National Council for Human Rights reviews the results of its participation at the meetings of the Committee on Civil and Political Rights in Geneva in a Senate meeting

Moushira Khattab, President of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) , and a delegation of members of NCHR reviewed the most important results of NCHR participation in the meetings of a United Nations committee concerned with the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in Geneva recently, during a meeting organized by the Human Rights and Social Solidarity Committee of the Senate, chaired by Representative Eng. Mohammed Heiba.

Moushira Khattab said that return of Egypt to submit its periodic reports on its efforts to implement civil and political rights after a hiatus of more than seventeen years is a positive step that indicates a new phase marked by commitment and more keenness to implement the international commitments that the Egyptian state has committed to to fulfill the rights of its citizens, and that there is a great degree of openness to dialogue with international parties in order to advance the rights of the Egyptian citizen. She pointed out that the participation of the Egyptian official delegation, headed by Counselor Omar Marawan, Minister of Justice, was very representative and characterized by a multiplicity of disciplines. Khattab praised the contributions of the members of the NCHR who participated in the closed session held by the committee to listen to the evaluation of NCHR, and appreciated the efforts they made during the session and in the contacts and interviews they conducted on the sidelines of the meetings. She presented the results of the interviews that took place on the sidelines of the session with officials of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Commission of the European Union, and that the interviews reflected an appreciation for the role of NCHR as the independent national institution established under the Paris Principles. She also appreciated the speech of constructive cooperation with the Egyptian Parliament in its two chambers, and stressed the importance of the House of Representatives’ decision to discuss amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, which comes in implementation of the National Strategy for Human Rights.

Representative Muhammad Heiba praised the performance of NCHR during the Geneva meetings and praised the positive participation, which will reflect positively on the development of the human rights system within the framework of the national strategy currently being implemented.

Moushira Khattab explained that the participation of the delegation of the NCHR, as an independent national institution, was rich and that extensive dialogues took place with a wide range of international experts, international organizations and representatives of important regional organizations, led by the European Union. She said that NCHR reviewed in Geneva the progress achieved in its "complaints office mechanism", which is currently being developed within the framework of a cooperation program with the European Union. Dr. Mahmoud Karem, Vice President of NCHR, also touched on the nature of inquiries and questions that are directed to Egypt in those high-level international forums, which include all issues of political, economic and social life in Egypt. Ambassador Fahmy Fayed, Secretary General of NCHR, spoke about the recent developments in the work of NCHR, which serve the vision of improving the human rights situation in the country. NCHR members, Professor Samira Louka, Dr. Ismail Abdel Rahman, Professor Abdel Gawad Ahmed, Dr. Mohamed Mamdouh, and Professor Ezzat Ibrahim, reviewed various aspects of the Egyptian participation in the international meetings in Geneva. A lengthy dialogue took place between members of the Senate Committee and members of NCHR to discuss all aspects of participation in order to come up with recommendations on how to develop performance in the next stage.