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02 May 2000
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CESCR
22nd Session
2 May 2000
Afternoon
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon started its consideration of the initial report of Egypt on how that country was implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Introducing the report, Sana Khalil, Egypt's Deputy Minister of Justice and head of the Egyptian delegation, explained that all international agreements and covenants were part and parcel of national legislation. Egypt, he said, was proud of its achievements in providing basic services to all its citizens. Health care was available to all Egyptians at a token price, while education was free for everyone despite its high cost for the Government.
Mr. Khalil said there were Government efforts to overcome illiteracy, which he said was essential in battling social ills such as domestic violence. The Government also recently raised the level of compulsory education from eight years to nine years, and was aiming at including human rights education in basic curriculums. That, he said, undoubtedly would help the respect of human rights.
Further, Mr. Khalil said, in recent years job production was up and inflation was down, allowing the Government to undertake long-term reform projects in areas like health care, insurance, and housing, as well as modernizing the structures of society.
The Egyptian delegation also included Ibrahim Salama, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations and other international organizations at Geneva; Mohamed Tawfik, a Counsellor at the Mission of Egypt; Ashraf Soltan of the Human Rights Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Mohamed Mounir Loufty, an Attaché at the Mission of Egypt.
Following presentation of the report, the delegation answered a variety of questions posed by Committee experts concerning, among other things, human rights training among lawyers, judges and police; rights of non-governmental organizations (NGOs); and the right to strike.
As one of the 143 States parties to the International Covenant, Egypt is obligated to submit periodic summaries of the measures it has taken to implement the provisions of the treaty.
The Committee will reconvene on Wednesday, 3 May at 10 a.m. to continue its review of the report of Egypt.
Report of Egypt
The initial report of Egypt (E/1990/5/Add.38) details, on an article-by-article basis, the measures taken by the Government to implement the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The report states that since the late 1950s, the Egyptian economy has passed through several stages of transformation from the Arab socialist system to the economic "open-door" policy at the beginning of the 1970s and, subsequently, the stage of the free economy governed by market mechanisms.
The report also explains that international treaties are governed by rules set forth in the Egyptian Constitution, and are considered part of the country's legislation.
Presentation of Report
SANA KHALIL, Egypt's Deputy Minister of Justice, said Egyptian legislature in all fields had sought to uphold all the rights guaranteed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Under Egyptian law, all international agreements and covenants were part and parcel of national legislation. In the 1990s, an Office for Human Rights was created and a National Council for Human Rights was being established. The Government’s effort on the practical side was also important.
Egypt was proud of its achievement to provide basic services to all its citizens, Mr. Khalil said. Health care was available to all citizens at a token price, while education was free for everyone despite its high cost for the Government. There were Government efforts to overcome illiteracy. Combating illiteracy was the main component in combating social ills like domestic violence. The Government recently had raised the level of compulsory education from eight years to nine years. The Government also aimed at introducing human rights education in curriculums. That undoubtedly would help the respect of human rights.
Mr. Khalil said the Government had established a long-term strategy to reform areas like health care, insurance, and housing, as well as to modernize the structures of society. Egypt's programme for the twenty-first century included this strategy in a detailed manner. These plans had enabled the country to achieve notable progress concerning the domestic national product and income. It had also improved health insurance, education and reduced unemployment.
He said Egypt had established the right for women to obtain a divorce, and a programme had been established through a national bank that ensured women would be paid their alimony. The Government had also adopted a law that prohibited a husband from traveling abroad if he had failed to pay alimony or his family obligations.
Employment had increased by 600,000 jobs a year in recent years, and inflation had dropped during that time. These achievements would have been meaningless if Egypt had not attempted to further enhance the laws of civil society. The organizations working in social security, health and education numbered around 15,000. These organizations provided services to all segments of society.
Discussion
Responding to a question about human rights training, the delegation said human rights were taught in law school, in the police academy, and in the judges' center. The results of these efforts could be considered to be the product of the training programme last year with the United Nations and the United Nations Development Programme.
The delegation also said the Covenant, after being ratified by Egypt, was published in Arabic, and since the date of its implementation was considered applicable legislation. Many of the principles enshrined in the Covenant were considered part and parcel of articles of the Constitution.
Questioned about non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs) reports of violations of human rights, the delegation said the right to complain was a constitutional right, and NGOs could complain and submit complaints, which must be investigated. Speaking about Egypt's ban on trade unions partaking in NGO activity, the delegation said a different law governed trade unions. The law fully respected conventions of the International Labour Office. This had nothing to do with legislation affecting national organizations and NGOs. Trade unions were established as trade unions.
In response to a question about the right to strike, the delegation said there was legislation that provided for strikes under specific conditions. Strikes were limited by these special conditions. But the law could not prevent anyone from exercising such a right. The right to participate in associations was protected by law, and the law criminalized the prevention of such an act.
Answering an expert's question about social services as the economy went through a transitional period, the delegation said social services took up more than one-fourth of the funding of the Government. The State was obliged to provide 600,000 jobs a year which would absorb a certain unemployment level.
Asked about the right to work, the delegation said the Government had stipulated the rules for non-nationals. If a non-national was married to a national, he could work with permission from the Minister of Employment. Also, people who had special skills that would help raise the technical skills of nationals were allowed to work. But the right of a national to work was guaranteed.
Concerning equality between men and women, the delegation said one of the important challenges mentioned in the report was increasing the literacy of elderly women. That was obviously a product of a former era. Since then, there had been an increasing percentage of girls going to school. There were now more women working, and many who held high posts, and that showed that their education was increasing. Two ministers in the present Government were women.
Asked if there were certain jobs for women, and others for men, the delegation said that absolutely did not exist. It only depended on skills and experience. A very large segment of elderly women were deprived of many jobs because they were not educated.
Concerning a woman's right to travel, the delegation said if the husband prevented his spouse from leaving the country, after the two did not agree about the travel plans of one of them, it would be decided by a magistrate. The magistrate must have taken into account the well-being of the family, especially the children.
Questioned about the right to divorce, the delegation said that under a new system of divorce, a woman could demand a divorce. Procedures had been simplified for divorce. The divorce would be considered final after six months. That would be dependant if the woman gave up her personal rights in the marriage -- but not custody of the children. The new law of divorce was seen by many conservatives to be too feminist. The debate on inherited religious nature was moving in the right direction. The solutions in most cases were being based on modernization.
Asked about the best example of the socialist times, the delegation said undoubted it was the right to adequate housing in Egypt. Since 1962, there had been a law that froze the rents. It was discriminatory against the owner, but for every owner in Egypt, you had 50 tenants. In 1998, there was a law that unfroze rents for new contracts. But existing contracts continued with frozen rents, and that was the highest percentage of renters.
* *** *
22nd Session
2 May 2000
Afternoon
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon started its consideration of the initial report of Egypt on how that country was implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Introducing the report, Sana Khalil, Egypt's Deputy Minister of Justice and head of the Egyptian delegation, explained that all international agreements and covenants were part and parcel of national legislation. Egypt, he said, was proud of its achievements in providing basic services to all its citizens. Health care was available to all Egyptians at a token price, while education was free for everyone despite its high cost for the Government.
Mr. Khalil said there were Government efforts to overcome illiteracy, which he said was essential in battling social ills such as domestic violence. The Government also recently raised the level of compulsory education from eight years to nine years, and was aiming at including human rights education in basic curriculums. That, he said, undoubtedly would help the respect of human rights.
Further, Mr. Khalil said, in recent years job production was up and inflation was down, allowing the Government to undertake long-term reform projects in areas like health care, insurance, and housing, as well as modernizing the structures of society.
The Egyptian delegation also included Ibrahim Salama, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations and other international organizations at Geneva; Mohamed Tawfik, a Counsellor at the Mission of Egypt; Ashraf Soltan of the Human Rights Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Mohamed Mounir Loufty, an Attaché at the Mission of Egypt.
Following presentation of the report, the delegation answered a variety of questions posed by Committee experts concerning, among other things, human rights training among lawyers, judges and police; rights of non-governmental organizations (NGOs); and the right to strike.
As one of the 143 States parties to the International Covenant, Egypt is obligated to submit periodic summaries of the measures it has taken to implement the provisions of the treaty.
The Committee will reconvene on Wednesday, 3 May at 10 a.m. to continue its review of the report of Egypt.
Report of Egypt
The initial report of Egypt (E/1990/5/Add.38) details, on an article-by-article basis, the measures taken by the Government to implement the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The report states that since the late 1950s, the Egyptian economy has passed through several stages of transformation from the Arab socialist system to the economic "open-door" policy at the beginning of the 1970s and, subsequently, the stage of the free economy governed by market mechanisms.
The report also explains that international treaties are governed by rules set forth in the Egyptian Constitution, and are considered part of the country's legislation.
Presentation of Report
SANA KHALIL, Egypt's Deputy Minister of Justice, said Egyptian legislature in all fields had sought to uphold all the rights guaranteed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Under Egyptian law, all international agreements and covenants were part and parcel of national legislation. In the 1990s, an Office for Human Rights was created and a National Council for Human Rights was being established. The Government’s effort on the practical side was also important.
Egypt was proud of its achievement to provide basic services to all its citizens, Mr. Khalil said. Health care was available to all citizens at a token price, while education was free for everyone despite its high cost for the Government. There were Government efforts to overcome illiteracy. Combating illiteracy was the main component in combating social ills like domestic violence. The Government recently had raised the level of compulsory education from eight years to nine years. The Government also aimed at introducing human rights education in curriculums. That undoubtedly would help the respect of human rights.
Mr. Khalil said the Government had established a long-term strategy to reform areas like health care, insurance, and housing, as well as to modernize the structures of society. Egypt's programme for the twenty-first century included this strategy in a detailed manner. These plans had enabled the country to achieve notable progress concerning the domestic national product and income. It had also improved health insurance, education and reduced unemployment.
He said Egypt had established the right for women to obtain a divorce, and a programme had been established through a national bank that ensured women would be paid their alimony. The Government had also adopted a law that prohibited a husband from traveling abroad if he had failed to pay alimony or his family obligations.
Employment had increased by 600,000 jobs a year in recent years, and inflation had dropped during that time. These achievements would have been meaningless if Egypt had not attempted to further enhance the laws of civil society. The organizations working in social security, health and education numbered around 15,000. These organizations provided services to all segments of society.
Discussion
Responding to a question about human rights training, the delegation said human rights were taught in law school, in the police academy, and in the judges' center. The results of these efforts could be considered to be the product of the training programme last year with the United Nations and the United Nations Development Programme.
The delegation also said the Covenant, after being ratified by Egypt, was published in Arabic, and since the date of its implementation was considered applicable legislation. Many of the principles enshrined in the Covenant were considered part and parcel of articles of the Constitution.
Questioned about non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs) reports of violations of human rights, the delegation said the right to complain was a constitutional right, and NGOs could complain and submit complaints, which must be investigated. Speaking about Egypt's ban on trade unions partaking in NGO activity, the delegation said a different law governed trade unions. The law fully respected conventions of the International Labour Office. This had nothing to do with legislation affecting national organizations and NGOs. Trade unions were established as trade unions.
In response to a question about the right to strike, the delegation said there was legislation that provided for strikes under specific conditions. Strikes were limited by these special conditions. But the law could not prevent anyone from exercising such a right. The right to participate in associations was protected by law, and the law criminalized the prevention of such an act.
Answering an expert's question about social services as the economy went through a transitional period, the delegation said social services took up more than one-fourth of the funding of the Government. The State was obliged to provide 600,000 jobs a year which would absorb a certain unemployment level.
Asked about the right to work, the delegation said the Government had stipulated the rules for non-nationals. If a non-national was married to a national, he could work with permission from the Minister of Employment. Also, people who had special skills that would help raise the technical skills of nationals were allowed to work. But the right of a national to work was guaranteed.
Concerning equality between men and women, the delegation said one of the important challenges mentioned in the report was increasing the literacy of elderly women. That was obviously a product of a former era. Since then, there had been an increasing percentage of girls going to school. There were now more women working, and many who held high posts, and that showed that their education was increasing. Two ministers in the present Government were women.
Asked if there were certain jobs for women, and others for men, the delegation said that absolutely did not exist. It only depended on skills and experience. A very large segment of elderly women were deprived of many jobs because they were not educated.
Concerning a woman's right to travel, the delegation said if the husband prevented his spouse from leaving the country, after the two did not agree about the travel plans of one of them, it would be decided by a magistrate. The magistrate must have taken into account the well-being of the family, especially the children.
Questioned about the right to divorce, the delegation said that under a new system of divorce, a woman could demand a divorce. Procedures had been simplified for divorce. The divorce would be considered final after six months. That would be dependant if the woman gave up her personal rights in the marriage -- but not custody of the children. The new law of divorce was seen by many conservatives to be too feminist. The debate on inherited religious nature was moving in the right direction. The solutions in most cases were being based on modernization.
Asked about the best example of the socialist times, the delegation said undoubted it was the right to adequate housing in Egypt. Since 1962, there had been a law that froze the rents. It was discriminatory against the owner, but for every owner in Egypt, you had 50 tenants. In 1998, there was a law that unfroze rents for new contracts. But existing contracts continued with frozen rents, and that was the highest percentage of renters.
* *** *