Abdelatty stressed that Egypt's fulfillment of its international commitments in the field of human rights was achieved by following an approach based on the following five main axes:

First: Formulating and adopting the first national human rights strategy for the period 2021-2026 under the auspices of President Sisi, which was prepared after consultation with all stakeholders and by benefiting from international expertise and being guided by the recommendations that Egypt received from the last review session and treaty mechanisms.

The foreign minister said that the second axis lies in continuing efforts to provide a favourable climate to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Egyptian Constitution, which was embodied in a number of important decisions, most notably the cancellation of the state of emergency in 2021, and the activation of the Presidential Pardon Committee, which resulted in the release of a number of those who meet the conditions for pardon.

Additionally, continuous review of the terrorist lists and the removal of the names of a number of those included on them have been made to give a second chance to those who have stopped practicing terrorist activity, especially young people, and to reintegrate them into society, he noted. Moreover, there was also the decision on the complete closure of Case No. 173, known as the foreign funding case, he said.

He further said that the third axis is about protecting and promoting human rights in their comprehensive sense and not giving priority to any group of rights at the expense of another, by launching and implementing a number of initiatives and projects that have contributed to strengthening political and civil rights in parallel with economic, social and cultural rights to ensure the sustainability of development efforts.

In addition to this Egypt has also worked on enhancing the right to freedom of religion and belief, which is a high priority for the political leadership to consolidate the values of citizenship, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, he said as well. In parallel, a number of national programs and projects were implemented to improve the standard of living of citizens and enhance social protection for the most needy and vulnerable groups, he added, citing the Decent Life Project and the Takaful and Karama Program. These efforts were recently crowned with the launch of the "New Beginning for Human Development" initiative, which aims to build the Egyptian citizen and achieve economic, social and human development, according to him.

The fourth axis is related to adopting an approach based on respecting international obligations regarding human rights and ensuring that national legislation, policies, programs and strategies are consistent with commitments, he went on to say, highlighting the amendment of a number of laws and the introduction of new ones..

Egypt has also strengthened its institutional structure by activating the Permanent Supreme Committee for Human Rights in early 2020 as a driver for all state efforts, he said, noting as well that training and capacity building programs for workers in state institutions have been intensified.

The fifth axis lies in strengthening engagement with international and regional mechanisms concerned with human rights, by regularly submitting relevant national reports, he said.

He further said that Egypt’s institutions have spared no effort to ensure that foreigners residing on its territory enjoy their rights, adding that the Egyptian state has borne great responsibility on behalf of the international community for many years by hosting huge numbers of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, which have so far reached 10.7 million from 62 nationalities.

Egypt is keen to ensure that they enjoy all basic services and integrate them into the host communities, and not force them to remain in refugee camps or centers, he further said.

He affirmed Egypt's adherence to the constants of its position rejecting all attempts of displacement or encouraging the transfer or uprooting of peoples from their lands, whether temporarily or long-term, in a way that threatens stability and undermines the chances of peace and coexistence among peoples. (MENA)

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