2:16PM
Where is Egypt's NCHR?
By 
Josh Stacher | Egypt
Josh Stacher | Egypt
In light of an article on the National Council for Human Rights that is coming out next week in MER, I am curious if anyone has seen it referenced in the past week.
More specifically, has anyone heard anything from Egypt's NCHR regarding last week's electoral violence?
My guess Abul-Magd and the boys are going to choose to handle this quietly (as they do most human rights violations). The council, which has been much debated following the release of their report in April 2005, is now yet again in the middle of a mess.
Its members like to emphasize their social credibility as a measure of their independence but silence is their weapon of choice in combating HR violations. Does anyone remember Northern Sinai last November and December when 2,500 citizens were detained (some tortured)? The NCHR was silent then and I suspect will remain so.
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At least the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (albeit EOHR was a little generous in not being to overt about women that were attacked) have stepped up to publicly condemn regime thuggery.
This flies in the face of the government claims that journalists injured were collateral damage, innocents caught up in the mix of sparing groups.
Meanwhile, the response from the NDP's influential policies secretariat has been that competition among the opposition parties will help "expand the scope of political choice for citizens".
Expanding political choices in a polity where only one real choice is available. Nicely confusing to be sure.
It is all a little too much Orwellian double-speak for Cairenes following the situation.
More specifically, has anyone heard anything from Egypt's NCHR regarding last week's electoral violence?
My guess Abul-Magd and the boys are going to choose to handle this quietly (as they do most human rights violations). The council, which has been much debated following the release of their report in April 2005, is now yet again in the middle of a mess.
Its members like to emphasize their social credibility as a measure of their independence but silence is their weapon of choice in combating HR violations. Does anyone remember Northern Sinai last November and December when 2,500 citizens were detained (some tortured)? The NCHR was silent then and I suspect will remain so.
_____________
At least the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (albeit EOHR was a little generous in not being to overt about women that were attacked) have stepped up to publicly condemn regime thuggery.
This flies in the face of the government claims that journalists injured were collateral damage, innocents caught up in the mix of sparing groups.
Meanwhile, the response from the NDP's influential policies secretariat has been that competition among the opposition parties will help "expand the scope of political choice for citizens".
Expanding political choices in a polity where only one real choice is available. Nicely confusing to be sure.
It is all a little too much Orwellian double-speak for Cairenes following the situation.
Reader Comments (4)
believe it or not the NCHR filed a complain at the prosecutor general office yesterday which lead to the prosecutor contacting some of us victims and the start of the investigation.
Alaa, can you please provide a link for that?
Actually, the NCHR forwarding complaints to the P-G means very little. Its offices, along with the ministry of interior, never respond in a meaningful way to the council. In the report issued in April, the council forwarded 75 complaints re torture/harsh treatment and received only three responses from the ministry. In those cases, the torture claims were denounced as baseless lies.
But ok...so the council did its job forwarding the complaints I suppose. But then, as reported in al-Masri al-Youm yesterday, the council said it expressed its regret for the events during the referendum. It said the acts were barbaric and serious offenses.
It then went on to say that "Some cannot understand the essence of democracy."
Hence, they talk in general terms and do NOT mention specifically that women were targeted. This last statement, in particular, sounds very much like what Sulayman Awwad said in his remarks when he said the foreign press was to blame. "Such incidents, [assuming] they happened, are unacceptable...Some of the demonstrators were uncivilized and paid no heed to the norms or rules of freedom of expression."
So, I don't know where this leaves us for understanding the council's place. But it does keep in line with their responses - toothless and unwilling to force cooperation among other government agencies. But then again, "Forcing cooperation" is outside of their legal mandate.
Thanks Josh for a very good article on the NCHR !