LIVE BLOG: UN reviews Egypt's human rights record

A spokesman for the foreign ministry said that Egypt was "examining" and "considering amending" a controversial protest law introduced last year that inhibits public demonstrations without permission.

A Guardian article explains the law:

The law will force would-be protesters to seek seven separate permissions to take to the streets, and bans overnight sit-ins such as the Tahrir Square protests of early 2011. Activists will have to go to court to appeal against any rejected applications – a restriction lawyers argue will render legal demonstration almost impossible.

The law also bans any unsanctioned gatherings – either in public or in private – of 10 or more people, and will give the police the final say on whether a protest can take place. As a result, the law is deemed just as restrictive as a similar protest bill debated and later discarded under Morsi, whose own authoritarian instincts contributed to his downfall. His version – which was written by the same official – would have made demonstrators seek five separate permissions, instead of seven, but outlined more draconian punishments.

Ahead of the conference Human Rights Watch called on the UN to condemn the “most dramatic reversal of human rights” in the country’s history, which it insists has happened since President Mohammed Morsi was ousted in July 2013.

HRW also criticized Western countries and delegations, for failing to send a signal to President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi that human rights are a priority.

David Hearst, chief editor of Middle East Eye, has criticised the makeup of the UNHCR review panel, arguing that it could contain a heavy bias in favour of Egypt.

"Before the hearing starts the odds are heavily weighed against a session which could properly air the growing list of those [human rights] violations. The review will be led by three UN member states with close connections to [Egyptian Sisi’s regime.

"Saudi Arabia has been bankrolling post-coup Egypt. Montenegro has received billions of investments from the United Arab Emirates, the most active Gulf country in planning and executing the counter revolution to the Arab Spring in North Africa. And lastly Ivory Coast played a key role in reinstating the membership of Egypt in the African Union."

He also pointed out, however, that the review could still provide a mechanism for holding Egypt to account:

"Nevertheless, 47 other member states can make comments during the review and the HRC could put a resolution before all its members for a commission of inquiry as it did on Syria, North Korea and Palestine. Its a UN body that lacks teeth, but for all that Sisi is taking the hearing seriously because of the reputational damage it could do to him internationally."

As the UN reviews Egypt's Human Rights in Geneva, a non-public court in Cairo is holding a session on Mohammed Soltan, an Amerian-Egyptian arrested in August 2013.

Sultan, who slipped into a coma last week after spending 281 days on hunger strike, was arrested after taking part in a pro-Brotherhood demonstration at which hundreds of civilians were killed by the Egyptian army.

Soltan is charged, along with 51 other defendants with “forming an operations room to direct the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood group to defy the government during the Rabaa sit-in dispersal and to spread chaos in the country.”

Amnesty International warned in early October that Soltan’s health had deteriorated dramatically and that he has been passing out and bleeding from the mouth and nose.

Representatives of UN member states are putting tough questions to Egyptian officials. Here are a few:

Ireland: Will Egypt abolish the Emergency Powers, and specifically desist from using its provisions against journalists and bloggers?

Czech Republic: Has Egypt considered reviewing legal provisions as e.g. that criminalizing “habitual debauchery” which are open to abuse for persecution and intimidation of persons of minority sexual orientation or gender identity or of persons with HIV/AIDS? What specific programmes are in place to promote tolerance and eliminate discrimination based on sex and gender?

Norway: Despite protective provisions in the Penal Code, violence against women is a serious concern, whether occurring in the home, at the work place, or in the public sphere. What concrete steps are considered to increase the protection of women in Egypt?

Switzerland: Allegations of torture committed by security and police officers are systematically ignored. Does Egypt plan to investigate all allegations of torture in the future and bring the perpetrators to justice? The death penalty is prescribed for a wide range of offences under Egyptian law and has still been used extensively in 2009. Does Egypt envisage to impose a moratorium on executions and progressively reduce the number of crimes punishable by death with a view to the abolition of the death penalty?

Germany: As indicated by Human Rights Watch and various other Non-Governmental Organisations, the Emergency Law (Law No. 162 of 1958) has been in continuous effect since 1981. Implications of this Emergency Law are the possibility for the government to suppress political activities and critics through emergency legislation, or to allow the authorities detentions without a charge. The German Delegation would be interested to know whether the Government of Egypt intends to suspend this Emergency Law in the run-up to the upcoming presidential elections?

The US, a key strategic ally of Egypt, has spoken up, saying it is concerned about "mass violations of human rights" and called for "investigations into use of force by security forces against protesters."

The U.S. froze much of its $1.3 billion in annual military aid to Egypt last year, including the helicopter sales, after the army overthrew President Mohammad Morsi, a leader of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood Islamist movement.

But in June Secretary of State John Kerry voiced strong U.S. support for Egypt's president Sisi and signaled that Washington will continue the flow of military aid to the post-coup government.

Mr. Kerry said that the U.S. had recently released $575 million in assistance for Egypt's military and that he was confident 10 Apache helicopters would be delivered to Egypt soon.

Several countries have praised Egypt for its efforts to improve its human rights record including Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Russia.

The Saudi delegate commended Egypt's efforts to "combat terrorism and ensure democracy."

7 Egyptian Human Rights groups have reportedly pulled out of the conference fearing reprisals from the Egyptian government.

1. Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI)
2. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)
3. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
4. Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR)
5. Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE)
6. New Woman Foundation (NWF)
7. Nazra for Feminist Studies

Singaport representative commends Egypt's efforts to implement democracy through the road map. Singapore notices the steps taken by Egypt to combat violence against women and sexual abuse.