The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that its embassies across the world have been meeting with ambassadors and officials in preparation for the Universal Periodical Review (UPR), the ministry said in a statement on Thursday. Every four years, the United Nations General Assembly's UPR body examines and presents an overview of the condition of human rights in member countries. The next review is scheduled to take place in Geneva on 5 November. According to the ministry's spokesperson, the foreign ministry has been meeting with ambassadors in Cairo to "inform them of the achievements of the Egyptian government has made in the field of human rights." He added that Egypt's first review was in 2010, and claimed that it has been making "great efforts to achieve the aims of the Egyptian people despite all obstacles." Meanwhile 19 independent rights groups also released a joint report for the UPR, stating that human rights have undergone a "dramatic deterioration" in Egypt over the past four years. The past few years have seen an increasing number of military trials, arbitrary detentions, violations against minors, and restrictions on academic freedom, press freedom, and freedom of speech, and expression. In addition, security forces have killed thousands of protestors in the streets.
