DNA profile may be included on Egyptian national IDs: MP

CAIRO – 30 April 2017: A bill that would obligation Egyptians’ DNA profiled to be included on their national ID cards is being considered by the House of Representatives as an attempt to reduce kidnapping and trafficking of children, parliamentarian Hisham Waly said Sunday.

The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood discovered 125 cases of kidnapping and trafficking of children already this year, Waly said, despite the promulgation of laws to protect children from domestic violence. Most kidnapping cases have not been solved yet, he added in a statement.

“Egypt ranks first in the Middle East and third globally in the sale of human organs and there a kidnapping occurs almost every 12 hours,” he said, noting that children are especially vulnerable. ”We should create legislation to reveal kidnappers, [which can] only be done with a DNA profile,” he added.

He pointed out that the law must be applied for national IDs, birth certificates and divorce certificates to prove children’s lineage, and added that Ministry of Health laboratories will perform the necessary labs and collect the fees.