New Egyptian panel will defend government, not human rights
Numerous so-called human rights organizations in Egypt are working to shine up the regime's image, blasting any independent or global rights groups that dare to speak up about human rights violations in Egypt.
Egypt will convene a committee next month tasked with responding to, and trying to counter, claims of human rights abuses against the often-accused country.
The new body, euphemistically named the Supreme Committee for Human Rights, will be chaired by a Foreign Ministry representative. The committee will seek to discredit criticism from independent and international rights groups.
Mohammed al-Ghoul, a member of parliament's Human Rights Committee, told Al-Monitor, “The new committee will respond to suspicious reports issued by official or unofficial bodies criticizing authorities in Egypt.” It will also have the executive authority to file lawsuits against those bodies before the United Nations.
To independent rights advocates in Egypt, this new committee is nothing but a facade to hide human rights violations perpetrated by authorities, especially torture inside prisons and forced disappearances.
