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Al-Ahram Weekly 12 - 18 August 1999 Issue No. 442 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 12 - 18 August 1999 Issue No. 442
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Books Features Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters The first step
By Baheieddin Hassan *
Is it possible for human rights to be respected in the absence of democracy? Most people would say no. But it is taking too long for civil society to come to terms with the implications of this fact.
This and other related issues have been debated ad nauseam. Some of the focal questions in this debate have been: is a particular form of democracy necessary to guarantee respect for human rights? Is the responsibility of the human rights movement limited to monitoring prevailing conditions, or must it work to improve them? If it chooses active intervention, should it coordinate its efforts with other civil and political forces? How can it reconcile such coordination with its commitment to political neutrality?
The disastrous human rights record is sufficient answer to these questions. Now, however, for the first time, the Casablanca Declaration -- a document drawn up after extensive discussions in which 40 NGOs from 15 Arab states were involved -- defines "promoting the struggle for democracy" as the first responsibility of the Arab human rights movement.
Last May, Egyptian human rights groups began to implement this recommendation. They called upon civil society activists to work together and propose an appeal for political reform, to be submitted to the president's consideration in his fourth term. A small drafting committee finished its task this week. Its achievement represents one step forward. The journey is thousands of miles long.
*This week's Soapbox speaker is the director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS).
