HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONSIDERS THIRD AND FOURTH PERIODIC REPORTS OF EGYPT

Human Rights Committee
76th session
18 October 2002



The Human Rights Committee today concluded its consideration of the third and fourth periodic reports of Egypt on how that country was implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
In three meetings held yesterday afternoon and today, the Committee examined the human rights situation in Egypt with a Government delegation providing answers to questions raised by the Experts.
In his concluding remarks, Committee Chairperson Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati said he was glad that the dialogue with Egypt had resumed after a lapse of over 8 years. The reports were detailed and exhaustive, but they left many concerns unattended. He added that Egypt had made considerable progress in the implementation of human rights.
Introducing her country's reports, Naela Gabr, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that national mechanisms had been put in place by her Government to promote and protect the rights of women in the country. Although it could not claim that everything was working perfectly, the Government had been identifying the shortcomings and was taking the necessary measures to tackle them.
Ms. Gabr said that the rights enshrined in the Covenant were constitutionally guaranteed and they could not be breached by law or in practice. She said that since Egypt had ratified the Covenant in 1982, the treaty had become part of the national law and had been implemented without discrimination.
The members of the Committee raised a number of questions on issues such as the maintenance of the state of emergency; the practice of capital punishment; the functions of State security courts; the rights of prisoners and their prison conditions; the rights of women; the compatibility of Islamic Sharia with the provisions of the Covenant; religious rights; and reports on the use of torture and ill-treatment by State security forces, among other things.
The Egyptian delegation was also made up of Sana Khalil, Assistant Minister of Justice; Ibrahim Hamad, Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior; Magdi Abdel Gaffar, of the Ministry of Interior; Khaled Galal Abdel Hamid, Counsellor, and Mohamed Loutfy, Third Secretary, at the Permanent Mission of Egypt in Geneva; and Ahmed Zohni, of the Office of the Attorney General.
The Committee will issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Egypt towards the end of its three-week session which concludes on 1 November.
Egypt is among the 149 States parties to the Covenant, and as such it is obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Monday, 21 October, it will prepare for a meeting with representatives of States parties which will be held on 24 October. The Committee will take up the third periodic report of Togo (document CCPR/C/TGO/2001/3) at 3 p.m. on Monday.

Reports of Egypt
The third and fourth periodic reports of Egypt (document CCPR/C/EGY/2001/3) enumerate the measures taken by the State party in compliance with the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They also list the general framework within which human rights principles are protected in the country. In addition, they provide answers to the requests for clarification from the members of the Committee during the consideration of the State party's previous periodic report. In the introduction, the reports say that the Covenant was published in Arabic in the country's Official Gazette and came into effect as of 14 April 1982. Egypt expressed a general reservation to the effect that account should be taken of the need to ensure that the Covenant was not incompatible with the provisions of the Islamic Sharia.
With regard to the scope of the Egyptian Emergency Act, the reports note that nothing in the Act invalidates the provisions of the Constitution or the law or detracts from representative life in the country. The only measures which the President of the Republic is empowered to take to limit freedoms as required by the state of emergency are those specified under the terms of the Act. The scope of these measures can be expanded only with the approval of the People's Assembly and in accordance with the procedures prescribed for the enactment of laws. The State security courts, for which provision is made under the Emergency Act, are presided over by magistrates and judges who are members of the judicial authorities and who enjoy judicial immunity.

Introduction of Egyptian Reports
NAELA GABR, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that national mechanisms had been put in place by her Government to promote and protect the rights of women in the country. Although it could not claim that everything was working perfectly, the Government had been identifying the shortcomings and was taking the necessary measures to tackle them.
Egyptian women enjoyed their full rights and were part of the social fabric, Ms. Gabr continued to say. Women played a primordial role in the promotion of the society. Many achievements had been made to ensure the enjoyment of political and economic rights by women. The Government was also fighting illiteracy, which had partly been hampering the full enjoyment of the rights of women.
Egyptian women had full rights in all fields and they had been granted the right to elect and to be elected, the Ambassador said. A wife had the right to ask for a divorce. The number of women in the economic field had increased. Women were also heading Egyptian diplomatic missions around the world.
The National Council for Egyptian Women and Children, headed by the First Lady, had been carrying out public awareness campaigns on the rights of women and a lot of programmes had been implemented in order to promote and protect the rights of women and children.
Ms. Gabr said that the rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were constitutionally guaranteed and they could not be breached by law or in practice. Since the country ratified the Covenant in 1982, the treaty had become part of the national law and had been implemented without discrimination.
In order to enhance the implementation of the provisions of the Covenant, the Government had created a Division in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, an Office at the Public Procurator Department, and a section in the Ministry of Justice which were responsible for this implementation.
In conclusion, Ms. Gabr said that she welcomed the constructive criticism made by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as the information provided to the Committee by those NGOs which had been playing a vital role in the society.

Response of Egypt
In response to written questions prepared by the Committee Experts beforehand, the members of the Egyptian delegation said that all the principles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were part of Egyptian legislation. If the legislator decided to curtail certain public freedoms, his or her actions were confined within the provisions of the Constitution.
Asked whether the provisions of the Covenant were invoked before Egyptian courts, the delegation said that since the Covenant was part of the country's laws, its provisions could be invoked to validate arguments in court.
Egypt had made a general reservation on the implementation of the Covenant in order to avoid any contradiction that might arise with Islamic Sharia, the delegation said. Islamic Sharia was the source of Egyptian law. However, the State party had endeavoured to implement the provisions of the Covenant.
A question was raised as to why victims of violations at the hands of the security services sometimes received compensation, while those guilty of such acts generally remained unpunished. The delegation said that for many years now, torture had been prohibited in Egypt and those who committed such acts had been punished. The Attorney General, being an independent body, investigated and brought those perpetrators to justice. Any confession made under coercion or as a result of torture was invalid before the courts.
With regard to the state of emergency, the delegation said that when this act was proclaimed by the Government, it followed the specific laws that governed the state of emergency. The state of emergency could be enacted due to conditions in which public order and security were endangered due to the outbreak of war, the existence of a situation that threatened to lead to such an outbreak, and the occurrence of disturbances within the country, among other things. It was proclaimed by the President of the Republic after the measure was approved by the legislators. The state of emergency should be proclaimed and terminated by a presidential decree stating the reason for its proclamation and specifying the area in which it would apply, as well as the date of its entry into force and its duration. Egypt saw it necessary to proclaim a state of emergency, for instance, following the death of the late President Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated by terrorists. Since then, Egypt had been a victim of terrorist acts in various forms. The use of the state of emergency was solely limited to the purpose for which it was proclaimed.
The Egyptian delegation continued to say that one of the main pillars of Egypt's economy -- tourism -- had been badly hit by acts of terrorism. In addition to the measures it had put in place at the national level, Egypt continued to cooperate at the international level to combat terrorism.
Egypt had adopted a number of legislative acts in order to uphold the equality of sexes and non-discrimination between men and women, the delegation said. In addition, a series of amendments had been made to legislation impeding the achievement of equality between sexes. The personal status law on marriages was based on consent by both sexes. Marital conflicts were settled by the law on personal status.
Concerning the participation of women in political life and the public and private sector, the delegation said that efforts had been taken to encourage women to participate in civil society and in public affairs. In addition, the national conference on women had discussed all traditional practices that were harmful to women, such as early marriages. At present, there were 16,000 civil societies in the country working in all fields, including for the promotion of women's rights. The number of women working in the mass media was more than the number of men.
The problem of illiteracy in the remote and rural areas was a handicap to the full realization of the rights of women in Egypt, the delegation said. It was the lack of awareness, and not of laws, that was hampering Egyptian women from participating in politics.
The Committee Experts said that according to information available to them, the Nationality Act prevented Egyptian women from transmitting their nationality to their children if their husbands were not Egyptian nationals, while an Egyptian man married to a foreigner could transmit his nationality to his children. The delegation said that Egyptian nationality was determined by virtue of blood relations and place of birth. Any child born in Egypt from unknown parents was considered to be Egyptian. The situation concerning Egyptian women transmitting their nationality to their children had been under study for many years but it had not yet been resolved.
Concerning the death penalty, the delegation said that this punishment was retained in the Egyptian law to protect the society from acts of high treason, use of the army or the police to impede the work of the Government, murder or other serious crimes. Any capital punishment handed down by the supreme courts should be approved by the President of the Republic, who could also use his competence to pardon or commute the death sentence. It was difficult to provide statistical data on the number of executions. When fully compiled, the State party would provide the figures to the Committee. (The reports provided some statistical data concerning final sentences of death handed down in respect of all kinds of offences punishable by death under Egyptian law, such as the crimes of murder in the first degree, ambush and rape. In 1999, 25 cases; and in 2000, 30 cases.)
With regard to the cases of two Egyptian asylum-seekers who were deported from Sweden to Egypt on 18 December 2001, the delegation said the two individuals had been implicated in terrorist activities in Egypt but had escaped. Both of them were now imprisoned in Egypt, and the Swedish Ambassador had visited them in last March.
Recalling its concern expressed in 1992 that the measures taken by Egypt to combat terrorism ran counter to the rights protected by articles 6, 7 and 9 of the Covenant, the Committee requested more information on the subject. The delegation said that the Government had put in place laws in order to fight any form of terrorism and those who committed such acts were punished in accordance with the legal provisions. The aim of the laws was to protect public freedoms and rights guaranteed by the Constitution against any violations.
The delegation said that it was the Attorney General or the investigating judge who ordered the detention of a suspect; and the duration of the pre-trial detention period depended on the circumstances of each case. It was only the court that could extend the pre-trial detention for 15 days, and not exceeding 45 days as a whole. In the case of a felony, the maximum pre-trial detention could continue for six months. The law on criminal procedures provided for a legal lawyer or counsellor for those suspected of committing crimes.
The inspection of prison institutions were carried out without any announcement beforehand and on a regular basis, the delegation said. Any member of the Office of the Public Prosecutor and any president or vice-president of a court of first instance or appeal was entitled to visit the prison situated within his area of jurisdiction in order to ascertain that no one was being detained illegally. They also had the right to inspect the prison registers, arrest warrants and confinement orders and to contact any prisoners with a view to hearing their complaints.

Oral Questions by Experts
Following the responses provided by the Egyptian delegation, the Committee Experts queried the Government delegation on a number of issues. An Expert said that the status of the Covenant within the Egyptian legal system was vague. She welcomed the work of the National Council of Egyptian Women and the measures taken to promote the rights of women. However, further efforts should be devoted to promote the status of women and to fight their unequal situation in some regions.
Another Expert said that although the Islamic Sharia was the principal source of the country's law, it should not impede Egypt from discharging its international obligations. Concerning the right to freedom of religion, for instance, it seemed that that right was violated with regard to a certain religious group in the country.
An Expert referred to the issue of the death penalty and the circumstances under which this punishment was applied; the death penalties pronounced in absentia and the alleged lack of fair trial involving certain individuals; and the return of refugees to countries where they might be tortured, among other things.
Another Expert wondered about the necessity for the recent renewal of the state of emergency until 31 May 2003. He said that the state of emergency had been effective since 1982, and was renewed periodically. He asked if the proclamation of the state of emergency did not derogate from the rights set forth in the Covenant. With regard to pre-trial detention, the Expert asked for clarification on detention for ordinary criminal cases and in connection with the state of emergency.
An Expert asked if individual investigations had been carried out concerning acts of ill-treatment or torture. He said that compensation had been awarded to victims of violations at the hands of the security forces; he asked if the corresponding crimes to each compensation had been investigated and the perpetrators punished. He also wanted to know about the scope and competence of the State security courts.

Response of Egypt
In response to the questions raised by the Committee Experts, the members of the Egyptian delegation said that investigative activities of security agents were carried out within the provisions of the law and the regulations set forth for that purpose. However, if any illegal acts, such as torture, were involved in an investigation, a provision of redress put for that purpose was applied.
If any violation of the human rights of an individual was committed by a member of the security forces or the police, it was immediately investigated and reported to the Minister of the Interior, the delegation said. If the investigation indicated the involvement of the agent in such an act of violence, the case was referred to a disciplinary council, which in turn took the case to court. In the past, agents found guilty of the violation of the human rights of individuals had received sentences of up to three years of imprisonment. No agent of the security forces enjoyed any immunity for the acts he committed beyond his mandate. In the Ministry of the Interior, there was also a mechanism to prevent any form of violence committed by any member of the police. In addition, disciplinary measures were imposed against any agent who violated the human rights of any citizen.
Concerning Egyptian prisons, the Government had been working with international organizations to ameliorate the conditions of prisoners, the delegation said. Donor countries had also been cooperative with Egypt in its efforts to improve prison conditions. In addition, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had been collaborating with the Ministry of the Interior in participating in the training of police and prison officers. During their training, police officers were provided with law education and they had the possibility to pursue their studies at the university level
With regard to the prohibition of torture, a series of laws had been enacted to that effect, and it had been almost 150 years since the perpetration of torture had been prohibited, the delegation said. In the rulings of the supreme court, the shackling of the hands of a prisoner could amount to a prelude to an act of torture. Since Egypt had ratified the Convention against Torture, it had made the provisions of that treaty part of its domestic law.
Egypt had prohibited the practise of female genital mutilation throughout the country, the delegation said. All hospitals, clinics, as well as individuals performing circumcision had been instructed to discontinue this practice.
Islamic Sharia was the source of law in Egypt, the delegation said. Concerning personal law, it was based on Sharia for Muslims and on other laws depending on the religious beliefs of non-Muslims.
Article 151 of the Constitution regulated the status of international agreements, the delegation said, adding that the Covenant had the rank of law. The rights enumerated under the Covenant such as the right to marriage or the right to life had not been stipulated in the Constitution; however it did not mean that they were abrogated or ignored. They were linked to other rights. The right to marriage, for instance, was linked to the right to form a family.
Crimes which were punishable by the death penalty were high treason threatening State security from outside and inside; homicide; arsenal leading to death; kidnapping of a woman with rape; false testimony, if it led to a death sentence of the accused; and activities dealing with drug trafficking, the delegation said. The creation of a group counter to the State, which aimed at reaching its goals through the use of terror, was also punishable by death.
The delegation said that, regrettably, despite the Government's requests for the extradition of some Egyptian nationals who lived abroad and had been involved in terrorist acts before the 11 September events, some European countries had been reluctant to hand over those individuals. However, since then, some of them had returned of their own will and had surrendered to police. Those who had evaded justice had been re-tried and were serving prison terms while others were leading a quiet life.
Asked if a women could hold a passport without the permission of a male partner, the delegation said that she had the right to request and to obtain a passport. She could also travel alone.
Islamic Sharia was so flexible that it ensured the development of the rights of women in the society, the delegation said. In matters of inheritance, there was a process of disposing of one's property in accordance with the Egyptian law, and Sharia was also flexible in that matter.
Concerning the query on the "Queen's Boat" issue, in which 50 men were held because of their sexual orientation, the delegation said that only two of the persons were suspected of defamation of religion and contempt against religion.

Egypt's Response to Written Questions
The Egyptian delegation continued to provide answers to the remaining written questions prepared by the Committee Experts in advance. With regard to the number of persons tried and sentenced by military courts and State security courts over the past five years, the members of the delegation said that they had a problem in compiling statistical data and they were not in a position to provide the right figure at the moment. Concerning the justification in giving military courts and State security courts jurisdiction over civilians for crimes under ordinary law, the delegation said that article 6 of the emergency law allowed the President to refer certain cases to military courts.
Asked to explain the continued existence of the President's prerogative to intervene in the functioning of the courts, the delegation said that it arose from the application of the State security laws and the state of emergency. However, there was no interference by the President in the due process of justice; he could not make any sentence harsher but could make it more lenient.
Article 40 of the Egyptian Constitution prohibited any discrimination on religious grounds, the delegation said. Other relevant laws also prohibited the creation of political parties based on religion or on ideas tantamount to discriminating against others. Egypt had a tolerant society and this had discouraged extremism of a political or religious nature.
As regards the protection of the freedom of expression of human rights defenders in accordance with article 19 of the Covenant, the delegation said that freedom of opinion was exercised within the framework of the Egyptian law. The Constitution guaranteed laws upholding the right to freedom of expression. The rights stipulated under article 19 of the Covenant should be exercised in a manner that did not disturb public order and security, and even public health.
Asked about the procedure for registering non-governmental organizations, in particular those concerned with the protection of human rights, the delegation said that a number of criteria had been put in place to be fulfilled by any non-governmental organization wishing to operate in the country. Organizations that did not meet the requirements set forth by the law could not be allowed to operate.
There were 17 political parties operating freely in Egypt, the delegation said. The registration of a new political party required the submission of a written application, indicating the names and addresses of at least 50 founding members, as well as its financial statement. The Political Parities Act stipulated that membership of a political party should not be restricted to a particular social class, category, community or geographical area and parties should not pursue a policy of discrimination with regard to sex, origin, religion or belief.

Oral Questions by Committee Experts
The members of the Committee continued raising further questions orally. An Expert wanted to know if cases were brought before the courts concerning any form of publications with regard to the violation of article 20 of the Covenant. Some publications in Egypt, in the name of freedom of opinion, had been inciting hostility or hatred against a certain group. Some publications carried anti-Semitic articles. She also asked if publications were banned as a result of the violation of Egyptian law; and about the functioning of political parties vis-a-vis the party in power. She also asked why the activities of the Baha'is were considered as being against public order.
Another Expert said there were doubts as to why some ordinary civilian cases had been brought before the military or the State security courts. In the light of the position of the State party, the Expert said it was not clear why the President interfered by deciding to place offences under the ordinary law in front of State security courts. The use of article 19 of the Covenant, which provided for the right of everyone to hold opinions without interference, should not contradict article 20 of the same treaty, which prohibited any propaganda for war or advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred.
Referring to the "Queen's Boat" incident, an Expert asked if sexual relations between same sex consenting adults were considered to be a crime under the Egyptian law. He further asked if homosexuals were harassed within the society. He also wanted to know what was meant by "debauchery" with regard to the "Queen's Boat" incident.
Another speaker said that the statistical data provided by the delegation did not separately indicate the number of cases of torture and bodily harm to individuals, the number of security forces who perpetrated such acts, and the kind of penalty inflicted against those persons. The Expert also recalled that the Committee against Torture was not allowed to visit the country.
Referring to acts of torture, an Expert asked if civil cases could be brought before the courts by victims of torture against police officers or security agents. He said that there were allegations of the use of electric shocks against some individuals and the delegation was requested to clarify the situation.

Egypt's Response
In response to the oral questions, the Egyptian delegation said that Egyptians themselves were of Semitic origin and allegations of anti-Semitic sentiments in the society were not true. The society respected the faith and beliefs of others.
With regard to the Baha'is, the delegation said there were only 150 individuals who considered themselves as Baha'is. The problem was that certain individuals who claimed to be Baha'is were disturbing public order. Although no one in Egypt interfered in the personal affairs of individuals, a situation that was against public order had to be dealt with.
With regard to the state of emergency, the delegation said that certain cases committed by civilians, such as terrorism, were referred to the State security courts.
Egyptian law did not criminalize sexual orientation per se, the delegation said. However, any sexual act based on financial interest or sexual exploitation of others, and prostitution were criminalized. Prostitution by men was referred to as "debauchery" while prostitution was used in reference to women.
Concerning the registration of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the delegation said that the Government was enabling human rights organizations to operate in the country; however, in order that they be credible within the society, they should be recognized by the State party. The Government was not afraid to be criticized by NGOs because it was always endeavouring to improve the situation. In addition, the Government did not want some organizations to waste the resources of the country by becoming engaged in unnecessary operations.
There was no restriction on socialism in Egypt, the delegation said, alluding to a comment made by one of the Committee Experts. In addition, there was no restriction on the activities of political parties.

Concluding Remarks by Committee Chairperson
PRAFULLACHANDRA NATWARLAL BHAGWATI, Committee Chairperson, said he was glad that the dialogue with Egypt had resumed after a lapse of over 8 years. The report was detailed and exhaustive. But it left many concerns unattended.
Egypt had in the last 8 years made considerable progress in the implementation of human rights, the Chairperson said. The Supreme Constitutional Council had given a place of pride to the Covenant rights and on a few occasions had declared domestic legislation unconstitutional on the grounds of violation of the Covenant rights.



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