Hearing Session
10 May 2010
By Moataz El Fegiery
On behalf of Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network I’d like to thank you a lot for this invitation to share with you our analysis and concerns for human rights situation in Egypt. We actually live in a very controversial political moment in Egypt. There has been increasing political and social unrest against the current political regime which its legitimacy has remarkably declined. Social frustration and disappointment have become daily facts of millions of Egyptians. In the same time, the government maintains its crackdown on all possibilities of political participation.
Human rights in Egypt cannot be viewed separately from an entire set of laws, policies, and distinct practices. Indeed, the basic feature of human rights in Egypt today is the prevalence of a policy of exception in which those responsible for violations usually escape punishment amid a climate of impunity intentionally created and fostered over several decades. The State of Emergency, declared in Egypt in 1981 and extended uninterrupted since then, has played a fundamental role in creating this policy and fostering such a climate, such impunity has become the norm. As a result, the rules of law and the state’s legal institutions have been eroded, constitutional guarantees for rights and public liberties have been suspended, and citizens’ confidence in the state and their own self-worth destroyed. This oppressive environment continues although recent years have seen growing segments of the population resist abuses and the policies that produce them. Indeed, certain sectors of the independent media, civil society, and new social movements have wrested away new spaces for freedom, despite policies, practices, and a legal environment that resist such change.
With this policy of impunity gradually becoming the norm, the prerogatives of the security apparatus have been expanded and Egypt has been turned into a police state. In addition to the direct violations of citizens’ rights by the security apparatus, which usually go unpunished, this apparatus has come to play a central role in all areas of public life. Not only does it intervene in the affairs of political, civic, educational, religious, and media institutions, it also often obstructs the execution of judicial rulings and court orders. Social justice indicators have continued to deteriorate as poverty rates have increased, urban-rural economic disparities have grown, and the gap between rich and poor has widened, such violation of economic, social and cultural rights is now as systematic and prevalent as the violation of civil and political rights in Egypt.
The government has used several methods to divert attention from its deteriorating rights record. These include exaggerating the danger represented by political Islam to the future of the state and the region, politically manipulating religion and culture to justify and legitimize human rights abuses, establishing institutional facades that give the impression of concern for human rights, and introducing changes to selected laws that do not change the existing autocratic legislative structure in the country. At best, the state has taken positive, though limited steps to improve women’s and children’s rights and attempted to highlight them before the international community to deflect further criticisms and distract attention from the broad array of legislative and political measures needed to truly put an end to human rights violations in Egypt. In the following part of my presentation I will try to give some indicators of the government failure to meet its commitments not only in the action plan but also according to international human rights treaties that were ratified by the government of Egypt.
I was borne in 1981, the year in which the government started to apply the state of emergency after the assassination of President Anwar El Sadat. Since then, I only know the state of exception. My generation has grown up in a republic of fear where law and justice are manipulated by power. The state of emergency has been applied in Egypt continuously since 1981 until it has become a permanent situation in which there are many fundamental rights are suspended particularly the right of fair trail and the right of personal freedom and safety. The State Security Courts and Military Courts which lack the basic guarantees of fair trial have been used in Egypt against suspected terrorist and other political groups. Prolonged detention has been used systematically in an arbitrary way. The government has failed to introduce a reasonable ground for the application of state of emergency over such a long time. The continuous application of the state of emergency in Egypt can not merely be seen in the context of the state struggle against terrorists. Conversely, it has become a systematic technique to suppress political competitors and ensure the stability of the ruling elite. In 2007, the government amended the constitution to pave the way for a new anti-terrorism law without being restricted by the constitutional human rights guarantees. The state of emergency is likely to be normalized under the planned anti-terrorism law which is expected to be adopted soon. The coming anti-terrorism law will be the second one since the government passed an anti terrorism law in 1992 which adopted a very vague and broad definition for the crime of terrorism and prescribed severe punishment for terrorist related acts which most of them amount to the death penalty. Although it is a clear fact that counter-terrorism measures have been used by the government to suppress civil society and peaceful political opposition, It is unfortunate that the ENP action plan with Egypt and the subsequent progress reports on Egypt encourage the government to replace the existing state of emergency with the a new anti terrorism law. Of course we understand the need to combat terrorism but this should be done within the rule of law and human rights. I’d like to draw your attention that according to latest officials’ statements, the Egyptian parliament is likely to extend the state of emergency after few days.
Egyptians enjoy no protection against torture a systematic, routine practice. Crimes of torture continue to be an everyday practice in police stations, State Security police headquarters, and other detention facilities, including at times in prisons and even on public roads. Torture cases are well documented by Egyptian and international human rights groups including the reports of Egyptian National Council of Human Rights since 2003. A few numbers of officers have been referred to trials after increasing internal and international al pressure. However, thousands of other officers are immune from justice. There has been no public policy or plan to combat the phenomenon of torture. Egyptian police officers excessively and unnecessarily use force against civilians. For instance, since 2008 Around 70 African immigrants have been shot in Sinai while trying to cross the borders to Israel. These incidents have passed without accountability.
Egyptian legislation allows for the death penalty in a large number of crimes defined by the Penal Code, the Military Code of Justice, the Arms and Ammunition Law, and the Drug and Anti-Drug Trafficking Law. At the same time, criminal courts in Egypt, which issue all death sentences in cases unrelated to terrorism, offer no recourse to appeal before a higher judicial body. The defendant has only the right to contest verdicts before the Court of Cassation, whose role is limited to determining whether the law was adequately interpreted and applied, without a reconsideration of the facts or evidence in the case. More serious are the several death sentences for civilians issued by emergency courts or military tribunals, since these courts do not provide the minimum standards of a fair trial. Since 1992, military tribunals and emergency courts have issued at least 137 death sentences in terrorism cases, at least 67 of which have been carried out.
Although several advances have been made in women’s rights in Egypt, the overall situation of women is still worrying. Egyptian women face serious discrimination in legislation such as the family law, penal law and the labor law, in addition to the discrimination and violence they face in public and private life.
Political exclusion is the right word that can clearly describe the state of political participation in Egypt. The ruling elite have monopolized the political power over decades without any real form of accountability. Egyptians face severe violations of their right to participate in public life through elections and those who seek to exercise this right must contend with a broad array of restrictions and abuses by both the executive and security. The most recent constitutional amendments put in place impossible restrictions that effectively prohibited independent candidates from competing in the presidential election. The parliamentary elections of 2005, overseen by a committee headed by the Minister of Justice, were the occasion of severe violence that left 13 citizens dead after Central Security troops imposed a tight security cordon at polling stations to prevent access to candidates. The vote counting and announcement of results also witnessed strong administrative and security interference during which many judicial rulings were disregarded. During the Shura Council elections of 2007, security forces prohibited prospective candidates from reaching registration areas, assaulted civil society observers, and arrested opposition candidates and their lawyers as they filed their candidacy papers. The outcome of the election aptly illustrated the result of this intervention: of 88 open seats, the ruling party “NDP” won 84. Of the remaining four seats, three went to other candidates linked with the NDP. The municipal elections of 2008 entailed some of the most flagrant violations seen in elections in the country: the result was that the NDP “won” 99.13% of the seats. In the constitutional amendments of 2007, the government cancelled the judicial supervision over elections after the tireless and brave attempts of many impendent judges to uncover the electoral flaws occurred in the parliamentary and presidential elections of 2005.
Moreover, the constitutional provision on presidential elections denies the possibility of having serious candidates in the presidential elections. In reality, this provision will only allow candidates who have been approved by the ruling party. The government has applied several policies and tactics to exclude and suppress any potential political competitors. The government tries to market the idea that political opposition is hijacked by Mulsim-bortehrhood which is not true. There are other liberal political alternatives in Egypt which are being excluded or suppressed. Following the first multi-candidates presidential elections, Ayman Nour, the ex- rival of President Mubarak in the elections have been trialed and convicted in a politically motivated case. Although Nour has been released in 2009 on the ground of his health conditions, he is still deprived of his right of political participation and even his right to work as a lawyer. He and his supporters have been systematically pressured by the government and security. In the beginning of 2010, Mohamed El Baradei, the ex-director of the International Agency for Atomic Energy, has declared his readiness to run the coming presidential elections but the existing constitutional restrictions exclude him form any future presidential competition. El Baredi and his supporters have established a national coalition which struggles for political reform and fair and competitive election. Many cases have been documented by right groups which indicate the pressure practiced over El Baradei supporters. Moreover, the continuous repression of Muslim brotherhood has declined any opportunities to engage in dialogue with the group to ensure its adherence to democratic principles and fundamental human rights principles. Unfortunately, this repression is likely to strengthen the hardliners inside the group at the expense of the reformers.
Egyptians do not have the freedom to form political parties. Political association is subject to severe restrictions imposed by the Political Parties Law of 1977, which grants massive prerogatives to the Political Parties Committee, controlled by the ruling party. The committee is responsible for approving new parties and can suspend a party’s activities. This gives the ruling party the ability to choose its political competitors or eliminate them. Indeed, the committee has refused to license at least 75 parties. In addition, it has issued decrees to freeze some parties and has deepened internal conflicts in other parties by supporting one party to a dispute over another, in violation of the law.
Freedom of association is under siege in Egypt. For decades, Egyptians have been deprived of their fundamental right to form political or civil associations. This is in fact part of the governmental authoritarian strategy to dominate the whole society and weaken any societal initiatives which act independently from the state. The government has adopted a set of restrictive legislations and policies which undermined the development of vibrant political and civil society. The law regulating NGOs imposes harsh restrictions which put NGOs under the entire guardianship of the government and state security. That is why tens of NGOs were established as law firms or non profitable companies to avoid the association law which does not only target human rights groups but hundreds of development and charity organizations have been attacked by this law. According to the law, the state authorities are allowed to systematically intervene on the internal financial and managerial affairs of NGOs. Although the law doesn’t give state security any powers over NGOs, it has been noted that security practices absolute authorities over the operation of NGOs. The government has declared since 2008 that the law would be modified but until now there has been no official draft law discussed with concerned actors. However, according to the officials statements in Egyptian newspapers, the coming modifications will reproduce the existing authoritarian law. For instance, the new modifications would likely dissolve all NGOs currently work outside the mandate of the association law such as the non profitable companies and olige them to be registered under the association law. The new modifications would also increase the powers of the general federation of NGOs which is a governmental body established under the military regime in 1960s to contain NGOs and out them under the control of the government. The president of this federation and third of its board members are appointed by the president of Egypt. It is worthy to note that the current president of this federation has very offensive attitudes towards human rights organizations. In a press interview, he accused human rights groups of being threat of national security and justified the need to restrict their work.
Egyptians do not enjoy the freedom to form independent trade unions. The law puts all such associations under the supervision and oversight of the Ministry of Labor Forces and gives the Ministry the right to oppose the formation of trade unions and to intervene in the organizations and administration of union elections. This administrative interference, not to mention interventions by security, deprives thousands of workers of their right to stand as candidates and leads to wide-scale electoral tampering, which ultimately cements the control of pro-government elements over all levels of the official labor union. With the increasing use of temporary employment contracts, temporary labor now constitutes a substantial portion of the labor force, and this segment of workers is denied the right to compete in elections in the official labor union. Moreover, the law on professional syndicates has unjustifiably allowed the government to freeze elections for 14 years in 12 professional syndicates
Regarding freedom of opinion and expression, violations and restrictions have continued, despite the success of the media in gaining a wider margin for freedom of the press in recent years. The legal environment of media is restrictive. Journalists are still referred to criminal courts in publications offenses. Internet has become a new space for repression. Tens of bloggers and internet activities have been harassed and detained according to the state of emergency.
The freedom of religion and belief has eroded in recent decades as the government persists in maintaining laws and policies that entrench discrimination on the basis of religion or faith, particularly discrimination against Copts, who constitute 8 to 10% of the population. The most prominent forms of discrimination are those related to the freedom to engage in religious rites and establish or renovate churches, restrictions placed on the right to choose or change one’s religion or faith, and certain discriminatory measures against non-Muslims in personal status. In addition, Copts are poorly represented in public office and parliamentary and municipal representative councils. Those adhering to a faith not recognized by the Egyptian state, primarily Egyptian Bahai’s, face discrimination as well. The security apparatus has continued to harass or arrest individuals because of their religious beliefs, citing the crime of “showing contempt for heavenly religions” found in the Penal Code. This provision allows the security apparatus to harass those who belong to or promote a religious belief that does not meet with the official interpretation of Islam, including Shiite Muslims and other individuals who hold or express beliefs at odds with the prevailing interpretation of Islam, such as the so called Quranists. The gravest danger in the area of religion is the state’s utter failure to deter religious bigotry, expressed particularly in the growing harassment of Copts and, more recently, Bahai’s. The state apparatus also shows no interest in tackling the rising tide of sectarian tension and violence between Muslims and Christians, even as sectarian attacks become more frequent and more geographically widespread across the country.
Recommendations
I. The revival of the ENP will require a combination of attractive incentives and conditionality based on a system of benchmarking and accountability. Attractive incentives are needed to change the political calculations of the ruling elites in the Mediterranean region. In this direction, the EU should inspire its long experience in pushing reforms in other states which have had the horizon of being members in the EU.
II. The European Parliament should use its budgetary powers to make sure that ENPI brings concrete and effective results on human rights and human development.
III. The Egyptian government request to upgrade the bilateral relations with the EU should be clearly conditioned on the significant implementation of the human rights and democracy provisions of the action plan including:
A. The immediate lifting of state of emergency
B. Put an end to any harassment against political activists and bloggers.
C. ensuring freedom of association for NGOs, political parties and trade unions
D. The adherence to international standards of fairness and competitiveness of elections including amending article 76 to allow independent candidates to run for the presidential elections and the reception of international electoral observation.
E. The declaration of a public and official plan on combating torture, ill-treatment and excessive use of force.
F. Ensuring the basic rights of religious minorities
IV. The European Commission should develop a detailed evaluation plan for monitoring the implementation of the action plan and setting defined indicators to monitor the government commitments, according to which government receive financial assistance within the framework of the Neighborhood Policy Instrument. Engage the local and regional civil society in this process systematically and continually.
V. The European Commission should systematically share information with the civil society institutions specially information related to ENPI projects and the sub-committees meetings and give utmost priority for the protection of human rights defenders and the freedom and independence of the civil society institutions.
VI. Prioritizing human rights in any political or diplomatic talks between the EU and the government of Egypt and consulting with the civil society regarding priorities to be discussed in meetings.
VII. The European Parliament to from a high level mission to the coming parliamentary and presidential elections.
VIII. To raise human rights issues in the next inter-parliamentary delegation with Egyptian MPs and to urge the European states to put human rights on the agenda of the first upcoming EU-Egypt summit.
IX. EU institutions notably the European Parliament and European Commission should put Egypt under scrutiny in the coming two years given the fact of the parliamentary and presidential elections and the expected increasing risks that would be faced by human rights and democracy defenders.
Finally, the promotion of democracy and human rights in Egypt and other Mediterranean countries is highly connected to strategic interests, security and stability in Europe. The deteriorating situation in the region will bring more terrorists and radicals who threaten the basic values of modernity. The illegal immigration flow will increase simply because people live in a repellent environment that does not guarantee the basic needs of humanity. The solution is not to unite with despotism but to respond to people aspirations.
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