Egypt presents its vision on human rights in World Youth Forum

CAIRO – 11 January 2022: The session of Model United Nations Human Rights Council (MUNHRC), which was attended by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Chairwoman of the National Council for Human Rights Moshira Khattab, was held Tuesday within the fourth edition of the World Youth Forum (WYF).  

Khattab urged the eradication of discrimination worldwide to ensure equality, adding that cooperation among nations is key to overcome the economic repercussions of the pandemic.

The chairwoman of the National Council for Human Rights underlined that population growth is a global challenge to resilience against crises. With regard to health predicaments, Khattab highlighted that COVID-19 unveiled the vulnerability of the health systems of many countries.

In that realm, she showcased President Sisi’s emergency plan worth $100 million launched amid the outbreak of COVID-19. On another level, the chairwoman of the National Council for Human Rights commended the president’s keenness on promoting freedom of creed.

Khattab also pointed out that the Egyptian government had set a national human strategy for human rights to ensure that solid steps are taken on that front in a more defined framework.

On his side, President Sisi addressed human rights in view of population growth, illegal migration, and refugees. The chief of state said that countries, where the size of population is stable, did not endure the burden of expanding their healthcare systems under the pressure of the pandemic.

The president reiterated that education, healthcare, and employment are human rights. Speaking of the COVID-19 crisis, President Sisi said that restrictions imposed by some developed countries during the pandemic undermined the human rights of peoples of developing counterparts.

Regarding migration, the president pointed out that no single illegal migrant has departed from Egypt since 2016. “We wouldn’t allow ourselves to be a bridge to the unknown for them (illegal migrants),” President Sisi noted.

As for refugees, the head of state stressed that the country has no refugee camps, saying that Egypt houses six million refugees "that we call guests."

The president suggested that one of the sustainable solutions to eliminate the refugees crisis is not conspiring against the homelands of those individuals. He further pointed out that Egypt was subject to conspiracies that would turn its people into refugees.

It is noted that the MUNHRC's resolution will be included in the recommendations of the WYF.