Mid-term evaluation report of the universal periodic review of the Egyptian government's progress in implementing the 2014 recommendations

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The Universal Periodic Review, Reports

March 23, 2017

Mid-Term Evaluation Report of the UPR

The extent of the Egyptian government's progress in implementing the 2014 recommendations

March 2015 - January 2017

Issued by

Egyptian Civil Society Organizations Alliance for the Universal Periodic Review

Under a project

The Universal Periodic Review as a Tool to Improve Public Policies during the Transition

(Funded by the European Union)

“This release was implemented with the help of the European Union. The content of this publication is the responsibility of the Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights and can in no way be considered a reflection of the vision of the European Union.

Introduction:

In November 2014, the Arab Republic of Egypt underwent a universal periodic review, as it submitted to the Egyptian government 300 recommendations during the interactive dialogue session, and in March 2015 during the report adoption session, the Egyptian government partially and completely accepted 247 recommendations, and during the period from March 2015 until January 2017 (22 months) The Egyptian political arena witnessed political stability following the second revolutionary wave on June 30, 2013, during which the national forces agreed to meet the demands of tens of millions who gathered in the streets, demanding the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi, who was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and during his rule multiple violations of human rights were practiced. And our aggression on the democratic path after the January 2011 revolution.

The Egyptian Parliament was elected at the end of 2015, and its first session and nearly half of its second session ended until the preparation of this report. The same period witnessed extremely difficult economic pressures due to the implementation of the Egyptian government’s financial reform program and economic measures that affected the national currency, which decreased a lot, which led to a wave High inflation, and behind high rates of unemployment and increased rates of the poor or vulnerable to live below the poverty line.

During this period she initiated the Foundation , Maat for Peace, Development, and Human Rights By calling for founding Egyptian Civil Society Organizations Alliance for the Universal Periodic Review Its membership expanded to include 227 organizations as of the date of preparation of the report, and democratic elections were held to elect a board of trustees based on managing the coalition in May 2016.

methodology

The Civil Society Organizations Coalition for the Universal Periodic Review monitored and followed up the extent of the Egyptian government's commitment to implementing the UPR recommendations it accepted in March 2015, up to January 2017, as the monitoring process relied on highlighting the following information: -

Issues related to the recommendations (25 topics), as well as the number of recommendations emanating from each case
The constitutional framework relevant to each issue.
Legal developments.
Gaps in the legal and institutional system.
The most important statistics and facts related to the issues subject to the recommendations.

Progress in implementing recommendations

Strengthening counterterrorism efforts

The Egyptian government has submitted 6 recommendations related to strengthening its efforts to combat terrorism, and the Egyptian government has accepted all of these recommendations:

The Egyptian constitution stipulates in Article 237, “The state is committed to confront terrorism, in all its forms and forms, and to trace its sources of financing, according to a specific timetable, as it is a threat to the homeland and citizens, while ensuring public rights and freedoms. The law shall regulate the provisions and procedures for combating terrorism and fair compensation for damages resulting from it and because of it.

On August 14, 2015, Law No. 94 of 2015 on combating terrorism was issued, which included a definition of the terrorist group, terrorist action and terrorist financing, and defined criminal and misdemeanor court departments to hear cases. The law also stipulated the protection of those who implement this law from the army and the police from Any legal consequences if they use force while implementing this law. The law also fines anyone who broadcasts or publishes "unreal" information about attacks or military operations in violation of the official narrative from the official authorities. This law is considered one of the most important laws adopted by the Egyptian government in light of its fight against terrorism, despite some criticisms directed at the law. In light of considering some of its articles restricting the rights and freedoms in the country.

During the past two years, Egypt has witnessed several terrorist operations that have claimed the lives of innocent civilians, policemen, the army, prominent judicial figures and public figures. Perhaps among the most prominent of these incidents is the assassination of the former Egyptian Attorney General Hisham Barakat and the assassination attempt of the Assistant Public Prosecutor, as well as the attempt to assassinate Dr. Ali Gomaa, who is one of the most important personalities. Moderately religious, and the assassination of the priest Raphael Musa, the priest of St. George's Church in El-Arish.

Promote child and family rights

The Egyptian government received 7 recommendations related to the promotion and protection of the rights of the child and the family, and the Egyptian government accepted them all.

The constitution stipulates in Article 10 that “the family is the basis of society, its foundation is religion, morals and patriotism, and the state is keen on its cohesion and stability and the consolidation of its values”.

Article 80 states, "The state is committed to caring for and protecting the child from all forms of violence, abuse, ill-treatment, and sexual and commercial exploitation."

During the period covered by the report, the Prime Minister’s decision was issued to amend some provisions of the executive regulations of the Child Law. Decree No. 178 of 2016 included amending a number of articles in the executive regulations issued in 2010, allowing children to be delivered to alternative families wishing to foster them starting from the age of 3 months Instead of two years, and broadening the base of alternative families that may sponsor children of unknown parentage by raising the age of the spouses wishing to sponsor to sixty years instead of 55 years, the conditions that must be met in these families have also been amended in a way that ensures the child grows up in a family that is socially, financially, healthily and psychologically capable. The child foster care system has also been abolished.

Also during the same period, a decision was issued to establish the Childhood and Motherhood Welfare Fund headed by the Secretary General of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood in August 2016, and the Ministry of Social Solidarity launched a national project that addresses the phenomenon of street children in July 2016.

Despite this, there is still an urgent need for greater legislative and procedural reforms to overcome the phenomena of child exploitation and besiege the phenomenon of street children, as well as the problem of child labor in hazardous work, which requires amending the laws on children, work, care homes, and penalties.

Supporting people with disabilities

The Egyptian government received 9 recommendations related to supporting the rights of persons with disabilities, and the Egyptian government accepted 8 recommendations completely, and took note of only one recommendation.

The Egyptian constitution stipulated in several of its articles the necessity to support persons with disabilities and work to protect their rights and ensure non-discrimination against them in relation to public rights and freedoms in the context of the constitution’s safeguarding of public rights and freedoms (Articles 53, 54, 55), and the constitution stipulated in its Article 81 on That “the state is committed to guaranteeing the health, economic, social, cultural, entertainment, sports and educational rights of persons with disabilities and dwarves, and to provide them with job opportunities, with a percentage of them allocated to them, and to create public facilities and the surrounding environment, and their exercise of all political rights, and their integration with other citizens, in fulfillment of the principles of Equality, justice and equal opportunity.

During the period covered by the report, the Ministry of Social Solidarity launched the National Strategy for the Protection and Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, which will continue to be implemented for a period of 3 years until 2019, and several ministerial decisions were issued in the direction of strengthening the educational rights of students with disabilities, most notably the following: -

The Minister of Education Decision No. 229 of 2016 was issued, regarding merging Students with disabilities Simple technical education schools
In January 2017, the Council of Ministers approved a draft decision to amend some provisions of the executive regulations of the Universities Organization Law promulgated by Law No. 49 of 1972, which provides for the establishment of the first Faculty of Sciences for People with Disabilities and Rehabilitation at Zagazig University. Also during the same period, the Supreme Council of Universities issued a decision to allow all university colleges to Students with disabilities in the coordination of the new year for admission to universities and higher institutes, subject to the approval of the committee to which the student will present the possibility of joining the college he wants.
In addition, the Ministry of Education Resolution No. 42 of 2015 was issued regarding the admission of pupils with minor disabilities into public education schools. Governmental and private.

In conjunction with the issuance of the current report, the Egyptian parliament is discussing a specialized law for people with disabilities, but on the other hand there are still influential challenges that limit the access of people with disabilities to many of their legal rights, as the number of schools qualified to accommodate people with disabilities is still insufficient and poor in means, and even one of these has been closed. Schools in Damanhur, Buhaira Governorate, in September 2016.

Although the Egyptian law provides for the allocation of 5% percent of jobs in any establishment for the disabled, this right is not activated, especially in private economic and service establishments that are not owned by the state, which negatively affects the economic and social rights of people with disabilities, and the approach to integrating people with disabilities is not It is clear and does not take into account the legal reality and practical practices in the different sectors of society, unlike what is stipulated in the Egyptian constitution, as most public facilities, educational and health institutions, etc. are not eligible.

Combating violence against women

The Egyptian government received 28 recommendations related to combating violence against women. The Egyptian government accepted 25 recommendations fully, and 3 recommendations partially accepted.

The Egyptian constitution stipulates in its Article No. 11 that “The state is obligated to protect women against all forms of violence, and guarantees empowering women to reconcile family duties with work requirements. It is also committed to providing care and protection for motherhood, childhood, breadwinning women, the elderly, and women most in need. ”

During the period covered by the report, Law No. 78 of 2016 was issued amending some provisions of the Penal Code, by increasing the penalty for anyone who carried out female genital mutilation. Where the penalty for the perpetrator has increased from imprisonment for a period of no less than three months and not exceeding two years, to imprisonment for a period of no less than 5 years and not exceeding 7 years.

Despite this, the rates of female circumcision are still high, and most of them are done in violation of the law, and there are no effective mechanisms to ensure that this phenomenon is curbed, and the phenomenon of domestic violence against women is witnessing a great boom and there is no legal deterrent that guarantees protection for women from these practices, in addition to the widespread phenomenon of sexual harassment. In light of the weak legal penalties for the perpetrator of the crime and the weak community awareness-raising efforts regarding its danger.

Fair trial guarantees

The Egyptian government received 19 recommendations related to fair trial guarantees. It accepted 12 recommendations in full, 5 partially, and only 2 recommendations were taken into consideration.

The Egyptian constitution provides, in its articles 96, 97, and 98 good guarantees for the right to a fair and fair trial, and the current Criminal Procedure Law sets guarantees for a fair trial, but it does not allow for an acceleration of litigation to reach a prompt justice, despite the current calls to amend the law and initiatives from ministries However, there is a strong fear that these amendments will come at the expense of fair trial guarantees.

The period covered by the report witnessed great controversy regarding the failure to resolve a number of cases of killing protesters following the January 2011 revolution, and the lengthy trials of some accused members of the police in these cases, and the most prominent example of this is that the case of the killing of activist Shaima Al-Sabbagh has not yet been resolved despite the passage of Two years after she was killed.

Protect the peaceful assembly

It submitted 15 recommendations to the Egyptian government related to protecting the right to peaceful assembly. It accepted 4 recommendations in part, and 5 in total, and took note of 6 recommendations.

The constitution stipulates in Article 73 that “Citizens have the right to organize public meetings, processions and demonstrations, and all forms of peaceful protests, without carrying weapons of any kind, with notification in the manner organized by law. The right to a peaceful private meeting is guaranteed, without the need for prior notice, and security personnel may not attend, observe, or eavesdrop on it.

Despite this, the law regulating the right to peaceful assembly, Law No. 107 of 2013, is an obstacle to the realization of the right to demonstrate, which prompted the Constitutional Court recently to rule the unconstitutionality of Article 10 thereof, which allowed the Minister of Interior or the competent security director to issue a reasoned decision preventing the public meeting Or the procession or the demonstration, or postponing it, moving it to another place, or changing its course.

During the period covered by the report, the Egyptian arena witnessed numerous incidents of preventing demonstrations, arresting participants in them and trying them according to the law, and deciding harsh penalties against many of them, and the rulings issued against a number of demonstrators against the background of the issue of demarcating the maritime borders between Egypt and Saudi Arabia are among the most prominent examples of That.

Minority rights protection

Two recommendations were submitted to the Egyptian government regarding the need to protect the rights of minorities and work to guarantee them, and the government partially accepted them.

The Egyptian constitution stipulated in Article Three that “the principles of Egyptian laws, both Christians and Jews, are the main source of legislation regulating their personal status, their religious affairs, and the selection of their spiritual leaders”.

Article 64 states, “Freedom of belief is absolute. The freedom to practice religious rituals and establish places of worship for people of heavenly religions is a right regulated by law.

During the period covered by the report, Law No. 80 of 2016 concerning the issue of building and restoring churches was issued, and Cairo University also issued a decision to cancel the religion section from the official transaction papers at Cairo University, or the certificates issued by it.

Nevertheless, there are still sectarian practices committed by some citizens against their Christian peers, perhaps the most famous of which was the attack by a number of residents of the village of “Al-Karam” in the “Abu Qurqas” district in Minya Governorate, by beating, insulting and destroying the contents of their homes. They also stripped an elderly Christian woman of her clothes in May 2016, as well as the assaults of some Arab people in the eastern Al-Ola village in the Al-Nahda area in Al-Amiriya in Alexandria, against the Church of Our Lady and St. Copts A resident of the village in September 2015.

In contrast to Christians, some citizens suffer from restrictions on their freedom to express their religious beliefs, including the arrest of 4 people belonging to the "Quranists" group, in the village of Abu Hariz, which is affiliated with the Kafr Saqr Center in the Sharkia governorate in July 2015.

Protect freedom of expression

The Egyptian government presented 11 recommendations related to the protection of freedom of expression, as the Egyptian government accepted one recommendation in part, and 7 recommendations for total acceptance, and only 3 recommendations were taken into consideration.

The Egyptian constitution stipulates in its articles 65, 67, 70 and 71 to guarantee the forms of freedom of opinion and expression, literary and artistic creativity, freedom of the press, freedom of the media, and the prohibition of imposing censorship on newspapers and the media.

During the period covered by the report, Law No. 92 of 2016 was issued, with the aim of institutionalizing the press and the media. However, there are a number of serious legal loopholes that restrict freedom of expression, perhaps the most important of which is Paragraph F of Article 98 of the Penal Code, which relates to the punishment for contempt of religion, as well. Noting that the provisions of some other laws constitute a restriction of freedom of opinion and accept to be interpreted or used to diminish the rights of newspapers and the media, including Article 35 of the Anti-Terrorism Law No. 94 of 2015, which states “shall be punished with a fine of not less than two hundred thousand pounds and not exceeding five hundred thousand pounds Whoever deliberately, by any means, publishing, broadcasting, displaying or promoting false news or data about terrorist acts that took place inside the country, or operations related to combating them in contravention of the official statements issued by the Ministry of Defense, all without prejudice to the disciplinary penalties prescribed.

In all cases, the court may decide to prevent the convict from practicing the profession for a period not exceeding one year, if the crime is a breach of the principles of his profession.

Also, during the same period, a number of creative people, writers, and thinkers faced prison sentences, most notably the researcher Islam Buhairi and the novelist Ahmed Naji on charges of contempt of religions, and the same period witnessed the arrest of some photographers and journalists on charges related to the race of the protest law or publishing media materials that some authorities deem contrary to the truth.

Promote youth rights

I presented to the Egyptian government 7 recommendations related to promoting youth rights, as all of them accepted by the Egyptian government. The Egyptian constitution, in Article 82, states that “the state guarantees the care of youth and adolescents, and works to discover their talents, develop their cultural, scientific, psychological, physical and creative capabilities, and encourage them to collective and volunteer work. And enabling them to participate in public life. ”Articles 180 and 244 include allocating a quota for young people to represent them in the elected representative and local councils.

During the period covered by the report, the first national youth conference was held under the auspices of the President of the Republic, and it was followed by monthly conferences for youth. Discussions in these conferences were characterized by a high ceiling of freedom and resulted in good decisions regarding amnesty for some young people imprisoned in relation to cases related to the protest law, as well as Some other decisions related to the economic and social rights of youth.

Despite this, the youth in Egypt suffer economically very much. According to official data issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, 26.7% of youth in the age group (18-29 years) suffer from unemployment.

In addition, local elections that will ensure a large representation of youth have not yet been held despite the passage of six years since the dissolution of local councils, and the passage of three years since the approval of the Egyptian constitution, in addition to the emergence of other problems related to the inability of young people to access opportunities to finance projects and sponsor their economic initiatives due to poor Economic and financial policies adopted in this regard.

Promote women's rights

It presented 39 recommendations to the Egyptian government related to the promotion of women's rights. The government accepted 35 of them completely, 3 partially accepted, and took note of only one recommendation.

The Egyptian constitution included several articles that promote women's rights and equality with men, such as Article 11, which guarantees equality between women and men in all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and Article 180, which guarantees fair representation of women in local councils.

During the reporting period, the National Council for Women launched a media campaign to support and empower Women Egyptian women under the title “Taa Marbouta… the secret of your strength,” in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Development Program, UN Women, and the Government of Sweden.

Despite this, efforts to empower women have yet to bear fruit. According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, the rate of participation in economic activity shows a significant difference between both males and females, with the males ’contribution rate being 70.5% compared to 22.5% for females, and the employment rate for males It reached 63.9 % versus 17.0% for females.

On the political level, women won only 6 seats in five committees out of 25 quality committees within the Egyptian Parliament, with a percentage of 6% out of the members of the Office of Specific Committees, and the percentage of women’s representation in political, executive and judicial positions is still very limited. There is no woman holding the position of governor, and there are only 4 women ministers out of a total of 34 ministers. In addition, the percentage of female workers who occupy leadership and supervisory positions in government institutions is very weak, as it reached at the national level 18.8% for appointees in senior management positions, 28.8% for women appointed in a position Director general.

Against torture

I submitted 11 recommendations to the Egyptian government against torture, which were accepted by all of the Egyptian government. Article 52 of the constitution states that “torture, in all its forms and forms, is a crime that is not subject to the statute of limitations.”

Although the torture practices that were common before the January 25, 2011 revolution are no longer practiced in a widespread and systematic manner at the present time, there are multiple incidents that have been uncovered, most of them are still under investigation, the most famous of which is the killing of Talaat Shabib in Luxor as a result of torture as well as the citizen Magdy Makin in Cairo. And lawyer Karim Hamdy at the Matareya police station in Cairo, and the citizen Sayed Khazouli in the Rashid police station in Buhaira governorate.

The fundamental loophole in this case remains the failure to amend Articles 126 and 129 of the Egyptian Penal Code, which do not include a definition of the crime of torture commensurate with what is contained in the Convention against All Forms of Torture and Cruel and Degrading Treatment, which Egypt has ratified.

anti-Corruption

I submitted to the Egyptian government 7 recommendations related to combating corruption, and they all accepted them. The Egyptian constitution, in Article 218, states that “the state is committed to combating corruption, and the law determines the relevant regulatory bodies and agencies for this. The competent regulatory bodies and agencies are obligated to coordinate with each other in combating corruption, promoting the values of integrity and transparency, in order to ensure the proper performance of the public office, preserving public funds, and developing and following up the implementation of the national anti-corruption strategy, in partnership with other relevant bodies and agencies, in the manner organized by law.

Although there is strong political discourse related to combating corruption, and there are great efforts being made by the Egyptian Administrative Control Authority in controlling incidents of corruption and bringing the perpetrators to justice, the institutional and legislative structure does not guarantee adequate protection from corruption, and provides many loopholes that allow perpetrators of corruption crimes to escape punishment. For example, the institutional environment is still devoid of an independent national anti-corruption body as stipulated in the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and the legislative environment is devoid of a law to protect whistleblowers and witnesses, a law for the freedom of information circulation, as well as serious loopholes in the penal laws, Illicit gain allows for exemption from punishment for the perpetrators of the crimes of providing or mediating bribery or for the crimes of aggression against money.

Accede to and adhere to international human rights treaties and withdraw reservations

I submitted to the Egyptian government 10 recommendations related to acceding to treaties, abiding by them, and withdrawing reservations. Six recommendations were accepted entirely, and it took note of 4 recommendations. The Egyptian constitution in its Article No. 93 states that the state abides by the international conventions, covenants and international human rights covenants that Egypt ratifies. It has the force of law after its publication in accordance with the established conditions.

The period covered by the report did not witness any steps towards the ratification of the optional protocols of some international conventions to which Egypt acceded, and Egypt's reservations on some articles of the agreements remain the same before it was subject to the universal periodic review in November 2014, in addition to the fact that there are some laws that violate Some international obligations and some provisions of the constitution, such as articles criminalizing torture in the penal code, union laws, the law regulating private work, and the protest law.

Promote human rights-of-law enforcement practices

The Egyptian government has submitted 10 recommendations related to strengthening the practices of respecting human rights in law enforcement agencies, and all of them have been accepted by the government. Article No. 206 of the Egyptian constitution stipulates that “the police are a regular civil body, in the service of the people and their loyalty to them, and guarantees citizens peace and security, and ensures the protection of Public order and public morals, and it shall abide by the duties imposed on it by the constitution and the law, and respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. The state guarantees that members of the police authority perform their duties, and the law organizes guarantees that guarantee this. Article 51 states: “Dignity is the right of every human being, and it is not permissible to violate it, and the state is obligated to respect and protect it.”

During the period covered by the law, “Law No. 64 of 2016 was issued regarding amending some provisions of the Police Authority Law, which obligated the officer to abide by the provisions of this law,” most notably respect for the constitution, the law, human rights standards in the use of power and force, adherence to standards of integrity, transparency and procedural legality, protection of rights And liberties, preservation of human dignity, respect for democratic values in accordance with the constitution and the law, ensuring constitutional and legal rights and human rights standards in dealing with the accused and those suspected of having committed crimes, and on January 18, 2017, Major General Magdy Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Interior issued a decision to establish the permanent committee to control security performance in The human rights framework, to develop strategies and action plans in all the Ministry’s bodies, in line with the Egyptian constitution, laws and obligations in accordance with international treaties.

It may be too early to judge the feasibility of these measures, but the practices that have been listed in previous axes related to incidents of torture in which police officers are accused, as well as cases of violent interaction with demonstrators contradict the essence of these legal amendments, and require the aforementioned committee to adopt a clear vision and procedures. To reduce these practices and ensure they do not recur.

Strengthening national institutions in the areas of democracy and human rights

Two recommendations were presented to the government in this regard, and the Egyptian government accepted them all. The Egyptian constitution in Article 214 states that “The law defines independent national councils, including the National Council for Human Rights, the National Council for Women, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, and the National Council for Persons with Disabilities. The law, how each of them is formed, its competencies, and guarantees of independence and impartiality of its members, and it has the right to inform public authorities about any violation related to the field her job. These councils have legal personality, technical, financial and administrative independence, and their opinion is taken in draft laws, regulations related to them, and their field of work.

The reality during the reporting period is witnessing the slow pace of procedures for amending the National Council for Human Rights Law to ensure the Council's independence from the executive authority. The National Elections Commission has not yet been established and the law regulating its work has not been issued.

Ensure the right to access drinking water and sanitation services

I made one recommendation to the Egyptian government in this regard, and the government has already accepted it. The Egyptian constitution does not contain explicit articles regarding the right of citizens to obtain drinking water and sanitation services, but this right is implicitly guaranteed in Articles 18 related to the right to health care, 78 related to guaranteeing the right. In housing and facing the problem of slums.

During the period covered by the report, efforts are being made to expand the coverage of sanitation networks, and the first law to regulate the drinking water and sanitation sector in Egypt is currently being discussed. Despite this, 50% of Egyptian citizens still do not have access to safe sanitation services, and more than 80% is from rural areas without sanitation networks, and there are frequent complaints about the quality and contamination of drinking water.

Cooperating with international mechanisms to protect human rights

Egypt has submitted 15 recommendations related to cooperation with international mechanisms for the protection of human rights. The Egyptian government accepted 7 of them, partially accepted one recommendation and took note of 7 recommendations.

During the period covered by the report, Egypt submitted some reports to some human rights treaty bodies, but the cooperation with the special rapporteurs is still not at the required level, as the reporter on torture requests to visit Egypt without receiving the approval of the Egyptian government, and no steps have yet been taken in the matter of Establishing a headquarters for the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Egypt.

Regarding the institutional level, there is no permanent body concerned with communicating with international mechanisms for the protection of human rights, and the coalition has demanded the establishment of a permanent national committee whose task is to follow up all recommendations and prepare all reports for human rights protection mechanisms, but until now there is only a non-permanent committee concerned with the review. The committee is not keen to inform the public opinion of the results of its work and the periodicity of its meetings, and there is no clear mechanism for this committee to communicate with the forces of civil society.

Combating human trafficking and illegal immigration

Twelve recommendations were submitted to Egypt in the context of the issue of combating illegal immigration and human trafficking, as all of the Egyptian government accepted them. “Article 89 of the constitution states that all forms of slavery, slavery, oppression and forced exploitation of people, the sex trade, and other forms of human trafficking are prohibited. Article 60 prohibits trafficking in human organs.

During the period covered by the report, Law No. 82 of 2016 was issued to combat illegal immigration and the smuggling of immigrants, ”whereby it increased penalties for everyone who contributed and participated in an illegal immigration process. Anyone who creates or manages a place to house smuggled migrants or collect them is also punished by imprisonment. Or transferring them, facilitating or providing them with any services, and according to the law, a committee has been established in the Council of Ministers called: “The National Coordinating Committee for Combating and Preventing Illegal Migration and Human Trafficking.” The committee is responsible for coordinating at the national and international level between the policies, plans and programs devised to combat and prevent illegal immigration and provide aspects Care and services for smuggled migrants and the protection of witnesses in the framework of international obligations arising from bilateral or multilateral international agreements in force in the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Nevertheless, the phenomenon of illegal immigration was prominent during the period covered by the report, as Egypt is a major stop for gangs smuggling illegal immigrants, as dilapidated fishing boats leave Damietta or Alexandria ports with immigrants on board towards Italy or Greece, and thousands of young people have paid their lives for this Illegal travel operations, perhaps the most prominent incident was the sinking of an illegal immigration boat off the coast of Rashid, which killed about 200 people in September 2016.

According to the data of the International Organization for Migration, the number of Egyptian immigrants who arrived in Italy between January and May 2016 increased, as their number reached 1815 illegal immigrants, among them 1147 “unaccompanied” children (TTP1T 78), thus Egypt ranks tenth, among the countries exporting illegal immigrants to Italy, and the number of Egyptian illegal immigrants who reached Greece reached 1,000 in 2015.

During the same period covered by the report, cases related to trafficking in human organs exploded. In December 2016, the Administrative Control Authority seized the largest international network for trafficking in human organs, which includes Egyptians and Arabs. According to the Administrative Control Authority’s statement, it was found that the network’s members took advantage of a number of ordinary citizens ’need for money and lured them with small sums of money in exchange for obtaining and trading their members.

Promote human rights education programs

It presented 11 recommendations to Egypt in the context of the issue of promoting human rights education, as the Egyptian government fully accepted 10 recommendations and took note of only one recommendation. Article 24 of the constitution stipulates that “universities shall work to teach human rights.”

At the time of preparing the report, no human rights curriculum had been approved for the different educational stages, and there were no national plans that took an institutional and sustainable nature related to human rights education.

Promote the right to social security

Three recommendations were submitted to Egypt related to the right to social security and were accepted by the Egyptian government. The Egyptian constitution states in Article 8 that “society is based on social solidarity. The state is committed to achieving social justice and providing means of social solidarity, in a way that guarantees a decent life for all citizens, in the manner organized by law.

During the period covered by the report, there were several positive amendments to the Social Security Law that allowed the Council of Ministers to introduce different types of security pensions for the beneficiaries, and based on this legal amendment, Cabinet Resolution No. 540 of 2015 was issued regarding the Takaful and Karama program, to provide conditional cash support to families and individuals. “The Takaful and Karama program is one of the most prominent achievements of the social security despite the low pension value. In the Takaful program, the family entitled to support receives an amount of 325 pounds, and for students between 60-100 extra pounds, depending on the educational stage, and the Karama program is an individual entitlement, for the elderly over 65 years old, and the disabled are unable to work, as the individual is given an amount of 350 pounds, and it is permissible to combine the two programs for some individuals in accordance with the provisions of the law, and it is worth noting that this program targets the poorest families in need of cash support.

On the other hand, the beneficiaries of the assistance and security pensions are still much less than the actual recipients of it from the zero or low-income groups, as it is estimated that nearly a third of Egyptian families live below the poverty line, in addition to the fact that the estimated value of the security pensions is very weak compared to the high inflation that has occurred. The Egyptian market has seen it in recent months.

Respect for religious tolerance and cultural diversity

Egypt has presented 11 recommendations related to the respect and encouragement of dialogue initiatives and religious tolerance, and the Egyptian government has accepted them all. The Egyptian constitution includes multiple articles that establish the idea of citizenship and equality between citizens regardless of their religion, but it does not include specific articles that reinforce the state’s role in integrating the values of dialogue and religious tolerance and encouraging Relevant initiatives, although official political discourse repeatedly emphasizes these issues.

During the period covered by the report, the call for renewal and reform of the religious discourse was raised more than once and on multiple occasions, especially in light of the extremist groups' exploitation of the wrong understanding of many religious texts and the practice of excommunication and verbal and material violence inspired by this understanding, but the reality testifies that no serious steps have been taken in The path of reforming the religious discourse during the period covered by the report, and the state did not adopt any serious initiatives to manage a positive and constructive dialogue between members of the different religions, nor did it take concrete steps to promote the values of religious tolerance.

Promote corporate social responsibility

Egypt has received 4 recommendations in the context of this issue and has accepted them all. "Article 36 of the Constitution stipulates that the state shall stimulate the private sector to fulfill its social responsibility in serving the national economy and society."

Despite this, the period covered by the report did not witness the issuance of any legislation or decisions that would stimulate business enterprises to apply the social responsibility approach. Rather, a good number of companies that used to allocate a reasonable budget for social responsibility activities have reduced their budgets due to the difficult economic conditions in Egypt. .

In general, the Egyptian government does not adopt a clear-cut strategy with regard to promoting corporate social responsibility, and it does not provide tax exemptions or credible facilities to encourage companies to adopt this approach.

Ensuring the right to economic development

Egypt has submitted 11 recommendations in this regard and they have all accepted them. Article 236 of the constitution stipulates that “the state shall guarantee the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive economic and urban development plan for border and deprived areas, including Upper Egypt, Sinai, Matrouh and the Nuba regions.” Article 238 states the objectives of the tax system that Centered on achieving economic development.

Improving the work environment for civil organizations

Egypt provided 20 recommendations in the context of the issue of improving the private work environment. The Egyptian government partially accepted 6 recommendations, 12 recommendations were fully accepted, and two recommendations were taken into consideration.

The Egyptian constitution states in Article 75 that “Citizens have the right to form associations and civil institutions on a democratic basis, and they shall have legal personality upon notification. It exercises its activities freely, and administrative bodies may not interfere in their affairs, dissolve them, or dissolve their boards of directors or their boards of trustees except by a court ruling. It is prohibited to establish or maintain associations or civil institutions whose system or activity is secret or of a military or quasi-military character, all in the manner organized by law.

Despite this, the period covered by the report did not witness the completion of the approval of a new law for civil work in place of Law 84 of 2002, which is restrictive and detracts from the rights of civil organizations and contradicts the essence of the constitutional text and recommendations of the universal periodic review, and although Parliament took the initiative to pass a defective law for civil work. In December 2016, however, the pressure of NGOs and the effort made by the Egyptian Civil Society Organizations Coalition for the Universal Periodic Review prompted the President of the Republic to demand that Parliament reconsider the law under the constitutional authority granted to the President to object to the laws, and so far the fate of the new law remains unknown.

The same period also witnessed severe restrictions on the right of organizations to receive funding in order to implement their development interventions, in addition to the prosecution of a number of activists on charges of receiving illegal funding against the background of the case known in the media as the issue of foreign funding.

Ensuring the right to health and education

Egypt has submitted 5 recommendations in the context of this issue and it has all accepted them, and there are a number of constitutional articles that affirm the need to safeguard the right to education and health, including Article 18 which states that every citizen has the right to health and to integrated health care in accordance with quality standards, and obliges the state to allocate a percentage Of government spending for health of not less than 3 % of gross national product, gradually increasing until it meets global rates, and obliges it to establish a comprehensive health insurance system for all Egyptians that covers all diseases, and Article 219 states that education is a right for every citizen, and the state commits to allocating a percentage Of government spending for education of not less than 4% of GNP, Article 20 obliges the state to encourage and develop technical and technical education and vocational training, and Article 21 obliges the state to allocate a percentage of government spending for university education not less than 2% of GNP.

Despite this, education in Egypt still suffers greatly from its low quality, as the condition of schools is poor, the overcrowding rates in classes are very high, technical education is separate from the actual need for the labor market, and the professional and material conditions of teachers are very poor.

With regard to health, the government has not yet issued a comprehensive health insurance law for citizens, and despite the great achievement the government has made in eliminating the hepatitis C virus, the incidence of other endemic diseases and cancers is very high, and the government services provided by the state through its hospitals are characterized. Their quality is very low, and there is a shortage of medicines following the financial measures that led to the devaluation of the Egyptian pound.

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