Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has stressed that Egypt is committed to protecting personal freedoms.
Al-Sisi’s remarks came during the launch of the country’s National Strategy for Human Rights on Saturday at the New Administrative Capital. The new scheme aims at developing a comprehensive approach to human rights as an integral part of the country’s national development.
“Egypt welcomes differences of opinion as long as they respect the freedoms of others, as well as constructive criticism, to achieve the best for the country and people,” he said.
The Strategy is the “first comprehensive and long-term scheme in the human rights field in Egypt,” according to presidential spokesperson Bassam Rady.
During the ceremony, Al-Sisi hailed the role of the civil society as the main and most important party in enhancing and protecting human rights at the political, economic, and social levels.
Moreover, he stressed that the state and civil society partnership is indispensable, highlighting the issuance of many laws, including the Exercise of Political Rights and the Regulation the Work of Civil Associations, to ensure the protection of personal freedoms.
He said the Egyptian state has achieved remarkable progress in establishing equality and non-discrimination values in the Egyptian society.
The Egyptian President also called on civil society organizations to pay attention to training youth in the field of human rights.
During the ceremony, Al-Sisi asserted that every citizen has the right to enjoy a decent life, calling on political entities and civil society organizations to enrich the Egyptian political scene and support the freedom of expression.
He stressed the government’s need to strengthen communication with various NGOs to enhance mechanisms for implementing the Regulation the Work of Civil Associations Law and to spread the culture of respecting human rights in society.
Al-Sisi called for establishing an active administrative apparatus characterized by efficiency, justice, and non-discrimination, to cooperate with civil society organisations to provide an appropriate environment for human rights, in addition to receiving and resolving human rights complaints.
The event was attended by a number of ministers, state officials, and representatives of human rights and civil society groups.
Speaking at the event, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that the Supreme Permanent Committee for Human Rights, which is chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was responsible for drafting the new strategy.
The Permanent Committee was established in 2018 as per a decree by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to manage the human rights file in Egypt.
Shoukry said the state has prepared the National Strategy for Human Rights through scientific and consultative approaches.
Over the course of a year, the state has studied human rights recommendations put forth by Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights and coordinated with more than 30 ministries and bodies to assess the requirements of their implementation, Shoukry said.
Moreover, Egypt’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ahmed Ehab Gamal El-Din, said the new Strategy aims to ensure the right of citizens to participate in political life and form political parties. He asserted that this strategy would lead to the building of a state of law.
The strategy will also promote and develop the values of citizenship and create societal awareness of the importance of respecting religious freedoms.
Furthermore, President of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR), Nazhat Shameem Khan, hailed the launch of Egypt’s first National Strategy for Human Rights.
She said that the National Strategy is an important step for implementing international human rights criteria and guaranteeing human rights.
