Mensenrechten Egypte volgens Verenigde Naties

Het kantoor van de High Commissioner for Human Rights van de Verenigde Naties publiceerde vandaag deze verklaring over Egypte:

We have been closely following events in Egypt since the ousting of former President Mubarak and are concerned about what appears to be a diminishing public space for freedom of expression and association. The military trial and jailing of blogger and activist Alaa Abdel-Fatah, after his criticism of security forces’ handling of protests last month, is one such example of an egregious breach of the right to freedom of expression.

Along similar lines, the restrictive NGO law 84 of 2002 has reportedly been used to investigate human rights groups and their funding sources.
The interim authorities in Egypt must guarantee full respect for the freedom of expression, association and assembly, which are particularly crucial to ensure the free and fair conduct of the upcoming elections.

Following our mission to Egypt in April, we called for a repeal of the State of Emergency and the definite cessation of military trials of civilians. It is disappointing to note that neither of these calls have been heeded and we urge the authorities to do so without further delay.

Civil society organisations and human rights activists, whose courage and non-violent protest brought about the change of regime in Egypt, must be guaranteed space for open debate, even if it means that the interim authorities are harshly criticised in public fora. To this end, we call for the release of Alaa Abdel-Fateh and all others who have been imprisoned for exercising their fundamental rights to free speech and association.