Rayhan Ahmed Topader :
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government maintained its zero-tolerance policy towards dissent, introducing repressive legislation, notably a nongovernmental organization (NGO) law that may end independent associations, reinstating a state of emergency and continuing near-absolute impunity for abuses by security forces under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Security forces rounded up hundreds of dissidents, mainly targeting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. The Ministry of Interior’s National Security Agency arbitrarily detained, disappeared, and tortured people. There were numerous incidents of what appeared to be extrajudicial killings, including of previously detained persons in staged shoot-outs. Authorities placed hundreds of people on terrorism lists and seized their assets for alleged terrorism links without due process. Egypt has created a new high- powered human rights watchdog agency, but its primary mission isn’t to protect Egyptians from violations. Instead, the body is foremost aimed at protecting the government from allegations of rights abuses and defending it on the international stage. The new body reflects an attitude of the state under President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi that sees criticism over human rights as intended to undermine the government and cause instability at a time when it is facing militant threats and trying to rebuild a battered economy.Officials have already started a campaign against false rumors and fake news and have in some cases detained those who speak out.
At the same time, the government has sought to redefine or broaden human rights, declaring new rights to fight terrorism and protect the state. Critics see that as an attempt to legitimize and draw international attention away from alleged abuses by security forces.
Human rights cannot be divided, nor can some be given priorities over others, said Nasser Amin, a prominent rights lawyer. Maait’s comments come as Egypt enters a period of solid recovery more than seven years after its 2011 revolution and a series of terrorist attacks sent the economy spiraling. But the austerity measures behind some of this growth have led to sharply increased living costs for ordinary Egyptians and deepening social discontent.Egypt reported its highest economic growth in a decade in July, at 5.3 percent for the 2017-2018 fiscal year compared to 4.2 percent the previous year. The government aims to hit 7 percent growth by 2022, an aspiration bolstered by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) forecast of 6 percent growth in the near-term the highest in North Africa and a reduction in inflation and unemployment of 7 percent by 2022.The country’s lofty macro figures stem from a number of IMF-imposed structural reforms implemented by the Egyptian government since late 2016, alongside a $12 billion loan from the international lender. Egypt floated its currency, began reducing subsidies and raising taxes, and enacted a series of investment reforms including lowering taxes and facilitating bureaucratic processes for international companies boosting foreign investor confidence.
The private sector has already reaped benefits, with Egypt’s benchmark EGX 30 index up 38.5 percent since December 2016.The High Permanent Commission for Human rights does not include any rights activists. Its main members are representatives of the Foreign Ministry, the military, the intelligence agencies and the Interior Ministry, which oversees a police force accused of torture and forced disappearances, claims that are categorically denied by the government.The mission of the body, according to a Cabinet statement, is to respond to claims made against Egypt’s human rights record and formulate a “unified Egyptian vision” to be stated in regional and international forums. One key role will be to deal with the UN Human Rights Council, which is to review the situation in Egypt in late 2019.
This is a body that will seek to improve the image of the country, not actual human rights, said Gamal Eid, a prominent rights lawyer.
Rather than fight the root causes of human rights violations, it has been customary for Egypt to set up committees to confuse the scene. Egyptian diplomacy has been effective at drawing attention away from violations.
Egypt’s human rights record is being scrutinized more closely than at any time in decades, chiefly because of the large-scale crackdown that followed the 2013 ouster by the military.Authorities have jailed thousands of Islamists, along with secular activists, silenced critics in the media and slapped travel bans on dozens of activists.Human Rights Watch said in September that Egypt’s crackdown on freedom of expression has reached alarming new levels.
In a report last week, the group said at least 40 rights lawyers and political activists have been arrested since October.The government has dismissed such reports, saying they are based on misinformation.Mr Eid and other rights campaigners say the new body is a reincarnation of a near identical one that was in charge of the human rights issue from the 1980s until 2004, when it was dissolved. In 2004, the government created the National Council for Human Rights, or NCHR, a quasi-state body that enjoys a margin of freedom and voices some criticism of officials and police.That year also saw the government start introducing a series of modest reforms that allowed a measure of openness for opposition forces, believed by many to have partially paved the way for the 2011 pro-democracy uprising that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak.I imagine there is a faction within the government that wants to take the country completely back to pre-2004, said Mr Amin. The new commission reflects that faction’s displeasure over the government’s inability to fully control the NCHR, he said.Sisi, in office since 2014, says his priorities are security and reviving the economy, focusing on the fight against militants and introducing ambitious reforms to overhaul the economy. He has publicly expressed his contempt for politics and his disapproval of the 2011 uprising, while projecting an image of himself as a savior or a patriotic, God-fearing leader determined to make his country stable and prosperous.To him, the right to heath care, suitable housing and women’s rights are as important as freedom of speech and other rights.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government maintained its zero-tolerance policy towards dissent, introducing repressive legislation, notably a nongovernmental organization (NGO) law that may end independent associations, reinstating a state of emergency and continuing near-absolute impunity for abuses by security forces under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Security forces rounded up hundreds of dissidents, mainly targeting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. The Ministry of Interior’s National Security Agency arbitrarily detained, disappeared, and tortured people. There were numerous incidents of what appeared to be extrajudicial killings, including of previously detained persons in staged shoot-outs. Authorities placed hundreds of people on terrorism lists and seized their assets for alleged terrorism links without due process. Egypt has created a new high- powered human rights watchdog agency, but its primary mission isn’t to protect Egyptians from violations. Instead, the body is foremost aimed at protecting the government from allegations of rights abuses and defending it on the international stage. The new body reflects an attitude of the state under President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi that sees criticism over human rights as intended to undermine the government and cause instability at a time when it is facing militant threats and trying to rebuild a battered economy.Officials have already started a campaign against false rumors and fake news and have in some cases detained those who speak out.
At the same time, the government has sought to redefine or broaden human rights, declaring new rights to fight terrorism and protect the state. Critics see that as an attempt to legitimize and draw international attention away from alleged abuses by security forces.
Human rights cannot be divided, nor can some be given priorities over others, said Nasser Amin, a prominent rights lawyer. Maait’s comments come as Egypt enters a period of solid recovery more than seven years after its 2011 revolution and a series of terrorist attacks sent the economy spiraling. But the austerity measures behind some of this growth have led to sharply increased living costs for ordinary Egyptians and deepening social discontent.Egypt reported its highest economic growth in a decade in July, at 5.3 percent for the 2017-2018 fiscal year compared to 4.2 percent the previous year. The government aims to hit 7 percent growth by 2022, an aspiration bolstered by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) forecast of 6 percent growth in the near-term the highest in North Africa and a reduction in inflation and unemployment of 7 percent by 2022.The country’s lofty macro figures stem from a number of IMF-imposed structural reforms implemented by the Egyptian government since late 2016, alongside a $12 billion loan from the international lender. Egypt floated its currency, began reducing subsidies and raising taxes, and enacted a series of investment reforms including lowering taxes and facilitating bureaucratic processes for international companies boosting foreign investor confidence.
The private sector has already reaped benefits, with Egypt’s benchmark EGX 30 index up 38.5 percent since December 2016.The High Permanent Commission for Human rights does not include any rights activists. Its main members are representatives of the Foreign Ministry, the military, the intelligence agencies and the Interior Ministry, which oversees a police force accused of torture and forced disappearances, claims that are categorically denied by the government.The mission of the body, according to a Cabinet statement, is to respond to claims made against Egypt’s human rights record and formulate a “unified Egyptian vision” to be stated in regional and international forums. One key role will be to deal with the UN Human Rights Council, which is to review the situation in Egypt in late 2019.
This is a body that will seek to improve the image of the country, not actual human rights, said Gamal Eid, a prominent rights lawyer.
Rather than fight the root causes of human rights violations, it has been customary for Egypt to set up committees to confuse the scene. Egyptian diplomacy has been effective at drawing attention away from violations.
Egypt’s human rights record is being scrutinized more closely than at any time in decades, chiefly because of the large-scale crackdown that followed the 2013 ouster by the military.Authorities have jailed thousands of Islamists, along with secular activists, silenced critics in the media and slapped travel bans on dozens of activists.Human Rights Watch said in September that Egypt’s crackdown on freedom of expression has reached alarming new levels.
In a report last week, the group said at least 40 rights lawyers and political activists have been arrested since October.The government has dismissed such reports, saying they are based on misinformation.Mr Eid and other rights campaigners say the new body is a reincarnation of a near identical one that was in charge of the human rights issue from the 1980s until 2004, when it was dissolved. In 2004, the government created the National Council for Human Rights, or NCHR, a quasi-state body that enjoys a margin of freedom and voices some criticism of officials and police.That year also saw the government start introducing a series of modest reforms that allowed a measure of openness for opposition forces, believed by many to have partially paved the way for the 2011 pro-democracy uprising that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak.I imagine there is a faction within the government that wants to take the country completely back to pre-2004, said Mr Amin. The new commission reflects that faction’s displeasure over the government’s inability to fully control the NCHR, he said.Sisi, in office since 2014, says his priorities are security and reviving the economy, focusing on the fight against militants and introducing ambitious reforms to overhaul the economy. He has publicly expressed his contempt for politics and his disapproval of the 2011 uprising, while projecting an image of himself as a savior or a patriotic, God-fearing leader determined to make his country stable and prosperous.To him, the right to heath care, suitable housing and women’s rights are as important as freedom of speech and other rights.
