As Egypt celebrates the 10th anniversary of the June 30th Revolution, which was carried out by the Egyptian people in 2013, opening a new path for the real construction and development process at all levels, including human rights; the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies [ECSS] issued a new report highlighting the most prominent Egyptian stances during the past ten years to enhance respect for rights of Egyptian citizens at different levels and in various age groups.
In the report, ECSS stated that Egypt has a great track record in promoting and protecting human rights, through its efforts in developing international law and international human rights treaties, by participating in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, along with signing other 8 international human rights conventions
Egypt also was a member of the Human Rights Council for several times, in addition to electing many of the Egyptian experts to membership in human rights treaty bodies.
Featuring the legislative and institutional environment for human rights in Egypt, the report emphasized that Egypt showed the first results of the June 30 revolution in approving the 2014 constitution, which was considered a turning point in human rights in Egypt.
The constitution affirmed that the political system is based on respect for human rights and the consolidation of the values of citizenship, justice and equality.
The constitution took a more advanced approach in this regard for ensuring the fulfillment of Egypt's international obligations towards human rights.
The report indicated that the constitution guaranteed women, children, and people with disabilities an unprecedented number of rights that did not exist previously.
The report also stated that Egypt possesses an institutional structure capable of promoting and protecting human rights, most notably the establishment of the Permanent Supreme Committee for Human Rights at the end of 2018.
Among the principles that Egypt has worked to establish during the past ten years : “supporting gender equality, the right to personal freedom, paying attention to the rights of prisoners, freedom of expression and opinion, freedom of media and press, freedom of religion and belief, right to health, the right to education, the right to social security, of which the ‘Takaful and Karama’ Program, ‘Decent Life’ Initiative, and the ‘National Alliance for Civil Development Action’ were launched.
The government also highlighted the Egyptians cultural rights, along with paying attention to the rights of persons with disabilities.
One of the most important steps that was taken by the Egyptian government during the past ten years was also terminating of the state of emergency.
On October 25, 2021, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced the abolition of the state of emergency in all parts of Egypt for the first time in many years, which led to the abolition of the broad powers of the President and the government that were allowing exceptional measures to be taken according to it, including: placing restrictions on the freedom of people to meet, move, and pass in n certain places or times, referring the accused to state security courts, curfews in some areas, monitoring messages of any kind, monitoring newspapers, pamphlets, publications, editors, drawings, and all means of expression, propaganda, and advertising before they are published, seizing, confiscating, and closing their printing places, in addition to enabling the army to impose Security and giving it the status of judicial seizure of civilians, and issuing reports and violations.
All these exceptional measures have been completely canceled.
Another two political procedures have been taken, were: re-activating the Presidential Pardon Committee and the launching the National Dialogue.
Upon President Sisi decisions, more than 1,500 prisoners have been released until May 2023, according to the statistics of the Presidential Pardons Committee.
Source: State Information Service Egypt