Record number of Egyptian MPs look to join Human Rights Committee

Gamal Essam El-Din , Sunday 16 Oct 2016

Four MPs have decided to stand for the post of head ‎of parliament's Human Rights ‎Committee

Egyptian parliament (AFP)
Egyptian parliament (AFP)

A record 64 MPs have decided to ‎join the Egyptian parliament's Human Rights ‎Committee, which parliament's ‎deputy speaker Mahmoud El-Sherif says clearly reflects an ‎increasing interest on the part of MPs ‎in human rights issues.

The number of MPs looking to join the committee has risen from 38 in the first legislative session to 64 ‎in the second.

“This committee also ‎attracts a lot of attention from the media and ‎this might be an additional attractive element ‎for MPs to join,” said El-‎Sherif.‎

El-Sherif told reporters on Sunday that ‎registration for membership in ‎parliament's 25 committees – which began ‎last Thursday – showed that the Human ‎Rights Committee came on top.

He indicated that parliament's internal ‎bylaws do not put a limit on the number of ‎MPs in each committee.

“Each MP has the ‎right to join two committees, but he or she is ‎allowed to have complete voting powers in ‎just one committee; their first priority ‎one,” said El-Sherif.‎

Elections to the senior posts in ‎parliament's committees opened on Sunday, with each MP allowed to elect one head, two ‎deputies and one secretary-general for each ‎committee. The results are expected to be ‎declared Monday evening.‎

Registration for committee membership was held on Thursday, with each ‎MP having the right to join two committees. ‎The final lists of members in each ‎committee will be reviewed by parliament in a ‎plenary session on Sunday.‎

Unexpected development 

Another unexpected development is that four MPs ‎have decided to run for head of the ‎Human Rights Committee. ‎

These include the committee's deputy head ‎Atef Makhaleef, independent MP and ‎journalist Osama Sharshar, parliamentary ‎spokesman of the Free Egyptians Party Alaa ‎Abed, and head of the Conservatives Party ‎Akmal Qortam.‎

The committee's former chairman, head of ‎the liberal Reform and Development Party ‎Anwar El-Sadat, has so far refused to stand for the position.

El-Sadat has directed sharp attacks against ‎parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Al, accusing ‎him of not doing enough to help the committee in improving human rights ‎conditions in Egypt or standing up to foreign ‎accusations in this respect.

He resigned as chairman of the committee on 30 ‎August, stating that the committee still lacks ‎the power or the authority to summon senior ‎government officials, especially those ‎affiliated with the interior ministry, to respond ‎to abuse allegations.‎

However, El-Sadat has faced criticism that he ‎exploited his position as chairman of the ‎committee in the first session to serve the ‎agenda of Western human rights ‎organisations like Amnesty International and ‎the New York-based Human Rights Watch ‎‎(HRW).‎

MP and journalist ‎Sharshar told Ahram Online that his position as an independent makes him more suited for the post of committee head than his party-affiliated counterparts.

"An independent MP can serve ‎the interests of this committee, while those ‎affiliated with political parties always take ‎biased stances and serve the interests of ‎their parties rather than those of the committee," ‎said Sharshar.‎

Independent MP and the committee's current ‎deputy chairman Makhaleef said he ‎wants to become head in order to put the ‎committee back on sound tracks.

“El-Sadat tried ‎to hijack this committee to serve a foreign ‎agenda, but I want it to serve a national ‎agenda,” said Makhaleef.‎

Alaa Abed, the parliamentary spokesman of ‎the Free Egyptians Party, said that his job as a lawyer requires him to address the ‎grievances of citizens.

“I want to defend the ‎rights of the oppressed and address injustice ‎in this country,” said Abed.

“My ‎view of human rights is not confined to ‎dealing with complaints filed against the ‎interior ministry such as those related to ‎violations in prison cells and police stations, ‎but also to those related to improving the ‎everyday living conditions of citizens in ‎crucial areas like education, and health,” said ‎Abed.‎

Rumours are circling that Abed has received the ‎support of the Support Egypt parliamentary ‎bloc, and that Makhaleef may withdraw ‎from the race to help Abed win the election.‎

Qortam, head of the Conservatives ‎Party and a business oil tycoon, has also decided ‎to run. Qortam was a major supporter of El-‎Sadat when he was head of the committee in ‎the first session. ‎

Qortam expressed fears that the increase in the ‎number of MPs who want to join the ‎committee does not reflect an interest ‎in human rights issues, but rather a wish to ‎direct the committee to serve government ‎interests.

He recommended that the committee hold no more than 60 members, adding that the human rights situation in Egypt has ‎become a serious cause.

“We should ‎work on improving human rights conditions ‎inside Egypt as well as forge strong contacts ‎with foreign organisations rather than adopt a ‎hostile attitude towards them,” Qortam said.

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