The Concluding Observations adopted by the Human Rights Committee at its recently concluded 99th session, held in Geneva , from 12 to 30 July 2010, through the listserve administered by the Human RightsTreaties Branch, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
For your information, the Concluding Observations are provided in the original language of adoption and unedited version. Final version and translations into additional languages to be found in due course on the Treaty Body Database of the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/hrcs99.htm.
8/16/2010
8/15/2010
Bahrain: Detaining a Blogger by Royal Incitement The Arabic Network Demands Releasing Abd El Galil Al Singace
From:The Arabic Network
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information condemned today , the Bahraini security arresting of the human rights activist , blogger and academic , Abd El Galil AlSingace,PhD and chairman of the human rights office in Haq movement for rights and freedoms. AlSingace was arrested upon his return from London on 13/8/2010 for allegations of ” disseminating false news about internal affairs in Bahrain and defaming judiciary and executive authorities”. AlSingace took part in a session in the British house of Lords discussing human rights violations in Bahrain.
For more details:
http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=1077
Henger- we will change it - "begins to an opened strike in front of to the Institution of Jails
By: Youm 7
the Youth Movement for Justice and Freedom "Henger" announced the beginning of an open-ended strike in front of the he Institution of Jails on Monday afternoon. The movement asked for protecting Ahmed Doma after being subjected to harassment within the prison- Qata prison. The prison is specified for persons who committed serious crimes and classified as serious dangerous criminals.
For more details:
http://www.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=265957&SecID=65&IssueID=126
"Campaign to support Gamal Mubarak," begin collecting signatures tomorrow
By: Youm 7
8/16/2101tomorrow, the campaign "Gamal Mubarak, Egypt is looking forward to a new beginning", which aims to collect five million signatures in support of Secretary of Policies for his candidacy in the presidential election of 2011. 10 thousand signatures are expected to be collected 10 thousand signatures from people of only two electoral districts. For more details: http://www.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=266152&SecID=65&IssueID=126
8/14/2010
Street campaigns on the rise for both opposition and regime supporters
By: Almasry-Alyoum
Collecting signatures for petitions and distributing leaflets have recently become trademarks of street politics in Egypt among both regime supporters and opposition.
Members of the 6th April movement handed out leaflets yesterday to people leaving the mosques in Mansoura following Friday prayers as part of a campaign entitled “Egypt is Ours”. The statement urged citizens to speak out against oppression and inflation.
The pamphlets also condemned what they described as the failure of the education system, low salaries, the use of violence by the regime to suppress political opposition and the rigging of elections.
Participants were also collecting signatures for the nomination of Mohamed ElBaradei, former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and for his seven demands for change.
Ahmed al-Bernawi, spokesperson for the movement in Mansoura, said the statement is in the form of a dialogue between two Egyptians discussing these particular social issues. Its purpose is to raise people’s awareness of their political and social rights.
Meanwhile, yesterday, security forces released Mohamed Adel Souka and Yasser al-Sayyed who had been detained for two hours for giving out Ramadan calendars bearing the movement’s logo to passers-by in Downtown Cairo.
In a related development, a number of political activists called for a march in Mansheyya Square in Alexandria today at noon to protest against torture, random arrests and the harassment of political activists, particularly in the local area.
This follows accusations two days ago, by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) against security forces in Alexandria of kidnapping the political activist coordinating the campaign for the nomination of Hamdein Sabbahi, deputy head of the Karama Party, and detaining him at an unknown location.
Supporters of the regime and its potential presidential candidate Gamal Mubarak, son of the current president, have also resorted to street politics to advertise their cause.
Marwa Hadad, director of the campaign launched earlier this month, entitled “Gamal Mubarak, Egypt is looking to a new beginning”, said the number of people who have physically signed the statement nominating Mubarak junior for the presidency has reached 6000. Added to the 22,000 e-signatures which have also been collected, this brings the total number to over 28,000.
Hadad added that the campaign to collect nominations will hit the streets of Cairo this Monday, beginning with the populous districts of Gammaliya and Mansheyyet Nasser.
Meanwhile, in Sharqiya, the Popular Coalition for the Support of Gamal Mubarak yesterday held a conference in the village of Shabra Soura following Friday prayers. The conference sought to raise awareness of the campaign’s objectives and gather signatures for the coalition’s seven demands.
Ahmed al-Menshawi, general coordinator for the campaign in Sharqiya, said Gamal’s supporters will be required to show their national identity cards and to sign the petition in public. He added that two new branches for the coalition have opened in Sharqiya , raising the total number of branches in this area alone to four.
By: Almasry-Alyoum
Collecting signatures for petitions and distributing leaflets have recently become trademarks of street politics in Egypt among both regime supporters and opposition.
Members of the 6th April movement handed out leaflets yesterday to people leaving the mosques in Mansoura following Friday prayers as part of a campaign entitled “Egypt is Ours”. The statement urged citizens to speak out against oppression and inflation.
The pamphlets also condemned what they described as the failure of the education system, low salaries, the use of violence by the regime to suppress political opposition and the rigging of elections.
Participants were also collecting signatures for the nomination of Mohamed ElBaradei, former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and for his seven demands for change.
Ahmed al-Bernawi, spokesperson for the movement in Mansoura, said the statement is in the form of a dialogue between two Egyptians discussing these particular social issues. Its purpose is to raise people’s awareness of their political and social rights.
Meanwhile, yesterday, security forces released Mohamed Adel Souka and Yasser al-Sayyed who had been detained for two hours for giving out Ramadan calendars bearing the movement’s logo to passers-by in Downtown Cairo.
In a related development, a number of political activists called for a march in Mansheyya Square in Alexandria today at noon to protest against torture, random arrests and the harassment of political activists, particularly in the local area.
This follows accusations two days ago, by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) against security forces in Alexandria of kidnapping the political activist coordinating the campaign for the nomination of Hamdein Sabbahi, deputy head of the Karama Party, and detaining him at an unknown location.
Supporters of the regime and its potential presidential candidate Gamal Mubarak, son of the current president, have also resorted to street politics to advertise their cause.
Marwa Hadad, director of the campaign launched earlier this month, entitled “Gamal Mubarak, Egypt is looking to a new beginning”, said the number of people who have physically signed the statement nominating Mubarak junior for the presidency has reached 6000. Added to the 22,000 e-signatures which have also been collected, this brings the total number to over 28,000.
Hadad added that the campaign to collect nominations will hit the streets of Cairo this Monday, beginning with the populous districts of Gammaliya and Mansheyyet Nasser.
Meanwhile, in Sharqiya, the Popular Coalition for the Support of Gamal Mubarak yesterday held a conference in the village of Shabra Soura following Friday prayers. The conference sought to raise awareness of the campaign’s objectives and gather signatures for the coalition’s seven demands.
Ahmed al-Menshawi, general coordinator for the campaign in Sharqiya, said Gamal’s supporters will be required to show their national identity cards and to sign the petition in public. He added that two new branches for the coalition have opened in Sharqiya , raising the total number of branches in this area alone to four.
Saad Ibrahim back in Cairo
By: Almasry-alyoum
Three years have lapsed in U.S., Turkey, Qatar and U.K voluntary exiles. Eventually, Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Professor of Sociology at The American University in Cairo and Founding Director of Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, Cairo, is back in Cairo with his wife Dr. Barbara Lethem Ibrahim, Founding Director of Gerhart Center for Civic Engagement and Philanthropy, Cairo on a two-week private visit.
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/multimedia/video/saad-ibrahim-back-cairo
By: Almasry-alyoum
Three years have lapsed in U.S., Turkey, Qatar and U.K voluntary exiles. Eventually, Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Professor of Sociology at The American University in Cairo and Founding Director of Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, Cairo, is back in Cairo with his wife Dr. Barbara Lethem Ibrahim, Founding Director of Gerhart Center for Civic Engagement and Philanthropy, Cairo on a two-week private visit.
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/multimedia/video/saad-ibrahim-back-cairo
"Same old story " Two months ahead of parliamentary polls and the debate in Washington over political reform and human rights in Egypt is heating up
Published on: Al-Ahram Weekly
Publishing Date: Thu, 5/08/2010
By Mohamed Abdel-Baky
Last week the United States Senate saw a bill proposed based on a Congress resolution which calls for widening democracy in Egypt, and abolishing the emergency law.
The bill calls on the US secretary of state to "make human rights and democratic reform in Egypt a top priority in the ongoing relationship and dialogue between the US and the Egyptian government".
The bill also calls upon the US government to allocate more funds to observers monitoring parliamentary elections scheduled in October. And funds coming to Egyptian civil society from the US should no longer be subject to the approval of the Egyptian government, the bill said.
Debate over the draft ended with it being referred to the Foreign Relations committee for further discussion.
"This bill has a good chance to get a big number of votes," a leading US politician told Al-Ahram Weekly, who predicted it would gain approval by September for three reasons.
First, the bill was introduced by both Democrat and Republican senators.
Senator Russell Feingold, Democrat, and Senator John McCain, Republican, were the main sponsors, and it was co- sponsored by Democrat senators Robert Casey, Christopher Dodd, Richard Durbin and Edward Kaufman.
It also uses soft language in addressing Egyptian government policy towards human rights and democratic reform, and is a non-binding resolution, making it less likely that the administration will object to it being passed.
Last month Senator Robert Casey visited Cairo, where parliamentary elections and human rights topped his agenda in talks with Egyptian officials.
"Egypt will face two important sets of elections this year and the following one. I hope that this process will reflect the democratic will of the Egyptian people and should be conducted in a free and transparent manner," Senator Casey said after his visit.
Bahieddin Hassan, director of the Cairo Centre for Human Rights, told the Weekly that if the bill gains approval it will heat the debate in Washington on elections in Egypt.
He added that although the resolution makes no big demands and is non-binding, it would carry a degree of moral force and might encourage the US government to yield to pressure from the media and civil society.
Moufid Shehab, minister of state for legal and parliamentary affairs, said in a conference last week that Egypt has made tangible progress in protecting the human rights. It had amended laws and signed international agreements to protect human rights and stood firmly against any human rights violations.
"Khaled Said’s case is a perfect example. We do not protect anyone who violates the human rights of any Egyptian citizen. Now there are two policemen on trial because they might have made mistakes that caused the death of Said," he said.
Shehab also asserted that the large number of sit-ins that, "we see every day in Egypt is an example of the democratic atmosphere Egyptians enjoy."
The Congress bill comes amid growing debate within Washington’s civil society over US policy to Egypt, lent impetus by The Working Group on Egypt, an association of former senior officials that focuses on US policy towards Egypt in the coming two years.
The group sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in April urging her to "discuss with the Egyptian government US hopes that Egypt will hold genuinely competitive elections". The letter asked the US government to allocate adequate funds to directly support domestic and international monitors. The letter was published in many American papers along with op-eds supporting its proposals.
"The Egyptian government does not care about these debates in Washington, they know how to deal with them," says Wahid Abdel-Meguid, an expert at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
He added that he does not think the US government will pressure Egypt over the upcoming elections as both Washington and Cairo are distracted by pressing regional security issues.
Published on: Al-Ahram Weekly
Publishing Date: Thu, 5/08/2010
By Mohamed Abdel-Baky
Last week the United States Senate saw a bill proposed based on a Congress resolution which calls for widening democracy in Egypt, and abolishing the emergency law.
The bill calls on the US secretary of state to "make human rights and democratic reform in Egypt a top priority in the ongoing relationship and dialogue between the US and the Egyptian government".
The bill also calls upon the US government to allocate more funds to observers monitoring parliamentary elections scheduled in October. And funds coming to Egyptian civil society from the US should no longer be subject to the approval of the Egyptian government, the bill said.
Debate over the draft ended with it being referred to the Foreign Relations committee for further discussion.
"This bill has a good chance to get a big number of votes," a leading US politician told Al-Ahram Weekly, who predicted it would gain approval by September for three reasons.
First, the bill was introduced by both Democrat and Republican senators.
Senator Russell Feingold, Democrat, and Senator John McCain, Republican, were the main sponsors, and it was co- sponsored by Democrat senators Robert Casey, Christopher Dodd, Richard Durbin and Edward Kaufman.
It also uses soft language in addressing Egyptian government policy towards human rights and democratic reform, and is a non-binding resolution, making it less likely that the administration will object to it being passed.
Last month Senator Robert Casey visited Cairo, where parliamentary elections and human rights topped his agenda in talks with Egyptian officials.
"Egypt will face two important sets of elections this year and the following one. I hope that this process will reflect the democratic will of the Egyptian people and should be conducted in a free and transparent manner," Senator Casey said after his visit.
Bahieddin Hassan, director of the Cairo Centre for Human Rights, told the Weekly that if the bill gains approval it will heat the debate in Washington on elections in Egypt.
He added that although the resolution makes no big demands and is non-binding, it would carry a degree of moral force and might encourage the US government to yield to pressure from the media and civil society.
Moufid Shehab, minister of state for legal and parliamentary affairs, said in a conference last week that Egypt has made tangible progress in protecting the human rights. It had amended laws and signed international agreements to protect human rights and stood firmly against any human rights violations.
"Khaled Said’s case is a perfect example. We do not protect anyone who violates the human rights of any Egyptian citizen. Now there are two policemen on trial because they might have made mistakes that caused the death of Said," he said.
Shehab also asserted that the large number of sit-ins that, "we see every day in Egypt is an example of the democratic atmosphere Egyptians enjoy."
The Congress bill comes amid growing debate within Washington’s civil society over US policy to Egypt, lent impetus by The Working Group on Egypt, an association of former senior officials that focuses on US policy towards Egypt in the coming two years.
The group sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in April urging her to "discuss with the Egyptian government US hopes that Egypt will hold genuinely competitive elections". The letter asked the US government to allocate adequate funds to directly support domestic and international monitors. The letter was published in many American papers along with op-eds supporting its proposals.
"The Egyptian government does not care about these debates in Washington, they know how to deal with them," says Wahid Abdel-Meguid, an expert at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
He added that he does not think the US government will pressure Egypt over the upcoming elections as both Washington and Cairo are distracted by pressing regional security issues.
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