EOHR chief says Egypt keen to continuously improve comprehensive human rights situation

CAIRO – 8 April 2021: Essam Shiha, the head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, said Egypt has been keen to improve its human rights situation, which is an ongoing comprehensive process that has many dimensions.

Shiha’s remarks came in response to a question during a conference on Thursday titled 'Building a Post-Pandemic World...A Comprehensive Approach to Human Rights” about an international statement that criticized human rights situation in Egypt last March.

As many as 31 member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) prepared the Finish statement, including the United States.

The statement was submitted to the Geneva Forum criticizing alleged human rights abuses in Egypt, including restricting freedom of speech.

Shiha said he respects the European Union, European Parliament and the United States as strategic partners to Egypt and their role in following up on the human rights conditions in Egypt.

He, on the other side, warned against exaggerated and sometimes false information released from time to time.

“I also understand that these states, before issuing a statement in that form, to verify this information with the civil society organizations operating in Egypt,” Shiha said.

He added that the human rights situation in Egypt, like all countries, has defects but affirmed that there is evidence of a political will to improve the human rights conditions in the country. This includes access to prisoners, Shiha noted.

“We had been unable to visit prisons. Currently, the civil society organizations are allowed to enter and visit prisons, talk to a prisoner in private and check with him about what he receives,” Shiha added.

He added that officers and police personnel accused of violations are referred to the criminal court and are seen to be offending humanity and the authorities that they work for.

Shiha denied that torture in Egypt is a systematic process.