President of Egypt's National Council for Human Rights Moushira Khattab received a delegation from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights headed by UN Deputy High Commissioner Nada Al-Nashif. NCHR
Al-Nashif made her statement as she was received in Cairo by President of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) Moushira Khattab, read a statement by the council on Monday.
Al-Nashif headed a delegation that included UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt Elena Panova and Chief of the OHCHR’s Middle East and North Africa branch Mohammad Alnsour.
The OHCHR’s mission is to bridge the gap between the implementation of international standards of human rights and national legislation, Al-Nashif said during her visit.
She hailed the positive steps Egypt has recently taken, starting with the launch of the National Strategy for Human Rights last year and the call for a national dialogue.
The country’s 2021-2026 National Strategy for Human Rights was launched by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in September to address the political, economic, social, and cultural rights of all groups.
Egypt started its national dialogue with meetings of its board of trustees earlier this month in response to El-Sisi’s call in April for dialogue between political forces “without exception or discrimination."
Egypt has taken several steps over the past year to advance human rights, including the revival in April of the Presidential Pardon Committee formed in 2016 and releasing thousands of prisoners.
During the meeting, Al-Nashif inquired about the steps taken in accordance with the National Strategy for Human Rights, the statement added.
She also shed light on Egypt’s achievements in the right to water and sustainable development as well as the country’s efforts to combat climate change.
Khattab said the NCHR works on achieving the goals stipulated in its establishment law in cooperation with all sectors to enhance and protect human rights.
The NCHR has recently held meetings with civil society groups, political parties, and legislative institutions, 8 conducted field visits in some governorates, Khattab said.
The council visited a number of rehabilitation and correctional facilities in Cairo and other governorates within the framework of the strategy, Khattab added.
The NCHR drafted a national plan that includes programmes to build capacities in law enforcement institutions and judicial authorities, she noted.
Vice President of the NCHR Mahmoud Karem, Fahmy Fayed, the council’s secretary-general, and council members Mohamed Mamdouh and Ismail Abdel-Rahman attended the meeting with the OHCHR delegation.
Over the past month, NCHR delegations visited Wadi Al-Natroun Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre in northern Egypt and toured the correctional centre in Damanhour, Beheira, to follow up on the human rights situation in the newly inaugurated centres.
Since its new composition in October, the NCHR has held meetings with UN officials, including from the UNICEF, UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and OHCHR to review means of enhancing cooperation on human rights.
Last month, Khattab said the NCHR will sign a cooperation programme with the European Union (EU) and OHCHR on implementing Egypt’s National Strategy for Human Rights in a meeting with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.
Short link: