On the sidelines of the 31st session of the UN Human Rights Council, currently convened in the HRC headquarters in Geneva, Bahey eldin Hassan, the director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, on Monday and Tuesday met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Tore Hattrem, and US Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights Tom Malinowski.
The three meetings addressed the deterioration of human rights in the Arab world, especially in Egypt, and ways to advance these rights. They also discussed the challenges of counterterrorism in countries where governments largely exploit counterterrorism efforts as cover to suppress forces that are opposed to terrorism, whether secularists or Islamists, including the political opposition, trade unions, journalists, writers, and secular and Islamist thinkers, as well as independent cultural platforms, football fan associations, school students, and human rights defenders.
The first meeting, which addressed global topics as well, included six international and regional organizations and seven assistants to the UN secretary-general. Six officials with the Norwegian Foreign Ministry participated in the second meetings, while three US State Department officials attended the third meeting.
Share this Post