Premature pessimism

By Osama El-Ghazali Harb

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I disagree with the recent wave of pessimism concerning the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) and the role it can play in promoting human rights in Egypt. The NCHR, some say, is just a government-run body; an agency created to exonerate the state, to make things look better without introducing substantive changes. The reason often cited for such criticism is that the NCHR has failed to annul the state of emergency.

In my opinion, such pessimism is more related to the general mood in the country, to the general atmosphere of despondency and distress, than to reality. First of all, the NCHR is not a government-run body. Among its members are public figures who would not risk their reputation just to humour the government. Reform is underway in this country, for various reasons, domestic as well as foreign. Besides, it would be unfair to pass judgement on an agency that is four months old and still building its organisational structure, refining its operational methods, and hiring staff.

Furthermore, it is not true that the NCHR has refused to call off the state of emergency. What the NCHR did was discuss the priorities of the topics on its agenda. Cancelling the state of emergency would require more than just a decision. It is something that has to be undertaken in an orderly fashion to ensure that it is done properly. It is essential, for the very sake of reform, that we maintain a measure of confidence in our institutions and the people involved in public work. It is alright to have doubts and voice misgivings, but one must not rule out progress out of hand because it is taking time, or denounce entire institutions just because some issues are more complicated than they seem.

This week's Soapbox speaker is a member of the Shura Council and editor-in-chief of Al-Siyassa Al-Dawlia (International Politics), published by Al-Ahram.