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Al-Ahram Weekly 10 - 16 June 1999 Issue No. 433 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 10 - 16 June 1999 Issue No. 433
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Books Living Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters NGO controversy drags on
By Mariz Tadros
President Hosni Mubarak met with Mary Robinson, the UN high commissioner for human rights, on Monday. The talks dealt with "the importance of promoting and protecting human rights on the regional and international levels," Robinson told reporters.
President Mubarak meets Mary Robinson, the UN high commissioner for human rights, on Monday
Mervat Tellawi, minister of social affairs, said that Robinson wants to promote human rights on the regional level. In Tellawi's words, Robinson believes that, through the facilities available in Egypt, she can support the cause of human rights in the Arab world, politically, economically and socially. The minister said that Robinson's visit had nothing to do with the new NGO law because she is aware that she cannot interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.
Also on Monday, Robinson opened a three-day seminar, organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Arab Organisation for Human Rights (AOHR), on human rights and development. Whose rights, whose development and what exactly development is supposed to mean were all questions left for the participants to decide for themselves.
"Hopefully, this gathering, which brings together figures from governments, parliamentary institutions and NGOs, will be an important step towards the elimination of the reasons behind the suspicions and apprehensions of some governments with regard to forming a serious partnership with institutions of civil society," said Mohamed Fayek, secretary-general of the AOHR.
These suspicions, according to Fayek, "constitute a real obstacle to the development of legislation that would encourage participation in civil society. Such suspicions even drive some governments to tighten their grip on the activities of such organisations, particularly those concerned with human rights, under the pretext that some of them go too far in relying on external support," he said.
But this, of course, reflects the NGOs' perspective. From a government's view, however, human rights have too often been used, as Tellawi put it, "to put pressure on the status quo in a way that does not lead to strengthening human rights."
Tellawi said that she is for "ridding human rights of double standards used as a pretext for unsubstantiated criticisms of certain countries, and not others. We hope to rid human rights of politicisation used as a pretext to interfere in the domestic affairs of some countries. We look forward to the provision of economic and social rights, which should be given priority to complement civil and political rights."
Robinson pointed out, however, that "much has been written about the balance that should exist between civil and political rights, on the one hand, and economic, social and cultural rights on the other. The debate strikes me as artificial, since we only have to look at the world around us to know that it is not a case of choosing one over another; both sets of rights have to be vigorously championed and defended," she said.
Robinson stressed the important role NGOs have to play as "a powerful force both for development and for human rights. They should be seen by governments and the international community as full partners, and not as opponents."
Tellawi said that social reform should go hand in hand with economic and political reforms, stressing the importance of defining the roles of each of the three development protagonists -- the government, business and the NGOs.
This "development triangle" was debated at length in the seminar. Karima Korayem, economics professor at Al-Azhar University, was suspicious of any possible relationship between the private sector and human rights. "The smaller the private initiative, the greater the likelihood for human rights violations like, for example, the absence of industrial security at work, the evasion of payment of social insurance for workers by not giving them permanent jobs and the hazardous disposal of the project's environmental waste -- all measures intended to reduce cost and maximise profit," she argued. But she pointed out that multinational corporations are also prone to human rights violations.
Amina Shafiq, a writer with Al-Ahram, also questioned the relevance of this "development triangle" to many developing countries, where the private sector is weak and there is a pressing need for the state to play the leading role in development.
But national development, many Egyptian and Arab participants argued, was often greatly hindered by the policies of certain international financial institutions and the policies of the North which violate the South's right to development.
The UN high commissioner for human rights, Mary Robinson, met with representatives of human rights organisations on Monday to review the new NGO law approved by the People's Assembly two weeks earlier. At a news conference afterwards, Robinson said: "I was concerned and, to a certain extent continue to be concerned, about the broad language of the legislation. My concern has been reassured to a certain extent on a number of points: that there have been consultations with NGOs in preparing the law and that there will be consultations with NGOs in preparing the executive regulations. That I regard as very important, because everything depends on the spirit and the practical implementation of the legislation. I regard the law on NGOs as being a matter of concern for me as high commissioner for human rights, because freedom of association is guaranteed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Egypt has ratified."
Robinson said she had received assurances that the prohibition of NGOs' involvement in political activity will be restricted to "the activity of political parties that seek to overthrow the government and to change the power structure." She repeatedly affirmed that she will "follow very closely how it [the law] is to be implemented."
At an earlier two-hour news conference last Thursday, Mervat Tellawi, minister of social affairs, vigorously defended the law, dubbed Law 153 for 1999, declaring that it is "the most democratic piece of legislation ever". She affirmed that "the philosophy of the new law stems from the government's firm belief that, with the advent of the 21st century, voluntary associations should be dealt with as partners in the development process, on equal footing with businessmen and the private sector." Tellawi pointed out that, in order for NGOs to act as real partners, "we have to streamline their work and provide them with more freedom." Nevertheless, "there has to be a balance between the freedoms of individuals and those of the community." Law 153, Tellawi argued, achieves new gains for NGOs, including the establishment of an arbitration committee, with the aim of settling disputes before going to court, the exemption of NGOs from all customs tariffs on their imports and the increase of the percentage of tax exemption on donations from seven to 10 per cent. The minister added that 29 clauses in the new law remove government authority over NGO activity.
Tellawi reacted angrily to a question by a foreign correspondent, who inquired why the law was approved so quickly by the cabinet and People's Assembly. "We spent two years touring the country [for discussions of the law]; why do you come now and deny all of this? This is not democratic at all, and it is time that I say that you are not democratic."
Human rights organisations had protested that although some of them were invited for consultations, their demands were not reflected in the final version. NGOs complained that the gains they struggled to enshrine in the law were drained out of the final version, after it passed through the cabinet and People's Assembly.
However, Tellawi denied that changes were introduced by the cabinet and parliament to curtail NGO rights. "There were no changes in the final version. It is all about language and style, putting one phrase before or after. I completely refuse to say that the draft we negotiated for two years with the NGOs is not the same [as the final version]. This is not correct at all," she said.
Mona Zul-Fiqar, a prominent lawyer who had been on the drafting committee, had told Al-Ahram Weekly earlier that the problems began when the bill was sent to the cabinet, which added restrictive measures to the text prepared by the Ministry of Social Affairs. The cabinet's action interrupted the dialogue between the government and the NGOs, she had said.
Responding to questions about the restrictions on NGO activities, Tellawi said that the new law is less restrictive than Law 32, which has been repealed. The latter specified the areas in which NGOs were allowed to work, but the new law specifies the areas in which they are not allowed to work, such as the activities of political parties and trade unions, and activities that threaten national unity or disrupt public order, she said.
A recurring question was whether the ban on NGOs exercising political activity was intended to curb human rights work. Tellawi lashed out at the press, declaring that political rights were over-emphasised as human rights. "The focus in the press here and abroad is the implication that human rights are only political rights. You don't pick one right, amplify it and forget about other rights. So why the emphasis on the political?" she said.
NGOs dealing with development and human rights, had expressed concern over the powers the law gives the ministry to interpret "political" in any way it wants. They argue that this could potentially prohibit any advocacy and development work, since all work that seeks to bring about change can be considered political. Asked about the ministry's interpretation of "political", Tellawi said that "seeking a seat in parliament is regulated by the Political Parties Law. I cannot have 14,000 political parties or 14,000 syndicates in the country. You cannot talk about workers' salaries and promotions; that is not for an NGO to do; it is for a trade union to do. All the areas are open, including human rights, provided that you do not infringe on the law governing the parties or the law that governs the syndicates."
She insisted that "any of the human rights organisations working illegally now has the right to come forward and we will register it in accordance with the law. This law ensures so many freedoms, so many advantages, and the allegations that it is restrictive and against human rights are untrue; we are opening wide the door before human rights groups."
Tellawi announced that she had received an application for registration from the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR). Hafez Abou-Se'eda, the EOHR secretary-general, said that the organisation had indeed applied for registration, but that they will not go ahead until they see the executive regulations. So far, eight human rights groups have applied for registration.
"Our registration will be based upon certain conditions which must be ensured by the ministry, such as respect for international human rights conventions and declarations," he said. "Also, there should be no administrative intervention, and no objections to the issues and areas addressed by the organisation."
Abou-Se'eda insisted, however, that registration does not mean acceptance of the new law. "For 13 years we have been seeking registration so that nobody can say that we are illegal, but we still believe that the law is restrictive and that we are in solidarity with other human rights organisations which do not want to register because the law is restrictive," he said.
Human rights and advocacy groups who are working currently as non-profit civil companies can legally face liquidation if they do not register with the ministry within the specified grace period. Organisations that do not want to register argue that the law infringes upon their autonomy and gives the government an unlimited right to intervene in their work.
Tellawi responded: "Nobody will be closed down under this law. It is a myth in your mind, and the minds of so many foreign correspondents and people abroad, that this law is to close down the NGOs; the opposite is true. We seek to activate and empower NGOs..."
