A/HRC/43/16
7.
In promoting human rights, it was important not to twist facts for political or
personal interests. For example, the propagation of the term “arrest of demonstrators” to
refer to the arrest of those who violated the law by failing to notify the authorities in
advance, or the term “collective trials” to describe crimes where there were several
perpetrators.
8.
Turning to efforts to implement the recommendations of the previous review, with
regard to civil and political rights, Egypt had fulfilled the political road map drawn up
following the revolution of 30 June 2013, through the adoption of a new Constitution and
the holding of presidential elections in 2014 and parliamentary elections in 2015. In 2018,
Egypt had held a second round of presidential elections and, in 2019, a referendum on
constitutional amendments under the supervision of the national elections committee, an
independent authority composed of members of the judiciary. The law on public meetings,
processions and peaceful demonstrations had been amended in 2017 to confirm the right to
demonstrate by a mere notification, but also granted the judiciary exclusive rights to cancel,
postpone or change the course of demonstrations, an important amendment that was
sometimes intentionally overlooked. In 2019, the law on NGOs had been amended,
following a series of communal consultations. In addition, Egypt had enacted a new labour
unions law, granting workers freedom of association and prohibiting the dissolution of
unions, except by a court ruling, and had amended the law in 2019 following International
Labour Organization (ILO) proposals. Egypt had also enacted a law to regulate the
construction and restoration of churches in 2016, and accordingly had legalized the status
of 1,235 churches and service facilities to date.
9.
With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, economic and fiscal reforms
during the period 2014 to 2019 had led to an increase in the annual per capita income from
28,000 to 53,721 Egyptian pounds and a reduction in the unemployment rate from 12.8 to
7.5 per cent. Pensions of workers in both the public and private sectors had risen by 41 per
cent, and the Solidarity and Dignity Programme provided a social security network for poor
families, old and disabled persons, and orphans, benefiting some 10 million people. Efforts
were under way to provide adequate housing, safe and clean drinking water, sanitation and
decent living conditions for all. In 2017, Egypt had enacted the law on comprehensive
health insurance, which aimed at gradually providing comprehensive health insurance to
cover all citizens without distinction, in tandem with efforts to improve health-care
services, including through initiatives to detect and treat hepatitis C and non-communicable
diseases, in addition to improving health care for women, students and incarcerated
persons.
10.
To fulfil international obligations, a law had been enacted in 2016 criminalizing all
forms of the smuggling of migrants and acknowledging the rights of migrants to voluntary
repatriation. In addition to about 5 million residents, Egypt hosted over 250,000 refugees
and asylum seekers, most of whom had fled conflicts in neighbouring States and did not
wish to apply for refugee or asylum status. They were not kept in isolated camps and
enjoyed all the same basic services as Egyptians.
11.
Egypt had submitted its midterm report to the Council in 2018 regarding the
implementation of the recommendations made during its second universal periodic review,
and had submitted its periodic reports to the Human Rights Committee, the Committee
against Torture, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the
Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities.
B.
Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review
12.
During the interactive dialogue, 133 delegations made statements.
Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present
report.
13.
Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines,
Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal,
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