CAIRO – 28 January 2025: Egypt’s Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Legal Affairs and Political Communication, Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy participated on Tuesday in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session of human rights in Egypt at the International Human Rights Council [HRC] in Geneva, as part of the Egyptian delegation headed by Dr. Badr Abdel Aati, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration.
The Minister said in his speech that Egypt has achieved a comprehensive legislative and institutional leap in the field of civil and political rights.
He stressed Egypt’s commitment to implementing the recommendations it accepted in the last Universal Periodic Review in 2019, and responding to national and international challenges related to this file.
The minister explained that one of the most prominent legislative achievements is the issuance of a new law to regulate the asylum of foreigners, in response to the steady increase in the number of refugees and asylum seekers.
He said that this law is in line with Egypt's international obligations, especially the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and guarantees the protection of refugees and their enjoyment of all rights and freedoms guaranteed to them.
The law also established a national committee concerned with regulating refugee affairs, which is responsible for considering asylum applications on a case-by-case basis according to specific deadlines, with priority given to the most vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women, unaccompanied children, and victims of human trafficking and violence.
The Minister stressed that the law includes explicit and clear texts that do not forcibly deport refugees or return them to a place where they are exposed to danger, while guaranteeing their right to voluntary return to their country of nationality or residence or resettlement in another country, or to obtain Egyptian citizenship.
The Minister pointed out that Egypt continues its constructive cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, stressing that the executive regulations of the law will include more facilities in registering refugees and asylum seekers and determining their status.
With regard to developing the criminal justice system, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Legal Affairs and Political Communication indicated that the government submitted to Parliament the new draft Criminal Procedures Law, which represents a major qualitative leap in developing criminal justice, and reflects the guarantees introduced in the constitution.
He added that the draft addresses very important issues, such as organizing pretrial detention and reducing its duration, and ensuring immediate release upon reaching the maximum limit, while creating mechanisms for grievances against pretrial detention decisions and compensating those affected by it materially and morally in cases of wrong pretrial detention, and emphasizing the application of its alternatives, all under judicial supervision at its levels.
The draft law also includes important guarantees for the accused, including the right to remain silent, public trials, the invalidity of any statements extracted under duress, ensuring the presence of a lawyer at all stages of the investigation and trial, and prohibiting harming the accused or detaining him outside the designated correctional and rehabilitation centers, and without a reasoned judicial order.
The draft law obliges the investigation and trial authorities not to interrogate or try the accused without the presence of a lawyer, with the appointment of a lawyer for those who do not have a lawyer, and prohibiting the separation of the accused from his lawyer during the criminal case, while granting detainees and their families the right to immediately report their complaints to the Public Prosecution, which according to the provisions of the constitution and the law is an integral part of the judiciary, and its members are independent and judges, and it supervises and monitors all legal places of detention, investigations, and initiating and prosecuting criminal cases, and they are part of the formation of the court.
The law also requires the issuance of a reasoned judicial order with a specific duration in cases that require monitoring communications, accounts and websites, within the scope of specific crimes.
The Minister stressed that the project enhances the protection of the rights of victims, witnesses and informants, and includes the use of modern technology in trial and investigation procedures, such as remote trials and electronic notifications, in line with international developments.
Within the framework of enhancing freedom of opinion and expression and political participation, Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy pointed out that the National Dialogue Initiative was an important starting point for expanding the circle of political and societal participation, by involving all segments of society in setting priorities for national action, adopting the mechanism of (consensus) instead of voting, and including political, economic and societal axes.
The Minister also said that the National Dialogue resulted in its first phase in strategic outputs that Egypt’s President referred to the relevant state agencies for study and implementation, in addition to the release of many convicts based on recommendations from the Presidential Pardon Committee, which examines the files of convicts who meet the conditions for pardon to release them before completing the sentence.
Regarding media, Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy explained that Egypt is characterized by a large journalistic and media diversity, as the number of registered newspapers exceeds 580 newspapers, the number of licensed satellite channels exceeds 74 channels, the number of licensed websites exceeds 200 websites, and the number of radio stations exceeds 14 radio networks, noting that the Supreme Council for Media Regulation supervises this sector independently, and its decisions are reasoned, while ensuring that its decisions are subject to judicial oversight, cancellation, and compensation.
The minister stressed that party pluralism represents a fundamental pillar of Egyptian democracy, noting that the recent parliamentary elections witnessed the competition of 92 political parties, of which 13 parties are currently represented in the House of Representatives, and 15 parties in the Senate.
He also explained that the recent presidential elections were held with the participation of four candidates, and the presidential and parliamentary elections were held under the management of an independent body and full judicial supervision, and follow-up by civil society organizations, the media, and foreign diplomatic missions.
In conclusion, Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy stressed that human rights are an integrated and interconnected system, and a common humanitarian goal that we all seek to achieve.
He affirmed that Egypt continues its efforts to support and promote human rights, through advanced legislation and sound policies, and benefiting from successful experiences at the international level, while taking into account the specificity and requirements of the constitutional and societal state.
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