Mohamed al-Orabi, former foreign minister and member of the Egyptian delegation in the meeting of the International Council on Human Rights, said the review of the human rights situation in Egypt is satisfactory.
He said in a statement on Wednesday that many participating countries praised the new Egyptian constitution in terms of catering for human rights and the rights of women and people with special needs.
“Some Western countries, however, addressed freedoms relating to demonstrations and civil society organizations,” he said. “Also, harassment and the next parliamentary elections were of interest to the majority of participants.”
He noted that Turkey did not change its opposition regarding the Egyptian regime, while Qatar confirmed that it understands the challenges faced by Egypt and welcomed the new constitution.
He explained that the council will send recommendations for Egypt to respond to before it issues its final report in March.
Egypt has been under fire by human rights groups and Western governments after the ouster by the military of former President Mohamed Morsy. The following government passed severe laws limiting protests and has arrested political dissidents, journalists and human rights workers en masse, accusing them of "speading false news," terrorism and violating the protest law.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
