The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies hosted a meeting this morning between the Forum of Independent Human Rights Organizations, an umbrella group of 16 Egyptian organizations, and representatives from 17 states. The meeting was held to discuss the report submitted by the Egyptian government as part of the Universal Periodic Review procedure in preparation for the June session at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The meeting which lasted nearly two hours included a presentation by the Forum of its assessment of the UN session in February, its commentary on the recommendations accepted and rejected by the Egyptian government and the Forum’s plan of action for the next two months as part of its One Hundred Days Campaign.
Attendees also discussed the new government-sponsored NGO bill which is an even more repressive version than the current law. The participants agreed to hold a follow-up meeting to examine this law in greater detail.
The Forum has extended an invitation to the government’s ministerial committee in charge of the UPR process, chaired by Minister Mufid Shehab, to discuss these issues.
The meeting was attended by diplomats from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the EU, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the US.
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