Egypt’s National Dialogue members meet with representatives of Human Rights NGOs

CAIRO – 10 April 2023: General Coordinator of the Egyptian National Dialogue Diaa Rashwan met with a number of representatives of human rights organizations to participate in meetings of the Human Rights and Public Freedoms Committee on Sunday.

The participation aims at creating a positive atmosphere that helps start the dialogue sessions effectively, according to a statement issued by the Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue.

The meeting was participated by head of the technical secretariat of the National Dialogue Judge Mahmoud Fawzi; member of the Board of Trustees and Court of Cassation Justice Negad al-Burai; Assistant rapporteur of the Human Rights Committee of the National Dialogue and Court of Cassation Justice Ahmed Ragheb.

It also was attended by representatives of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR); the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE); the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR), the Egyptian Center for Education Right (ECER); The Egyptian Center for Housing Rights (ECHR); Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights; the Dialogue Forum Foundation; the Justice Support Foundation; the Women’s Issues Foundation; Egyptian Democratic Academy; and a number of independent jurists.

The representatives discussed human rights issues generally and other issues related with some particular individuals.

They also called for facilitating the procedures to register the unlicensed NGOs to become legal entities. The participating human rights representatives also asked of expanding the period of registration the NGOs.

“Representatives of the human rights stressed the importance of making legislative amendments to allow for a broader space of human rights organizations, and to allow them to communicate effectively with citizens wishing to work with them or benefit from their services,” the statement read.

The participants affirmed their firm desire to participate effectively in the national dialogue sessions, asking for making the dialogue discussions public.

“The the Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue is keen to create an atmosphere for a constructive national dialogue that results in agreed-upon recommendations to be submitted to the President,” said Rashwan.

“President’s response to the recommendation of the Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue as the upcoming elections to be held under a full judicial supervision, is clear evidence of the political leadership's keenness to listen and adopt all constructive suggestion,” he added.

It is expected that the General Coordinator will complete his meetings with representatives of some other human rights organizations that could not be invited to the Sunday meeting.