CAIRO: Human rights violations, institutional corruption, and structural reforms were among the key topics discussed over a two-day conference held by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) in collaboration with the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ).
The conference, held on Oct. 30-31, held an agenda titled “Transitional Justice in Egypt and the Arab World: Challenges and Opportunities.”
The conference began with testimonies from families of victims of the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, particularly with statements from Lamyaa Farhani, a Tunisian martyr’s sister and chairwoman of the Association of the Families of the Revolutions’ Martyrs and Wounded, and Vivian Magdy, whose fiancée was killed in the Maspero events on Oct. 9.
Farhani’s emotional speech had centered on the brutality of the Ben Ali regime’s cling to power, but in the end concluded that “glory was to the martyrs,” who had ushered the changes.
By contrast however, Magdy’s speech and testimony was not about denunciation of former regimes, but condemnation of current atrocities, particularly the brutality of the Maspero events, vowing that “justice will be brought against the perpetrators.”
Both testimonies highlighted however that both countries were facing similar ‘counter-revolutionary’ threats and undergoing the same transitional challenges.
The conference explored the general theme of ‘transitional justice’ and drew experience from former states with similar experiences, such as the dictatorial regimes of Latin America, post-colonial regimes in Africa, and former Soviet-satellites in Eastern Europe.
The conference debates were not limited to Arab countries that had been affected by the Arab Spring such as Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, but those still experiencing upheaval such as Syria and Bahrain, including also others that had undergone previous regime changes such as Iraq and Sudan.
Of chief interest were debates concerning review and reform of the police and security sectors, in which experts presented almost identical cases of violations in Tunisia, Egypt and Syria.
Abdel Razek ben Khalifa, councilor at the Administrative Court of Tunisia, noted how originally the Tunisian Bill of Rights had stipulated that “the state provided security to its citizens,” and how this had been contrasted with the succeeding regimes notion that “citizens’ security was placed second after state security.”
Similar remarks were made by Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, who had noted that extending states of emergency allowed “states of ‘exceptionality’ to be given to the state.”
Bahgat also elaborated in his speech that Egypt is now experiencing disappointment after the unfulfillment of the “February aspirations” after the new players taking power had failed to reform the security sector appropriately.
“In the [Ministry of the Interior], there was no admission of the [problems], nor even of guilt for any of their violations,” and that police officers felt not only wounded by the populace but as righteous as ever, Bahgat further noted.
Radwan Ziyadeh, president of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies, added to their grievances on the security situation in Syria, commenting that “for every 153 citizens in Syria, there is an intelligence officer,” and that the dilemma required restructuring for security apparatuses to report to the legislative branches as opposed to the executive in government.
“We have to establish the idea [in the security sector] that genuine authority is not an invisible authority,” he added.
The results of the conference are scheduled to be released in an official press statement by CIHRS.
