‘Human Rights Conference… Building a Post Pandemic World’ kicks off

CAIRO – 8 April 2021: A post-pandemic human rights conference, organized by the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies (ECSS) kicked off on Thursday in Cairo.

The conference, titled 'Building a Post-Pandemic World...A Comprehensive Approach to Human Rights,” has been attended by Egyptian Minister of Health Hala Zayed, Minister of Planning Hala El Said, Minister of International Cooperation Rania El-Mashaat, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), and head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Cairo Delegation, Jerome Fontana, and other participants.

The conference was opened by a speech for the ECSS chairperson Khaled Okasha.

Here his speech at the conference:

The Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies (ECSS) is pleased to organize this conference on human rights, an issue that has always been of a great interest to the ECSS since its establishment. The greatest interest, however, comes today from the ECSS, the Egyptian state, and all sectors of the society, with the announcement of holding a broad inclusive dialogue on human rights in a post-COVID world to envision such a world through discussing the International Agenda on Human Rights, released by the United Nations last December, which identified ending discrimination and racism, addressing inequalities, promoting participation and solidarity, and supporting sustainable development as fundamental rights and an indispensable framework for building a post-pandemic world.  

We would like to take this opportunity to express our grateful thanks to honorable ministers, in the following order of participation: Dr. Hala Al-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, Dr. Hala Zayed, Minister of Health and Population, Dr. Tarek Shawky, Minister of Education and Technical Education, and Dr. Nevine Al-Kabbaj, the Minister of Social Solidarity. The honorable ministers have shown sincere desire to share their vision and ideas on the conference topics contributing to enriching discussions.

We extend our sincere thanks to members of the legislature, both senators and representatives, for their participation and their contribution as to the legislative and legal frameworks that would help create a climate that promote building a better world with human rights at its core. The ECSS would also like to give thanks to the Specialized National Councils, particularly the National Council for Human Rights and the National Council for Women, for their participation and their intellectual and practical views on the issue. 

We also wish to express our special thanks and appreciation to foreign ambassadors to Egypt who were keen to join us today for mutual sharing of experiences. In particular, we wish to thank the Embassy of the United States of America and the embassies of European countries, the strategic partners of the Egyptian state, embassies of Asian countries that have extended, historical, and civilizational relations with Egypt, embassies of sister Arab countries, and finally embassies of African countries, that are a strategic and historical extension of Egypt.

Special thanks are due to the international organizations participating in the conference and their representatives in Cairo for their willingness to engage in the panel discussions and provide us with their vision of human rights situation amid the pandemic and ways of promoting human rights ensuring welfare and a decent life for citizens in a world that respects their humanity. In this respect, the ECSS especially extends its thanks to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for being strategic partners and sponsors of the conference and the fruitful discussions it will bring.

We also convey our deep thanks to all the Egyptian organizations concerned with human rights as well as civil society institutions for their participation and their prominent role during the pandemic. Thanks also go to the Egyptian media for their support. We also highly appreciate the participation of representatives of Arab and foreign media. We, in the ECSS, are keen on providing an avenue for discussion between officials and all parties concerned with human-related issues to enrich discussions and propose mechanisms and views that promote human rights for a better post-pandemic world.

Human rights has its intellectual and philosophical roots deep in human history. Over decades, debates and discussions have sought reinforcing human rights to respond to the challenges humans face. There have been some events that represented a historic and cultural transition leading societies to reflect on human rights situation and try to find new ways to achieve the ultimate goals of the society. 

Today, humanity is facing a new unprecedented challenge that is increasing with the wide spread of the virus, posing an imminent threat to humanity and enabling us to realize our shared destiny regardless of different circumstances and the development gap between countries. The most significant impacts of COVID-19 was the reconsideration and review of all spheres of life, deriving lessons from pandemics’ outbreak  over history,  making “man” a goal in itself, a goal for which efforts should be exerted to ensure individuals are endowed human rights that safeguard their dignity and  ensure them a decent life in a time humans are exposed to global conflicts, strategic competitiveness, and  an abrupt rise of chauvinist ideologies characterized by selfishness and intolerance posing challenges to equality, challenges that make worse the current crisis, place considerable challenges for  international organizations, and create conditions for further exacerbation of the situation in countries and societies that were never thought to come to this.

The humanitarian response to COVID-19 has been manifested in the theme of the International Human Rights Day on December 10, which was linked to the 2020-2021 International Agenda on Human Rights, with a thematic focus on COVID-19 pandemic and the need to build back better by ensuring human rights are central to recovery efforts. The agenda on Human Rights covers four main goals with the aim of building back a better post-pandemic world. The first goal is "ending discrimination" that has always struck communities during pandemics. The second goal is “addressing inequalities” and the devastating impact of the pandemic on poor and marginalized groups with a focus on the need to a new social contract for a new era. The third goal is “encouraging participation and solidarity” being a cornerstone to building a post-pandemic world. This goal stresses the pivotal role of the civil society and non-government organizations in building a post-COVID world. Finally, the fourth goal is “promoting sustainable development”, a development that have human rights in its core philosophy.

The ECSS realizes the importance of the involvement of all parties in a broad dialogue that gives rise to a large base of ideas and visions to be researched with the aim of supporting those concerned with the issue and providing them with objective ideas and mechanisms that promote human rights, a goal that can’t be reached unless we provide equal opportunities for all and be able to address impacts of COVID.   

Building on this, came the idea of organizing the conference. The program of the conference includes three sessions. The first session comes under the title of “Man is the Goal:  Human Rights amid the Pandemic”. Session two discusses “Equality Issues and Promoting Sustainable Development Efforts. Session three discusses solidarity efforts and is titled “Toward a Post-pandemic World: Solidarity is the Cornerstone”.