President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has expressed valuation of the efforts made by the Standing Higher Committee on Human Rights and other national bodies to advance the status of human rights, and called for sustaining and intensifying such efforts.
This came as the president received the second executive report on Egypt’s National Human Rights Strategy, presented to him by Foreign Minister and Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates’ Affairs, Dr Badr Abdel-Aati, om Monday, Presidency Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said.
The strategy, drafted by a fully-Egyptian initiative, aims to enhance the full spectrum of human rights, encompassing political, civil, economic, social, and cultural dimensions. It also seeks to bolster the rights of women, youth, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities through legislative and institutional reforms, human rights education, and capacity building for state employees.
In his presentation of the report, Foreign Minister Abdel-Aati highlighted significant progress made this year, including the establishment of human rights units in various ministries and national bodies, committees to examine complaints from individuals with disabilities, and units to combat violence against women.
New and amended legislation has been enacted to strengthen human rights, such as laws on Egyptian nationality, the establishment of the “Differenkly-Abled” fund, the National Alliance for Civil and Developmental Work, and elderly rights.
The report indicated that the government has also introduced amendments to human rights-related bills and signed several co-operation protocols with national councils, international governmental organisations, and civil society groups to promote human rights awareness and conduct training workshops for state employees, Spokesman Fahmy said.
Following the review of the report, President Sisi commended the efforts of the Standing Higher Committee for Human Rights and other national entities involved in implementing the strategy.
President Sisi urged all such bodies and entities to intensify their work in the coming period to achieve the strategy’s goals, enhance comprehensive human rights conditions, ensure citizens enjoy their constitutional rights, and uphold citizenship principles, the rule of law, and non-discrimination.
The President also called for increased efforts to overcome related challenges, continue updating institutional and legislative frameworks, and ensure sustainable improvement. He emphasised the importance of integrating the National Human Rights Strategy’s objectives into state policies and plans and maintaining programmes to raise awareness of rights and duties, the spokesman said.
