Egypt’s FM speech at HRC reviewed recent achievements in human rights, MP Tarek Radwan

CAIRO – 28 January 2025: Head of the Human Rights Committee in the House of Representatives, Tarek Radwan, said that Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Badr Abdelatty speech, before the United Nations Human Rights Council was a ‘comprehensive review of the achievements made during the past period, which included many leaps in terms of the human rights file’.

He added in televised statements to al Qahera news channel, that Minister of Foreign Affairs addressed many points, most notably, launching the National Strategy for Human Rights, reactivating the Presidential Pardon Committee that resulted from it, and releasing many of the prisoners.

Radwan added, that Abdelatty also highlighted presidential initiatives such as decent life [Haya Karima], Takaful and Karama, along with many other initiatives that comes under the umbrella of the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister also referred to many legislations, according to Radwan, most notably the discussion of the draft Criminal Procedures Law, which the House of Representatives almost completed more than half of its articles, stressing that this law dates back to more than 40 years and includes many new articles related to political, economic, technological and social follow-ups.

Radwan explained that minister Abdelatty made it clear in his speech that the challenges facing Egypt affect its national security and economic situation, such as receiving more than 9 million and 300 thousand refugees in Egypt, along with the economic challenges, regional and international wars that affected the Egyptian economy and the movement of navigation in the Red Sea, as well as the war on Gaza which we hope will end well, and the Russian-Ukrainian war, which also affected Egypt's import of its wheat needs.

Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Chairman of the Permanent Supreme Committee for Human Rights, Badr Abdelatty headed on Tuesday the delegation participating in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session of human rights in Egypt at the International Human Rights Council [HRC] in Geneva.

In his speech, minister Abdelatty explained the keenness to interact with the Universal Periodic Review mechanism of the Human Rights Council, as it is an important forum for exchanging experiences and establishing a constructive dialogue based on the foundations of mutual respect and understanding of the circumstances, customs, traditions and values ​​prevailing in each society.

He reviewed Egypt’s achievements during the past five years under the directives of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in the field of protecting and promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms in law and practice, despite the successive challenges and crises witnessed by the region.

“The report submitted to you reflects the extent of the achievements made in implementing the recommendations received by Egypt, which contributed to strengthening national efforts aimed at improving rights and freedoms, despite the challenges that Egypt was and still is facing, due to the successive crises witnessed by the world,” Abdelatty said.

He added that, “during its last review session in 2019, Egypt received 372 recommendations, of which it accepted 301, and state institutions have intensified their efforts over the past five years to implement the recommendations they accepted.”

The delegation included Maya Morsi, Minister of Social Solidarity, Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Legal Affairs and Political Communication, Diaa Rashwan, Head of the State Information Service, General Coordinator of the National Dialogue, and the heads of the National Councils for Women, Childhood and Motherhood, People with Disabilities, and the Head of the National Coordinating Committee to Combat and Prevent Illegal Migration and Human Trafficking, and representatives of various national bodies, the Ministries of Justice and Labor, and the Public Prosecution.

Egypt's participation in the Universal Periodic Review mechanism comes within the framework of Egypt's keenness to interact with international mechanisms related to human rights and open up to them to benefit from the best experiences and present its efforts to advance the human rights system, as Egypt was keen to participate in all review rounds held since the establishment and activation of this mechanism in 2010, 2014 and 2019.