In a statement on Friday, the Egyptian interior ministry said it will chair the conference, which will be held in the headquarters of the Police Academy in New Cairo.

Member countries of the Arab Interior Ministers Council (AIMC) as well as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and a number of Arab and foreign organisations concerned with human rights will take part in the conference, said the ministry.

Previous editions of the conference were held in Tunisia, the seat of the secretariat general of the 22-member AIMC, with the aim of enhancing cooperation between human rights apparatuses in the interior ministries of Arab countries.

During the seventh edition of the conference, the participants agreed to draft an Arab strategy to promote human rights in security practices.

The Egyptian interior ministry’s chairmanship of the conference reflects the AIMC general secretariat’s appreciation of the Egyptian dedication to advancing the values and concepts of human rights in various security fields, the statement said.

Egypt has been among the top countries to apply the human rights concepts and values in various security aspects, the ministry stressed.

The Egyptian ministry’s hosting of the conference also comes within the framework of the National Strategy for Human Rights launched by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi last year, a major theme of which is the comprehensive concept of human rights in the state, the statement added.

The launch of the National Strategy for Human Rights is part of Egypt’s national development track that aims to consolidate the principles of the new republic and achieve Egypt’s Vision 2030, the ministry added.

The strategy seeks to ensure further advancement and respect of all civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights and consolidate the state’s efforts in supporting rights and freedoms for all segments of society, the ministry added.

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, as well as the release of thousands of prisoners.

Egypt also launched in July its national dialogue as per El-Sisi’s call in April for dialogue between political forces “without exception or discrimination.”