Thursday, September 17, 2009

Egypt:New Human Rights Report Enroute To Geneva, Will it Matter?

Egypt: Overcoming torture, human rights abuses « Bikya Masr

Bikya Masr runs an outstanding human rights blog among other involvement with politics in Egypt and I have followed his work closely. His latest report concerning new human rights development in Egypt is worth a share. According to his blog:
"The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) believes that the recent report sent to Geneva by the National Council for Human Rights is an opportunity for the country to establish new laws to help combat torture and human rights abuses in the country."
Of course for Egypt this is incredible news as this is a country with a poor human rights record which we can discuss with more detail. Furthermore Bikya continues:

"Despite the hope, ANHRI “is quite cautious regarding these efforts and declarations especially that the Egyptian government did not admit the existence of any problem to start with,” highlighting one of the growing tenuous issues facing rights in the country.

According to the watchdog, the Egyptian government “mentioned nothing to be the reason behind the deteriorating human rights condition in Egypt in the last four years.”

If you ask the government of Egypt there is no problem with human rights. Why then did the ANHRI have to send a report to Geneva Switzerland to begin with? Why then did a convicted convict for torture be returned to work in Egypt as a police officer?


Furthermore, CIA Factbook

indicates that Egypt's human rights record has not been one of great respect"

"current situation:

Egypt is a transit country for women trafficked
from Eastern European countries to Israel for
sexual exploitation, and is a source for children
trafficked within the country for commercial
sexual exploitation and domestic servitude,
although the extent to which children are
trafficked internally is unknown; children
were also recruited for domestic and agricultural
work; some of these children face conditions of
involuntary servitude, such as restrictions on
movement, non-payment of wages, threats, and
physical or sexual abuse
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Egypt is on
the Tier 2 Watch List for the third year in a row
because it did not provide evidence of increasing
efforts to investigate and prosecute traffickers;
however, in July 2007, the government established
the "National Coordinating Committee to Combat
and Prevent Trafficking in Persons," which improved
inter-governmental coordination on anti-trafficking
initiatives; Egypt made no discernible efforts to
punish trafficking crimes in 2007 and the Egyptian
penal code does not prohibit all forms of trafficking;
Egypt did not increase its services to trafficking
victims during the reporting period (2008)

Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
transit point for cannabis, heroin, and
opium moving to Europe, Israel, and
North Africa; transit stop for Nigerian
drug couriers; concern as money
laundering site due to lax enforcement
of financial regulations"

This does not go well for the
international communities outlook
of Egypt overall from a human rights
perspective whatsoever.

Global Human Rights Are For Everyone!

William

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