December 10 was the anniversary of the International Declaration of Human Rights.
But while the whole world kicked off celebrations marking 60 years since the declaration was made in 1948, Egypt has begun its own ingenious festivities before everyone else, making the event unforgettable for both Egyptians and the rest of the world.
For the first time since human rights organizations were set up in Egypt two decades ago, the government has recently shut down two such establishments. And it is currently going after others with arbitrary and complicated amendments to the NGO law that would make it easier for the government to either close them off, or force them to shut themselves down.
The state-run media has repeatedly accused human rights organizations of ignoring the poor and focusing primarily on the elite. It has criticized their focus on civil and political rights rather than economic and social ones, attacking their failure to work outside Cairo, particularly in the southern provinces.
What is most astonishing is that the two organizations which were recently closed down were the ones focusing most on the poor. The Association for Human Rights and Legal Aid (AHRLA) offers free services to people who cannot afford lawyers and has offices in Alexandria and Aswan.
As for the Center for Trade Union and Workers’ Services – which won the French Republic award in 1999 – and helps workers, it is based in Helwan, a blue-collar neighborhood on the outskirts of Cairo. It has offices in two other working-class cities: Al Mahalla Al Kobra, in the heart of the Delta, and in Nagaa’ Hamady, in the far south.
And in keeping with the festive spirit, and for the first time in its history, the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) – established by the Egyptian government four years ago – personally took on the responsibility of attacking international human rights reports on behalf of the government.
The NCHR’s board accused the Amnesty International report on torture in Egypt of publishing “information lacking credibility, despite having previously published a similar report isolating similar incidents.
Like Amnesty International, the Council s report concluded that the problem of torture in Egypt is organized and systematic.
In another incident, the Council criticized Egyptian and international organizations for protesting the eligibility of the Egyptian government for representation in the UN Human Rights Council. A spokesperson for the Council also lambasted a report criticizing the lack of religious freedom in Egypt.
Ironically the NCHR’s reports are themselves regarded by the Egyptian government as “lacking credibility and the Council has complained about the government s refusal to be forthcoming with information.
How then can it assume the authority of assessing the credibility of others?
This year witnessed an unprecedented phenomenon: that of widespread mobile video footage of torture in police stations. Ironically again, government s response to this was decisive: instead of working to put an end to torture practices, it banned the use of mobile phones inside police stations!
This year also marked sharp blow to freedom of the press, as the president of the Wafd party and five editors-in-chief of independent and opposition news papers were handed prison terms for publishing charges brought against them by National Democratic Party lawyers. Investigations of other independent editors facing other charges also continue.
As a result of these developments, when the Cairo Center for Human Rights Studies won the French Republic award this year, I was overwhelmed with joy, but was also concerned that it might face the same fate as the organization which received the awarded eight years ago.
The day after the award was announced Al-Ahram published the news under a headline which in itself deserves an international award: “Egypt Wins an International Award for Promoting Human Rights!
The headline abated some of my tension – it’s hard to imagine the government shutting down “Egypt. But without a doubt, if the state continues to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the International Declaration of Human Rights along the same lines, the whole country will soon be under lock and key.
Bahey Eldin Hassan is the Director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS).
