Council for Human Rights Calls for Ending State of Emergency, Countering Torture and Improving Detainees' Situation

Al-Masry Al-Youm has received the text of the initial report of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR). This report is expected to be discussed during the periodic review of the UN Human Rights Council in February 2010 to assess the human rights situation in Egypt.

The first recommendation of the report is to end the State of Emergency and its relative procedures, calling at the same time to improve the conditions of prisoners and detainees according to the sentences passed on them.

The report calls for countering torture and following up on the bill already drawn up by the Council to amend the Penal Code so that it may be consistent with the international convention against torture. The report also calls for stepping up the Public Prosecution's visits to the various prisons and detention centers, including police stations, and considering preparing a bill on a judge overseeing the implementation of punishments or a care judge like in the Italian Law.

Concerning the continuing efforts to promote citizens' rights, the report stresses the importance of enacting a uniform law on building and restoring houses of worship, as this would be important to put an end to sectarian tensions.

The report also recommends that the Council should draw up a law on equal opportunities and against discrimination and should submit it to the government on the basis of the concept paper adopted by the NCHR and submitted to the government in early 2008.

The report also calls for granting identity papers to each and every citizen regardless of their religious beliefs.

As for freedom of opinion and expression, the Council calls for amending the Code of Procedures and the Code of Criminal Procedures to stop the use of lawsuits as a new form of intellectual terrorism against thinkers, writers, journalists and men of letters.

The NCHR also calls for stopping the bans to screen movies or the revocations of licenses of newspapers and magazines.

The report believes these procedures affect freedom of scientific research and belief.

Several clauses of the report touch on the reform of the electoral system, the promotion of women's rights, and the right to form organizations and hold peaceful gatherings.

This report has been prepared by a unit of the Council headed by Dr. Hossam Badrawi and including Dr. Salah Eddin Amer and Mona Zulfiqar.

This is one of three reports due to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council by the Government, the NCHR and non-governmental organizations no later than the end of November 2009.

Well-informed sources affirmed that the NCHR has been funded with some $150,000 by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).