Okeil: To promote the human rights situation of migrants in Egypt, developing economic and social integration plans is the best solution

Pasha: inter-state agreements discussing the status of migrants must be activated and included in national contexts

As part of Egypt’s executive procedures to participate in the plan to integrate migrants residing on its land into the formal economy; through training, employment, and qualification for the labor market, Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights launched the 3rd version of the training program "Educating Migrants about Egyptian Laws", held in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Egypt.

This training comes within the framework of the social responsibility of Maat in order to raise awareness of the rights of migrants, build their capabilities and enhance their economic and social conditions in Egypt. The two-day training, organized in June 10 and 11, was attended by migrants of various nationalities.

The training program covered several intertwining themes, in the context of raising awareness about the basic principles of protecting human rights in general and the rights of migrants in particular. The training also touched upon the introductory frameworks on international covenants and treaties that address the situation of migrants in the world, focusing on the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CRMW), the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, among other UN conventions that protect the rights of migrants from a global perspective.

Day-two session included several discussions and workshops on the main challenges facing migrants in the host country, and the working groups came up with a set of recommendations on security, cultural, economic and social challenges facing migrants in Egypt.

Ayman Okeil, the international human rights expert and president of Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights, commended the strenuous efforts made by the Egyptian government regarding the plan to integrate migrants into the state’s formal economy through official agencies, in order to enhance their living conditions and promote their human rights situation, especially at the economic and social levels.

In addition, Okeil stressed the importance of not only promoting but also enforcing these government efforts in an effective and clear manner so that they can cover larger group of migrants residing in Egypt.

In the same context, Abdul-Rahman Pasha, director of the Sustainable Development Unit at Maat, stressed the significance of the panel discussions and workshops organized by Maat over two full days, which produced a set of recommendations and solutions to address most of the challenges faced by migrants, especially those related to economic and social rights, in order to develop the services provided to Egypt-based migrants.

In his speech, Pasha referred to one of the most key recommendations made by migrants during the training program with the aim of promoting their human rights conditions in Egypt; that is to urgently activate inter-state agreements discussing the status of migrants and work to integrate them into the national policies of the host countries.

Notably, this training is organized under the framework of the memorandum of understanding signed between Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights and the International Organization for Migration in Egypt, which aims to promote and protect the rights of migrants, through a number of training programs such as this one.