President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said the launch of the first national strategy for human rights marks a milestone in Egypt's history, considering this as a key step for upgrading human rights in the country.

Speaking on launching the strategy on Saturday 11/09/2021, he said Egypt was among the first countries that contributed to wording the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

Since then, Egypt has continued to contribute to promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, the president added.

President Sisi said the launch of the first national strategy for human rights is the outcome of strenuous efforts exerted by the permanent higher committee for human rights for more than a year.

He hailed the mechanism adopted in preparing this strategy in order to meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people.

He also thanked the National Council for Human Rights, representatives of civil society from various governorates and members of the advisory authority for contributing to crystallizing this strategy.

President Sisi said Egypt's vision for human rights is based on a number of key principles, topped by the integration and interconnection among all rights and freedoms.

He added that there is a strong link between democracy and human rights, highlighting the importance of realizing a balance between rights and duties as well as the rights of individuals and societies.

Commitment to protecting rights and freedoms can be achieved through effective and efficient legislation and sound general policies as well as the efforts exerted by national institutions to put them into effect.

As the state depends in its efforts on legal and constitutional principles and commitments, the constitution has realized a leap in this respect as it entrenched the principles of citizenship, justice, and equality in rights and duties, the president said.

He added that the Egyptian state is committed to respecting and protecting rights of physical safety, personal freedom, participation in political life, freedom of expression and formation of non-governmental organizations.

He added that Egypt has always welcomed different opinions as long as they do not harm freedom of others and aim at constructive criticism.

President Sisi said the state is exerting continued painstaking efforts to promote the values of citizenship, tolerance, and dialogue, while combating violence and discrimination.

He said Egypt has a rich national institutional infrastructure that works on promoting respect and protection of human rights which witness continued development, referring to the establishment of the permanent higher committee for human rights as a key step in enhancing coordinated national work in this domain.

He added that the national councils for women, childhood, motherhood and disabled persons play a pioneering role in promoting rights of these categories.

He said the National Council for Human Rights - as the national independent institution having powers under the constitution - plays a pivotal role in promoting relevant principles, spreading awareness in this regard and presenting an annual report to the state.

He noted that civil society is a key partner in promoting human rights at all levels; political, economic and social.

He said civil society's contributions are clear and its partnership with the state is indispensable, expounding that this was behind issuing directives to the government to review the old law on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) and this has fructified into issuing a new law regulating civil participation and the activities of civil society institutions.

The issuance of the executive statute of this law will mark a new stage of partnership between the government and civil society, he pointed out.

President Sisi said the political and public life in Egypt has been rich over the past period, citing the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections in addition to the formation of the Senate (the upper chamber of parliament).

He referred also to the establishment of the National Election Authority to be an independent entity responsible for managing elections and referendums in all their stages in order to ensure transparency and encourage participation in the political life.

The president noted that several laws were laid down and others were amended to ensure that the Egyptian citizens are enjoying their political rights, citing the laws on the Senate, presidential elections, House of Representatives and civil society activities.

As for religious freedoms, he said Egypt has achieved great progress to ensure equality among all citizens in rights and duties.

He noted that a law was issued to build and restore churches, thus contributing to legalizing the conditions of about 1,800 churches and affiliated buildings.

As for economic, social and cultural rights, he said the “Egypt Vision 2030” is based on the concepts of comprehensive, sustainable and balanced growth in order to ensure just enjoyment of development benefits for all and achieving the highest levels of social integration among all segments of the society in order to guarantee the rights of the current and coming generations in using national resources.

The president said the achievements realized over the past seven years through mega national projects being nationwide reflected the national capabilities at the levels of planning and implementation as well as wise management of various resources to realize the highest levels of development.

President Sisi said the state has been deeply interested in social protection while implementing the economic reform program in order to alleviate its impact on low-income and needy brackets, citing the launch of several initiatives, topped by “Takaful and Karama” and “Decent Life” for developing the countryside.

As for gender equality and women empowerment, he said women have obtained over 28 percent of the House of Representatives’ seats in 2021, standing at 128 slots.

He added that there are eight female ministers in the current government in addition women have been able to become judges.

As for young people, the state was keen to hone their skills and empower them to participate in the public life in addition to securing jobs for them, he said, voicing hope to resume Egypt's annual World Youth Forum soon.

He said the state is interested in preparing young cadres capable of shouldering national responsibilities, referring to the establishment of the National Training Academy in 2017.

Youths came to participate in forging development plans and implementing them, he said, noting that some of them became deputies for ministers, governors and lawmakers.

President Sisi said the strategy is based on a purely Egyptian vision believing in the importance of realizing integration which cannot be achieved without a clear national strategy for human rights.

The president called on the permanent higher committee for human rights to continue carrying out its mission and urged the government to take all needed measures to serve this end in line with the Egypt Vision 2030 for achieving sustainable development.

He also called on all political entities and civil society organizations to enrich the political experiment in Egypt and train cadres to expand participation in political life.

He also called on civil society organizations to offer all needed facilities to put into effect the new law regulating civil society activities.

The president concluded his speech by declaring 2022 as the year of civil society.

MENA