel policies, fluctuating prices, ignorant and corrupt officials. How close are we to procuring organic citizenship in Egypt and the Arab world?
