El-Bakly's remarks came as he delivered Egypt's statement before the High-Level Segment of the 52nd regular session of the Human Rights Council.

During his speech, he also reaffirmed that the issue of human rights involves a process of permanent development in which no country has reached the point of perfection.

There is a close link between democracy and human rights, El-Bakly said, underlining the importance of attaining a balance between rights and duties.

The current session is being held in light of the state of turmoil and anticipation that dominates the international scene, he went on to say.

El-Bakly further said that crises of food and energy take an enormous toll on the full enjoyment of human rights.

He also condemned in the strongest terms the act of desecration of the Holy Quran, saying that such a provocative act has irritated the sentiments of more than one billion Muslims worldwide.

El-Bakly warned at the same time against the dangers resulting from the spread of those actions.

The assistant foreign minister added that the council must pay special attention to Islamophobia and the anti-Muslim movements in the West.

Speaking of Palestine, El-Bakly said that Egypt gives special importance to promoting human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories and always endorses initiatives to alleviate the suffering of people in Syria, Libya and Yemen as well as the suffering of the Rohingya in Myanmar.

He highlighted that Egypt has taken several steps over the past period which have improved the state of human rights, particularly political and civil rights.

El-Bakly cited the decision issued by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to abolish the Emergency Law in October 2021.

The assistant foreign minister further referred to President El-Sisi's call to hold a national dialogue and his decision to reactivate the Presidential pardon committee in April 2022, describing both decisions as leading to greater openness and freedom. 

El-Bakly also called on the council to take heed of people’s cultural rights by listening to the people who demand the return of their cultural heritage which had been seized by other countries.  

He also discussed the threats that face human rights as a result of climate change.

In this context, El-Bakly cited Egypt’s Action on Water, Adaptation, and Resilience (AWARe) international initiative that aims to decrease water waste worldwide, improve water supplies, and support the implementation of the mutually agreed upon policies and methods for cooperative water-related adaptation action and its co-benefits.