Witness Magazine: For a homeland that protects our humanity by Witness Magazine

Editor in Chief

For a Homeland That Protects Our Humanity

: Jehad Rajab

2nd Issue. September 2015

Content 4

why would you stay ?

Harassing them out

The Egyptian Woman between Society’s Suppression and Millstone of Egyptian Laws

Sympathy

What happens to minorities !?

Minorities in Egyptian Mentality

De-concentration 30 From to Devolution :

Perks of Egypt through foreign eyes

32 Justice and the Falling

International 24 The Criminal Court

Death Penalty : The State’s Weapon

Military Intervention

and Negotiated Peace: Reflections from Colombia

Egyptian Local De-ministration’s Direction to the Future

Masks

The Dream of Taking a Microbus

The Egyptian State Conservative Human Rights Approach

This is a free non-periodical print magazine Issued by: The Egyptian Commission For Rights and Freedoms under the creative commons licence. Distribution and re-publication is allowed under the same licence not under any profitable reasons.

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

Letter from

the editor in chief

It is very surprising how things differ when people know their rights and duties and learn how to defend and get those rights. In many different life examples, sometimes the problem is that we do not really know our rights or how things should be done. As there are many stories that build disappointments, there are also the successful ones that spread hope. For women and minorities, the problems are not new and existed for as long as we all remember. The only difference is that people started to know and learn, and as known “knowing that a problem exists is the first step in solving it” and for us to realize the existence of our problem, only then we can solve them. We are all going through the process of learning how to change the reality and how to solve problems that existed for a very long time and built roots. Being a woman, someone from a minority group or a citizen .became a journey of hardships that we need to change After the first issue was sent to print, it got confiscated from the printing station by officials before even getting distributed. The message that we all strive to deliver doesn’t have an easy paved road. It has lots of difficulties and problems to break the communication between the .media fulfilling its role as the fourth estate and the people It is neither easy nor right to stand up watching days unfold in an unwanted way and that what we dreamed of goes to waste. It is the steps we take, the decisions we make and the ways we choose that decide the coming ”.future. Let’s just work together and build it

Editor in Chief

Jehad Rajab

is a human rights magazine aims to spread the culture of defending human rights.

: Jehad Rajab Designed by: Asem Kamal Editor in Cief

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

Why would

you stay? Oliana Luke

“So why would you stay?”, I asked her. It was late, and the city buzzed around us as we sat in traffic on our daily hour and a half trek from the American University in Cairo, back into the city. Our conversation had started with my friend Huda, asking me how I was liking Egypt. As a blonde, tall, foreign woman our conversation had quickly devolved into fumbling over the topic of the sexual harassment I had been experiencing since being here. She regaled me with the many stories she had slowly been collecting as an Egyptian women who has lived in Cairo her whole life. The stares, the comments, the laughter, the touching, and the never ending feeling of discomfort that keeps

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every woman in Cairo in a constant state of hyper awareness of the gender they embody. As an American, I had seen sexual harassment, but not to this extent before. There has not been a moment of rest. I walk down my street in Zamalek to get groceries and I feel the stares singe my skin. I eat dinner at a stand downtown and I hear the sultry whisper being pelted at me by the men walking by. I get on the metro and feel the invasive push of the man standing next to me. It astounded me that women in this city could live like this without getting defeated from exhaustion. Which is why I didn’t realize the power of my question - why would you stay?

For the educated, young women of Cairo who have access to Westernized culture and have the funds to jet out of the city, the temptation of leaving can be overwhelming. Knowing that an alternative exists and that you can take it, begs the question of why any woman who is liberalized in thoughts and has opportunities outside Egypt, wouldn’t take that opportunity? However perhaps the more important question, is why they shouldn’t take it. My mom warned me before I left for Egypt, “If you’re ever in a tricky situation, look to other women for help.” I knew this to be true. In a society where women are so shrugged aside and beaten down, women look to each other for hands to be picked back up. So when I was talking to Huda I was horrified when she told me a story of being verbally harassed by a man while she was walking down the street, and the woman that was next to him laughed at his abuse. That is the moment when a problem has truly reached its pinnacle. It is when the oppressed aren’t willing to lend a hand to their fellow sufferers, when they side with the problem instead of the solution. And that’s precisely why the young and educated women of Cairo can’t flee. We can’t blame women for turning against each other in the most challenging of cultural battles. However, we must take this turn in attitude as a red alert. When women feel their only sense of ownership on the streets they inhabit, is to attempt to cling to the male generated power structure - is when desperation has reached its height. Women have lost the right of authority in their own homeland and such an identity crisis can lead to scary consequences. This is the last resort call to help, and if not answered, the situation in Egypt for women could become beyond saving. The educated women in Egypt are being put in an interesting situation that is calling upon them to be

the allies that this country so desperately needs. As a foreigner I can’t come in and tell Egyptian women that what they are experiencing is abuse; I have no right to do so. However, if the sexual assault situation in Egypt is ever going to change, the educated must walk down the street with confidence, reprimand their male counterparts for misogynistic attitudes, excel at their work, become leaders for the nation, and show the rest of the population that change can exist. They must prove to their fellow women that an alternative life to daily harassment is possible, and not just if you can afford a plane ticket, but it’s possible right here in Egypt. This requires the young female leaders of this country to keep their heads held high and lend a hand to every other woman they see who feels she’s not worthy of walking tall. As Huda and I sat still in traffic, listening to the harmony of honks and watching the city begin to glow with its twilight fluorescent glow; she paused in an attempt to answer my question. “Because it is home”, she finally exhaled. Perhaps this is what will save the women’s rights issues in Egypt yet. The feeling of magical hospitality and un-shatterable bonds is something even I haven’t been able to ignore in a country that seems to draw you in with its familial love. If this sense of community is enough to keep the young and educated here, all that’s left is to make sure these girls know the power that they possess. These women need to march the streets daily and exude their sense of belonging, because Egypt is their home just as much as any other man. These girls are told almost every day that their right to Egypt is less than their male counterparts. The young and educated need to help make sure that every other Egyptian girl feels this same sense of home. Most of all they need to help be allies and leaders as modern day women attempt to take back the streets of Cairo.

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

Harassing them out:

Female foreigners tell stories of Egypt’s worst experiences 99% of women have suffered from sexual harassment in Egypt according to field study conducted by the U.N. Women in April 2013. Slightly less (91.5 percent) have experienced unwelcome physical contact. However, in 2012 The Egyptian Center for Women›s Rights (ECWR) released a report that ranked Egypt as second country in the sexual harassment after Afghanistan.

Foreign women are facing harassment in a more violent way than Egyptian women are, according to a study Sara Magdy conducted by ECWR in 2008, covering 1,010 women, both foreigners and Egyptians. The study concluded that 98 percent of foreign women and 83 percent of Egyptian women were subjected to forms of sexual harassment. Basically, most of the news concerning sexual harassment relies on this study since there is not enough research available on sexual harassment in Cairo. Foreign and Arabic media have succeeded in stereotyping foreign women as “open-minded” people. Based on that, the majority of the people in Egypt believe that because foreign women have different values, perceptions and religious views, this could be a justification for discrimination or harassment.

“I am fond of Cairo’s downtown; I really enjoy walking around the ancient Egyptian buildings there, especially Kasr el-Nil district beside the fascinating Nile. I consider them the heart of Egypt. Mainly they are the best examples for genuine history and the great beauty of Egypt. Regrettably, walking on these areas became hard because of the amount of harassers existing there nowadays,” Konstantina Aretaki said. Aretaki is a Greek woman who came to Egypt in September 2013, to teach and work as Greek language instructor at Cairo University. Aretaki came depending on the positive impression she heard about Egypt, such as the famous reputation about Egyptians’ good manners, but these expectations were gradually shattered because of being daily exposed to verbal or physical sexual harassment. “Wherever I go I face harassment,” she said.

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“During my first year in Egypt, I did not expect any bad intentions from people. I was always smiling and very friendly with them. Then after suffering from sexual harassment for one year I became more aware of how I should react while being exposed to harassment, as I changed from a kind person into a very tough and cautious one while dealing with Egyptian men. So, when any man who could intend to speak to me expecting that because I am foreigner I would accept his way, he gets disappointed when I reject his sexual hints,” Aretaki said. While Aretaki was walking at Helmeyat el-Zatoon streets, a group of six young boys between 15 and 16 years old followed her and prevented her from moving. There were many local venders watching silently, until someone came and ordered the boys to leave her. This was not the only experience for Aretaki with sexual harassment, as she was regularly subjected to verbal abuses and consecutive cases.

“Many foreign women left Egypt because of sexual harassment,” Nehad Abu el-Komsan, the Director of ECWR, mentioned in an interview with Daily news in 2007.

“One car followed me for long distances when I was in Tahrir Square heading to Garden City. The driver’s persistence made me feel as if he was going to open the door and drag me inside the car,” the Greek woman said.

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Another example is Emily Crane, an American working as a freelance journalist. She lives in al-Dokki district. Journalists in Egypt are continuously subjected to various dangerous hardships that threaten security and lives stability so what if the journalist is a woman and a foreigner, too.

Moving to Ania Krasnikova, 25, is a Ukrainian who shifted from working as an English language teacher into a model in one of the Egyptian fashion companies. She bears the difficult life in Egypt and being treated as a sex object only because of her love to an Egyptian husband.

“Unfortunately, I face verbal harassment every day, every time I leave the house. It is impossible for me to go even hundred meters down the streets to get bread without finding someone verbally disturbing me. The first time I experienced physical harassment was in Egypt. It often happens to me in public places or crowded places while covering certain incidents,” Crane said.

“When I was on my way back home after work, a group of young children formed a circle around me and started harassing me up to the point that I thought that I was going to be raped,” Kransikova said. This was Karnsikova’s first experience with sexual harassment. At that moment she thought that they were discriminating against her because she was a foreigner. She did not realize that facing sexual harassment in Egyptian streets is a common phenomenon. Therefore, she decided to change her hair color into black in an attempt to avoid steering heads.

On the other hand, prohibiting herself from wearing certain revealing clothes, joking and talking in a certain way is to maintain the respect of the people around her especially her colleagues and in order to avoid being judged as an ‘’easy-going” girl. “At work I am required to wear what Egyptians wear, but the point that Egyptian girls can easily wear dresses that can reveal their bodies since they are living in their society, but I cannot do this because in Egypt they will stereotype me as an impolite woman. In my society, I can dress, act and talk in a more flexible way than here,” Kaidi said. Moving to Ania Krasnikova, 25, is a Ukrainian who shifted from working as an English language teacher into a model in one of the Egyptian fashion companies. She bears the difficult life in Egypt and being treated as a sex object only because of her love to an Egyptian husband. “When I was on my way back home after work, a group of young children formed a circle around me and started harassing me up to the point that I thought that I was going to be raped,” Kransikova said. “There are some dancing partners who use to take advantage from the fact that I’m foreigner and harass me while dancing by putting his hand on certain parts of my body. At such moments, if I do not stop them they would continue,” she added.

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

After quitting teaching, she entered the world of modeling. She thought she was going to be protected if she was surrounded by educate high-class people, but in fact it was the complete opposite that was true.

“

One time I was preparing for a show in the dressing room. When the stylist came and ordered me to change into a shorter dress and when I objected, she said what difference does it make to you, you are a foreigner anyway, Karsikova said.

“

Kaidi is an Estonian woman who came to Egypt in the summer of 2012. She came to work as a professional dancer at Cairo Opera House. She accustomed herself to following the country’s culture through imposing certain rules on her life in Egypt, believing that this was the only way to protect her from being misunderstood.

Every woman protects herself from harassment in a different way than the other. Some women tend to wear more modest clothes and avoid wearing make-up to reduce the possibility of getting assaulted. “I try to dress in a different way than I used to, like the Egyptian culture as I can, I even would put a scarf on my head, meanwhile, that even covered women are also getting harassed,” Crane said. However, others foreign women started to learn from the Egyptians how to fight against any harassers. The foreign woman, as well as the Egyptian started to use her own weapons that can help her in her fight against sexual assaults. Such as self-defense sprays or water guns filled with red ink, so once it’s sprayed on harassers, it would shame him.

Crane, Kaidi and Karnsikova, all agreed that learning the Arabic language made it easy of for them to deal with people and fight against harassers. Nevertheless, Aretaki was having another opinion, ‘‘not speaking the language, is double-edged weapon’’ that although she tried to learn the language, but she failed because of the unprofessional Arabic courses offered in Egypt. She started to prefer being illiterate of Arabic language justifying that “Currently, I intend to avoid learning Arabic language in order to avoid understanding the unethical sexual hints of the harassers.”

Aretaki and Crane mentioned that the police in this situation are useless, as even the policemen are verbally harassing them. Crane elaborated that despite that the Egyptian streets are full of harassers, but still they are good people who defend them while being exposed to harassment, meanwhile, Aretaki didn’t agree with this. Aretaki has faced various types of hardships beside sexual harassment, such as price extortion and jealousy. This all made her lose her self-esteem and capability of trusting Egyptians. Aretaki protects herself by just walking away from the harassers, as she believes, that if she stopped to talk or fight with the harasser it would seem like if she is inviting him to continue. “I expose a poker-face; I don’t hit the harassers in order to not encourage them to touch me,” she said. “Egyptian women are incredibly inspirational to me in the way that they have taken up a fight against sexual harassment. They taught me how to take a stand for myself as if I am really bothered I should stop walking and fight with the harasser. “Although, we are in 2015, woman still can’t obtain all of her rights, such as, walking safely at the streets without being abused. I still would like to raise my future girls in the Egyptian society, because it’s a type of the society that works on strengthening and empowering the woman meanwhile all the circumstances in Egypt are working against that,” Crane explained. The issue of sexual harassment and foreign women is misrepresented in the Egyptian media. Thus, we can find that plenty of foreign women are increasingly sharing their experiences with sexual harassment through online blogs or media outlets in their countries. One of those examples was the American reporter Julia Simon, who lived in Cairo for two years.

Simon wrote that she used to get harassed every day, every single day. Also, she pointed out that harassment in Egypt happens to all women although many things have changed in Egypt since the revolution in 2011. But, one thing remained the same; sexual harassment. Egyptian women were harassed — and sometimes attacked — before the revolution, and they are still being harassed and attacked today. “ If you have two X chromosomes, you›re going to get harassed. You could be at any age. You could have dark hair, you could have blond hair, and you could be wearing a hijab. It doesn›t matter,” Simon said. Furthermore, Aretaki wrote three articles in one of the Greek newspapers in her country, as she was so frustrated about the things she witnessed in Egypt. The first article was about the contradictions in the country; the bad and good things happening together, the second article was about sexual harassment in the land of the Nile and the third article was about the differences between sexual harassment in Greece and in Egypt. Most of the reports tackling the issue of sexual harassment and the concept of treating foreign women as easy targets is often investigated or reported by foreign correspondents in the Egyptian media, Including Lindsay Carroll who worked as a journalist in Egypt Independent newspaper and editor for the American University in Cairo Press. Additionally, she is a co-editor for Women›s Views on News, a website that aggregates news about women. Lindsay wrote a report highlighting various stories of foreign travelers in Egypt, commenting that “an entire book» could be written about the experiences of female travelers in Egypt.

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

The Egyptian

Woman between Society’s Suppression and Millstone of Egyptian Laws

“Why did she go there?” this was the reaction of Egyptians on beating and dragging Egyptian female activists in the events of the Council of Ministers in 2011. The crisis for some people Mohamed Ashraf was exposing the girl’s body and not beating or dragging her. Therefore, “She shouldn’t have gone there”. This is the logic by which the society treats the “survivors” of the physical violence accidents; therefore, shame becomes the main feature to deal with these incidents. This is a simple example for the patriarchal mentality in our society that dominates not only the mentality of many males but also some females. One finds the same concept of “why did she go there?” widespread between females too. This concept pushes against females in different fields normally and repeatedly . In other words, this mentality pervades in the subconscious. For instance, one finds that there are plenty of things allowed for males and prohibited to females. “Girls don’t get back home late”, “girls don’t wear revealing clothes”, “girls cannot become engineers”, such messages are spread everywhere. people grow up saying such messages everyday until they became settled in their subconscious, and they also become the main motive for people’s lives as they depend on what they usually do as Michael Voko says. This was just a simple example for the results of such patriarchal talks. These talks focus through different means on the taboo of woman’s body and try the most to protect that body. This limits the picture of the woman to her body which can be seen in the way violence victims are treated. One finds people blame the “survivor” although she is the one

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abused. Abusing a female’s body is not only a crime against human rights but also a crime that stabs in the honor of the male close to the victim, so victim faces both shame and blame. Reducing the picture into the female’s body results into many catastrophic problems. These problems lead to many choking practices such as female circumcision. Circumcision is done due to the belief that it protects females from committing sins as their honor depends mainly on their hymen. What is more dangerous than this concept is violating the woman’s body, which becomes normal and acceptable to protect her. This is a result of the patriarchal system that controls woman by suppression and sometimes by assault claiming protecting her. In addition, all laws are set to support such system. There is more than one reason for the ineffectiveness of laws for such issue. One is technical as we lack effective laws and the improper description of laws. The other is practical as some laws are not being effectively applied. One finds the discrimination against women is not only due to beliefs and practices but it is a regulated discrimination. For example, Article 274 of adultery law states the following: “ A married woman who is proved to commit adultery is judged by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, but for her husband to denies this verdict if he agrees to live with her after what happened.” This article gives husband the right to stop a verdict against his wife and not the other way around. Article 277 is also more discriminating as it states that husband is to be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months!! Therefore one finds that adultery of woman deserves 2 years imprisonment while adultery of man deserves by law only 6 months. Articles 17 and 60 come to work side by side as the strongest causes for innocence in cases of domestic violence in Egypt due to the inefficient drafting. Article 17 states that judges have the right to estimate the crime and reducing the penalty, while article 60 states the following, “ The provisions of the Penal Code shall not apply to any act committed in good faith in accordance with the right given under the Shariaa laws.” For example, marital rape Falls under the legitimate duties of the husband and the charge against him drops. In addition, the lack of laws explaining domestic violence causes failure in accusing husbands of violence. No one knows why the draft of domestic violence laws presented since the ruling of the military council did not pass till

now. It is clear that we are racing to put laws similar to the protesting law only. The worst comes in laws related to rape and assault as law differentiates between both of them, so their punishment is not the same. Rape has a punishment of rigorous imprisonment or whole life imprisonment, according to the circumstances of the crime if escorted to kidnap or otherwise. However, assault has imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years according to article 268. One may think it is normal, however, it becomes catastrophic if one knows the difference in definitions between both of them. Rape is the presence of a full intercourse between a man and woman without the consent of the woman and it only applies for women, however, assault is anything from touching to oral or anal abuse and it applies to both males and females. Law here differentiates between “normal” intercourse and oral or anal abuse without any clear logical reason. It mainly protects the hymen and not the woman as a human being which summarizes the woman only into her privates and her honor. As part of the society, the mentality of police department, the one associated with law enforcement, forms from the patriarchal one and is applied on dealing with women, especially “survivors” of harassment and rape. Some organizations dealing with females observed cases in which police deal with survivors of sexual abuse in an inappropriate manner that reach to accusing them of fornication, or at least ask the survivors to “forget about what happened as Lord asked for reticent”. Police becomes by this another obstacle in front of the effectiveness of the laws that require radical changes. There are these catastrophic laws, organizations applying these unjust and biased against women laws, and increasing sexual and domestic violence against women according to the official statistics and Statistics of non-governmental organizations. However, no one can deny that there are some changes in the laws related to women due to efforts exerted by some feminine organizations and human rights organizations as “Nazra” for feminine studies. These changes remain slow and inadequate to protect women, especially the marginalized categories of them. Therefore, radical changes in laws are inevitable and should happen at the earliest possible opportunity. But the difficult question is whether amending the laws to eliminate societal discrimination against women is enough or not?!

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

Sympathy Reports of numbers of deaths in Sinai came to a point of contradiction that led to confusion. Loss of lives has become a daily routine in a place Nermin Gerges that was once called peaceful. The tragedy lies in people’s reactions to the death of hundreds of innocent lives. A peaceful land, a sacred place and a connection point between Asia and Africa used to be a battle field of vicious wars between Egypt and its invaders. After Sinai retrieved its liberty in 1973, it became a place of peace and a land of hope. Now it is once again a land of uncertainty and death. “It became a normal thing [death incidents]…” said Captain P.S., a member of the army platoon 103. Most of these death incidents are soldiers and police officers. They are the main target of any attack that is carried by Ansar Bayt El-Maqdes or other armed groups. Without getting into the long detailed history of the police and army campaigns against such groups or the bomb attacks on military ambushes, soldiers or police officers are both targeted for the mere fact that they are soldiers and police officers.Tens and hundreds of soldiers travel to and from Sinai daily. They get allocated to different places based on the

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need of these places. Young men in their twenties and thirties are shipped daily to serve their country in one of the most dangerous places in Egypt. “Unlike the police forces, army soldiers are assigned to their places according to orders… police officers get to serve in the area close to their homes.” Captain S. explained. Going to Sinai, soldiers do not know what waits for them. Mina Mamdouh Mounir, a twenty-two-years old soldier, had been assigned to serve his military period in Al-Arish city with 23 other soldiers last May. Mamdouh was on a small bus with his mates when some armed militants stopped the two buses, got the soldiers on their knees and started shooting them one after the other. Mamdouh was one of three survivors of what is known as “the second massacre of Rafah”. Talking to one of his relatives, Christeen Nagi, his cousin, told us that Mina took four bullets, two in his head, one in his shoulder and one in his lung. He still suffers from his injuries as one of the bullets caused his left eye to weaken, and his ability to talk is less than before “He is such a sweet shy man” Christeen sighed. She kept explaining how the incident began and told us that Mina and his friends had to sleep in a local café the day before the attack. That

is because it was night time and the military ambush told them to come back next morning. It was a tragedy for a while. People sympathized and then they forgot. After asking Captain S. about how the military compensates these soldiers and their families, he said that the honor and pride of the martyrs’ families is the compensation. He explained how the military honors its soldiers with military funerals and obituaries in newspapers. Upon asking him about the soldiers’ families, he told us that the victims’ soldier friends do their best to take care of the deceased soldiers’ families “We consider them our own”, Captain S. continued, “their friends take care of their [the soldiers] families”. As Captain S. explained to us, the army takes precautions when it sends more soldiers, by training better soldiers and providing them with better weapons. “They study the area and set a plan to secure the soldiers,” said Captain S. Although the killed soldiers’ names are announced on different social media platforms, their names became news like any other. For most of the readers they are just numbers of young men who were unfortunate to be working in that area. For the soldiers’ families, they are heroes, martyrs,

yet dead. For other people, they are names written on paper that would be used as a cover for the table later at dinner time. For some other people, they are evil and violent and deserved whatever happened to them. Sympathy is an act of humanity, so as compassion and solicitude. The question here remains, “Why would politics, religions, or any other reason affect the way society sympathizes with its loss of lives?” Here are names of soldiers in army platoon number 103. They obeyed the orders and went to do their jobs, and came back in coffins. They were human beings, just like you, and just like me… Captain Mohamed Zakria Abu Ghazala Captain Mahmoud Ramzy Fath-Allah Captain Ahmed Mohamed Abul-ata Captain Mohamed Magdy Zahran Captain Mohamed Elsayed Sebaay Captain Mohamed Emam Mustafa Captain Mohamed Salah Elswaf Captain Abdelrahman Shoukry Captain Ahmed Fouad Hassan Captain Ahmed Abdelsalam Captain Mohamed Gamal Captain Mohamed Adel

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Minorities in Egyptian Mentality There is virtually no country in the world that does not have one or more national, ethnic, religious, linguistic or other minorities. Egypt Mina Thabet and other Middle Eastern countries are no exceptions, yet minorities’ recognition remains a dilemma. Although Sunni Muslims constitute the majority of Egyptians, and Arabic is the official language, there are also Christians, Jews, Baha’is, Shi’a, Atheists, Nubians, Bedouins and Amazigh. These minorities speak, in addition to the Arabic, three other languages; namely Coptic, Nubian and Amazigh. However, the state does no officially recognize their existence or their languages. They are still struggling to preserve their distinctive identities. “There is no Christian minority in Egypt” President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared earlier in the previous month, during his meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s former president declared the same statement, during his visit to the Ethiopian Patriarch in July 2012. It is a clear message that Egyptian officials refuse to even recognize the existence of minority communities. Both, Morsi and El-Sisi, categorically refused to describe Coptic Christians as a minority. Instead, they preferred to use terms like “Citizenship” and “Equality”. It may seem a good gesture to praise citizenship and equality, but in fact, it reflects a huge

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confusion and misunderstanding for the issue of minorities. The confusion with terms like minority, citizenship and equality is deeply rooted inside the Egyptian society; it is even reflected on members of minority communities. “I don’t prefer minority term, it converts those in less numbers to be treated as subordinate not citizen” said Dr. Raof Hendy, prominent Baha’i leader. This confusion left minorities in vulnerable position, where discrimination, inequality and even violence became a common feature, where citizenship and equality became only decorative terms. In 1960, President Gamal Abd al-Nasir issued decree (Law no 263/1960) revoking Baha’i community’s corporate status and confiscating Baha’i properties. Egypt’s Supreme Court in 1975 ruled that Law 263/1960 was constitutional, and it remains in effect. The Supreme Court’s ruling held that the decree did not prevent anyone from believing in Baha’i precepts, but that only adherents of the three “revealed” religions enjoyed constitutional protection to practice their beliefs. The ruling accepted the government’s position that the practice of the Baha’i faith represented a “threat to public order” and therefore it fell out of constitutional protection for freedom of religion. Hendy still believes that minority issues should be addressed from citizenship point of view as a more comprehensive perspective. “Religious minorities,

in particular, are avoiding any direct confrontations,” said Hendy “they have been rejected from the majority” he explained his rejection of using minority as an outcast term. On the other side, Amir Roshdy, a Coptic press photographer argued that minorities’ existence is a reality. “I have nothing to be ashamed of” he said. Roshdy believes that Coptic Christians can be considered a minority, despite the fact that the majority of Coptic Christians refuse using the term. In fact, the minority term is one of the most sensitive terms in the Egyptian society. It is always related to foreign intervention, however, UN general assembly in 1981 adopted the ‘Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention and Interference in Internal Affairs of States, which stated that “No State or group of States has the right to intervene or interfere in any form or for any reason whatsoever in the internal and external affairs of other States.” Egyptians still perceive advocates of minority’s rights as groups from the west that infringe on Egyptian sovereignty, under the slogan of defending minorities, and as such refuse to recognize minorities’ existence. “It is an outcome of what they learned at schools, everyone is conspiring against Egypt and they always use defending minorities as a motive to justify.” Mohamed Lotfy, a former Amnesty researcher, and the current executive director of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms explained.

Lotfy told Witness magazine that he has attended Egypt’s Universal Periodical review (UPR) for the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in 2013. Lotfy remembers the long discussion between the head of Egyptian delegation and UN expert, where the expert asked her about the unified law for building places for worship, which affects Coptic Christians. She spontaneously replied with the regular answer “We don’t have minorities in Egypt, and I have lots of Coptic friends.” Lotfy said “I was ashamed, as the expert had to explain what minority term means.” In an interview with Abdelaal Abu Al-Soud, Sinai Tribal leader, he explained the worst consequence of being a member of a minority. “It really hurts to feel disgraced,” said Abu Al-Soud, “The mainstream culture considers Bedouins as men of limited education, culture, and awareness,” he added. Abu Al-Soud believes that Bedouins are a minority and they have their set of customs and traditions, which must be respected by the rest of society. It’s clear that Egyptian minorities would have to struggle more for basic recognition, respect, and rights. Education is an important element in the process, as Hendy stressed on its role as a necessary measure to be tackled, in order to solve minority issues. “We have to start with education, it must promote the culture of accepting the other,” He concluded.

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What happens to

minorities ?! Between 2011 and 2012, Egypt went through its toughest political turmoil in decades. I was in Egypt during the parliamentary, as well as the presidential elections, when Mina Naguib it was hard to notice everyone’s anxiety over the next president of Egypt. Whether Egypt was going to be under military or a Muslim Brotherhood rule. During the final days, the debates of the upper middle-class Egyptians youth were usually focused on how Muslim Brotherhood rule would compromise the few liberties we had. For example women’s rights or clubbing. Some youth chose to support the Muslim Brotherhood in order to avoid a fourth president from the military. From an economic perspective, it wasn’t that worrying to businessmen, without connections to the military. This is because both political groups share the same ideas on privatization and pro-business policies; however, it was all about the so-called “stability”. Once the Muslim Brotherhood took power, everyone who took part in the revolution, expected the worst. Thus, every one of us (With the exception of MB supporters) acted as watchdogs. The Muslim Brotherhood acted as expected, and followed the regime’s footsteps in cracking down on activists, criminalizing protests and strikes, etc. But here is

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the catch; they still wanted to keep their image as a civil political force. They stayed away from harming minorities in the name of religion, contrary to what was anticipated earlier.

During the year of the Muslim Brotherhood rule, no violations were recorded against Egypt’s minorities with the exception of one incident in El-khosous in April, 2013. In this incident, mobs attacked a Cathedral and no investigation took place; however, Morsi condemned the attack.

Right after President, Abdel Fatah El-Sisi took power, a series of violations against LGBTQs started; specifically trans-women from the working class i.e., people who wouldn’t gain any type of support. After the military took power from the Muslim Brotherhood, it was their duty to end “the myth” saying that they’re against the rule of religion. They also tried to prove that they are not “secular” to keep a strong hold of their popularity in a religious country like Egypt. Since then, the crackdown on Atheists, Baha’is, Shiits and LGBTQs started and harassing those “liberals” became an everyday norm. Countless testimonies from Egyptian youth started showing how military checkpoints on roads leading to the Red Sea are inspecting cars for alcohol. They

harass anyone, if they find beer or a mixed group of young men and women in a car. They give them lessons about ethics and morals, which left most of them confused on what the military had to do with the “public morals” or checking if the men and women in a given car were relatives or not. Online media started competing in that area to focus on raids on LGBTQs. This extended to screening a video that was almost two years old of an allegedly same-sex wedding on a boat. It became the main focus of media channels for weeks, until seven men were arrested. The men arrested were subjected to some so-called “forensics” to determine if they were homosexuals and the report came out stating that 6 of them “haven’t been engaged in homosexual acts”. Unfortunately, these so-called tests, which count as rape acts are seldom criticized. Many of such cases kept on going every other week to make headlines distracting the public from the struggles facing the country economically and politically. Along these trendy headlines of hunting down homosexuals and atheists, the military led campaigns showing how Egypt would become a prosperous country. They announced major national projects like the new Suez Canal or building a new capital. Other times, they claimed the discovery of a treatment for HIV and Hepatitis C viruses, thus giving false hope to millions of Egyptians. Starting 2015, the ministry of social solidarity moved to dissolve 380 Non-Governmental Organizations. The latest case was controversial since the NGO in question was charged of “Threatening national unity and violating public order or morality,” according to Mada Masr. The NGO helped people with rapid anonymous HIV tests, away from the government in addition to their work on promoting safe-sex practices as well as raising awareness on HIV. They were interrogated after the police received a complaint saying that the NGO’s most frequent visitors are “homosexuals”. I spoke with an Egyptian activist working with gender and sexuality issues who used the alias Mahmoud as he prefers not to mention his name for his safety. Mahmoud explained to me that if something goes viral on the internet, police is forced to act in order to “keep public morals” regardless of how stupid it is. That is mainly why most of the trouble and threats, received by NGOs, rarely go to the media to protect them from harsh consequences.

Thus, they prefer to “solve everything behind closed doors”. If an NGO would mention its name and publicly say they are being investigated or harassed, more people would report it to the police which will lead to it being shut down. It is excruciating to see how the government is not only turning a blind eye on the suffering of people living with HIV or people trying to get treatment for Hepatitis C. Unfortunately, they are blocking the way of any initiative for development or hope to those who are living with HIV. They also use those who are trying to get treatment for their propaganda and then add insult to injury, by giving them false hope. Although it works, it will not work on the long term since the consequences will not be bearable. The size of this crackdown in reality is much bigger than what is reported by the media, since it is not just about minorities. The state’s obsession with controlling any organization, no matter how small it is, is beyond reporting every little case. For example, in the past months, the only Egyptian Storytelling Performance at Hakawy International Arts Festival for Children was cancelled, as the manager of El-Hanager theatre (a public theatre) requested from the team to perform for her alone, before performing in front of the audience. That is because a technician told her that they were saying “inappropriate words” during rehearsals. The show was intended for teenagers of 13 years or older to discuss teenage problems. Using Mahmoud’s words to describe the situation, “A military coup requires a crackdown on all types of freedoms as a punishment for calling for a revolution. There used to be a very strong mobilization over many issues and they had to stop it at any cost. It adds to their legitimacy and gives them a good image after toppling the MBs to restore “order” and to crackdown on freedoms.” Finally, it is neither all dark and hopeless nor close to seeing rainbows and butterflies as claimed. It is a long hard struggle that will take years to build a modern civil state. However, without a proper vision and a strong political will, we will be facing decades of struggling instead of years. We need the political will to change the old ways of governance. It is not an option to be hopeful, while Egypt’s only hope is being censored every time they try to raise awareness.

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Guess What: The Military Narratives that confuse you happen to happen somewhere else! Reem Fathelbab

Military Intervention

Copenhagen/Aarhus, Denmark 15 April, 2015

Military Intervention: A term that is whenever used in Egypt must be followed by a declaration of your stance; otherwise, you must belong to the “other” camp. The fact that a small country in Scandinavia, that might not have any special prominence in history or present, can deal with the “Military Intervention” narrative in a less aggressive way, it is worth learning from, which is what we thought. Military and the government: Who is boss? In an interview with the Communications Officer of the Danish Military about the relation between the military and the government, he explained: “How independent of the government would you describe yourself?”

their vision.”

“Not at all, the politicians set the plans for us to follow according to

“But what if the politicians’ plans are not compatible to your vision of national security?” “(Smiles) People voted for them, not us.” It’s important to note here that this interview has taken place in a building that belongs to the Ministry of Defense in Copenhagen. Surprisingly enough, at the entrance gate all you needed to do is mentioning your pre-scheduled interview and showing your press card. The Communication Officer explained further in a talk about their relation with the press that the number one rule is open communication. He noted that the military budget and plans are issues that are discussed publicly. However, some information that are specified and

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categorized as high-security-level information are kept within the institution; and that is an exception for the rule. An important question is to asked here: following the terrorist attacks in different parts of Europe, and in Copenhagen itself, is the Danish military reluctant to protect Denmark’s national security? Or have they come to the conclusion that open communication and transparency are actually the way to the security they are seeking? Or is it something else? Military outside its country’s borders: Is it a good idea? A major in the Danish army who has been on missions in Bosnia, Liberia, Afghanistan and most recently to South Sudan recalls his experience as a soldier in Afghanistan. He said that Taliban used an irregular army; not wearing a uniform or a sign that differentiates between them and civilians. He added that it was one of the main problems they faced as they mistook innocent civilians for irregular combatants. Not only that, even civilians - including the “good” ones who are against Taliban- were also against foreign intervention in their country even if they both shared a common interest. The major also noted that these civilians caused a problem for the military that was there in the first place for the “security and development” of Afghani citizens. “Would you say that innocent civilians only get killed when they are mistaken as irregular army?” “Sometimes there are missions where you know that innocent civilians might be killed and you still do them.” “But don’t you think this defeats the original of securing the civilians from Taliban?” “Of course it backfires, but this is a question to ask the politicians about, not the military.” From the previously mentioned answers by a military major who has spent decades of his life serving outside his country’s borders, in the era of nationalism we’re living, is it ever a good idea to use

forces against another country to implement your political/developmental vision? Will the people of that other country ever accept you even if you share some common goal with them? Can you ever make it a “clean war”? Soldiers: Victims or Criminals The major’s talk was mainly about his experiences and feelings as a soldier. For instance, he mentioned that he used to have nightmares that would not stop for a whole year. ”It was also very touching to the audience that one of his two children was born while he was on a mission. It was seen in his watered eyes before his emotional words how hard it is to experience euphoria and grief at a time,” said an attendee of the talk. “A psychologist would have initially marked the PTSD symptoms-list with a considerable number of checks.” But wait, isn’t that one of the bad guys whom we see their videos killing innocent babies in many parts of the world? A typical Danish/Western person’s reply to that would be that he is just a soldier doing his job, which is the problem of the politicians who order him. Hmm, where did we all hear that answer before? For an Afghani father who has held his young daughter killed/raped, would the relation between a soldier and a politician be as distinct? Are the soldiers all over the world, who do not question the ethicality of what they are ordered to do, victims or criminals? Is it still about them being uneducated, when the educated ones still do the same thing? As you, dear reader, may have noted, this report is to provide information about how military in another part of the world functions; but not to conclude any answers to the questions it tackled. The only answer we are providing is a NO for two simple questions: If there is anything uncommon about the military narratives we are experiencing in Egypt. And if the way they are being done right now is the only way of doing them.

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Perks of Egypt through foreign eyes

“Why are you still here? Mostly the country is falling apart and it’s expected that you should leave. There is no reason for you to stay, unless you’re a spy or journalist.” Sara Magdy

“Egypt, I read and dreamt about this charming, beautiful, and fascinating country since I was a child. My love for this country is rooted in my heart,”

this was a hypothetical answer to why many foreigners fall in love with Egypt based on some examples who have come to Egypt and refused to leave it. Sure living in country isn’t like visiting it. But when you get to meet new people, make friendships and beautiful memories, somehow that country touches you in afterwards you are never the

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“Egypt is my home. I’ve lived here for three years now, my work and many of my friends are here. In spite of all that have happened over the last four years, that made life hard in Egypt, still, I haven’t found a reason to leave yet. There are several positive reasons that I’ve accumulated during my time here. Egypt became my home. I’ve travelled a lot and I’ve never met warmer, more hospitable people like Egyptians, or their sense of humour, courage, pure-hearted, and loving to a foreigner,” said Viktor Aldanov, a Russian man in his twenties, who works as customer service representative in one of the tourism companies in Egypt. A while ago, many foreigners willingly left their countries, families, friends and memories and chose to reside in Egypt. At the time when many Egyptian youngsters’ and even adults dream these days is to travel abroad. Nevertheless, people say this without knowing the pros and cons of living away from everything they have got used to and leaving their homeland, and simply neglecting how cruel it might turn out to be. Egypt has an addictive spirit that words would fail to describe. I can rant all day about my fondness of Garden City and alFostat garden, or I can simply tell you that I’ve been here for 60 years and I don’t intend to leave,’’ Volkhard Windfuhr, president of the foreign correspondents’ committee, said. ‘’No occupier was able to conquer the Egyptian culture, or people. The Egyptian people are patriotic by nature, and impulsive to everything they believe in, it’s one of the features that you can’t help but admire about Egyptians,’’ he continued. “My time in Egypt was transformative, and what I experienced there will never leave me. As they say, Egypt isn’t a country we live in; it’s a country that lives in us,» Ian Borim, American man, who arrived to Egypt in 2013 to begin an Arabic intensive course in at the American University in Cairo. Borim is fond of the Arabic literature in Egypt as he mentioned that if he were to leave Egypt tomorrow, he would’ve stuffed his bag with Naguib Mahfouz, Taha Hussein, and Youssef Idriss books. “In Egypt there is so much to learn and explore, it’s a really stimulating country, as every day the one can live new experiences. I’m in love with the Egyptian mythical history, culture and geography, such a different society that inevitably provides new perspectives on the human condition. Living in Egypt taught me patience, and subdued this spark I used to have for life,” he continued. Additionally, the American man is dazzled with Egyptian youth enthusiasm as he met so many students at the university who were passionately pursued with their studies and career

interests, eager to make changes in their communities and in the world. “I had a wonderful time hearing their stories and exchanging ideas and points of view,” Borim said. “The Egyptian people amaze me. The way they are willing to help a stranger, direct a lost passer-by to his route or help an old lady with her shopping bags. While in Europe, you are likely to be shut down by others and told to stay away,’’ Aldanov said. Aldanov has several situations when he was lost in the city and wasn’t able to get back home or head to the places where he wanted to be, so at that moment Egyptians grabbed him by the hands directly towards his destination. “I remember last year I was headed to Abbasyia, while paying for the ticket in the microbus, I realized that I have forgotten my wallet, a passenger paid on my behalf. And this is not the only story I have that proves the nobility of the Egyptian people, the Russian said. In Egypt we have some rules when it comes to marriage, as many families would never accept their sons to get married toa foreign woman, justifying that she is a woman from other culture and society, so she would never suit his lifestyle or understand our society rules. But in fact there are some families who are very open-minded to accept this. Romana Vilana Ezzat, a Philippine woman who works as the director of nursing at Nour Al-Ayoun. The first time she visited Egypt was in 1994, then in 2007 she came to reside in Egypt with her daughter after her Egyptian husband died in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as they were working there together. “My husband’s family are very kind people; they are so helpful and supportive to me and to my daughter. The family is highly-educated and sophisticated, they accepted my presence among them meanwhile I’m a Christian woman and they are Muslims, which is a thing that not all the Egyptians could accept, this is because they have an open-minded mentality that is far away of the stereotyping about foreign women in Egypt. F or instance, when my husband decided to marry me his mother told him let her invite us in her country first, she said this in order to know more about my family and my community and to check my environment before judging me. I appreciated this so much,” Vilana said.

Vilana’s in laws helped her so much at the beginning of her journey in Egypt, therefore, all what concerns her is to maintain the good relation between them and avoid anything that could make conflicts. Besides to this, I’m very happy with the people

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here especially at my work. I don’t face any type of competition or jealousy; my colleagues at work are very cooperative and friendly. Also speaking Arabic language mad it very easy to express myself and communicate with them,” she added. Vilana wasn’t the only foreign woman that is kindly treated by her in laws but also a Dutch woman who refused to mention her name so let’s assume her name is Rose. Rose is a woman of forties, a former English teacher who lives in El-Sheikh Zayed with her son and daughter. “I got married to an Egyptian man living in Holland, but after five years from our marriage my husband died. So, I decided to travel to Egypt in order to raise my kids in the country. At the beginning of my life in Egypt I wasn’t having an independent apartment, but my in laws took us to live with them. We stayed with them for a whole year, throughout this year they never told us to leave or look for another place,” Rose said. One of the surprising facts is to know that a foreigner could leave his country and travel to Egypt in order to practice his religion in a way more freely. In particular, Rose was one of those people who wanted to protect their children by raising them in a Muslim community. “I was motivated to change into a Muslim because of being inspired by my husband moral behaviour as he was a very kind, tolerant, merciful person, and he was always a peace lover. I still remember his words when I asked him one day how you’re a kind and open minded person meanwhile you are Muslim since the media always show the opposite about Muslims. I was touched when he answered that religion is an attitude and manners not ignorance or terrorism. I trusted his words because of how he is and especially that he never forced me to be a Muslim. Gradually, I started to be more into the Islamic religion until I became officially Muslim,” Rose said. Rose was from a Christian village in Holland, she wasn’t able to wear the veil there in fear of her family and neighbours judgments and words. She shifted from teaching in a Christian school into teaching Muslim student for free in one of the charity organisation specialized about serving Muslims in Holland. She used to go to the organization veiled and while returning back home she removed the veil.

She was aware that her presence in Holland will not allow her to practice Islam correctly. She was very

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frustrated that she wasn’t able to wear the veil regularly, therefore, to protect herself and her kids she came to Egypt to wear the veil and in order to know more about Islam through attending Quran and religious lessons. “I’m a very lucky person because my destiny took me to Egypt, as the Egyptian people’s good manners were the reason that encouraged me to become Muslim. I would have never understood the real Islam if I weren’t surrounded by those pure- hearted Egyptians,” Rose said.

Rose was admirer for the Egyptians hospitality saying that Egyptians generosity has no limits. n other countries people use to visit each other in specific duration and they would not stay more than two or three hours and they would be only given a cup of tea or coffee, besides this, the person they are visiting might be bothered, wants them to leave because he has some duties to do. Meanwhile, in Egypt the situation is totally different people don’t leave you to go without having lunch and even dinner with them and even if you refuse they still insist. When you tell a woman that you should leave in order not to disturb her husband, the Egyptian woman says my husband will definitely fight if you didn’t have lunch with us, Rose explained.

In other countries people use to visit each other in specific duration and they would not stay more than two or three hours and they would be only given a cup of tea or coffee, besides this, the person they are visiting might be bothered, wants them to leave because he has some duties to do. Meanwhile, in Egypt the situation is totally different people don’t leave you to go without having lunch and even dinner with them and even if you refuse they still insist. When you tell a woman that you should leave in order not to disturb her husband, the Egyptian woman says my husband will definitely fight if you didn’t have lunch with us, Rose explained. All in all, these were a few stories form many others that show the love of some foreigners for Egypt. We can’t deny that Egypt has a lot of negatives and deteriorated conditions, but it usually touches and inspire foreigners. There are always undying love stories between Egypt and the foreigners. This country has a very special soul and spirit that words can’t ever describe it, this spirit we only feel. It’s so priding yet astonishing to find foreigners sharing their passionate stories on their blogs about their love for your country, meanwhile you are seeking immigration.

Viktor Aldanov holding the Egyptian flag in his homeland, Russia.

Learn it from a foreigner “Egypt is not like any other country, I envy you people, I envy every and each beautiful place you have in your country, I really consider these places a big treasure that some Egyptian don’t appreciate because why they leave these places without exploring its beauty. I am big lover for Khan el-khalely, the Nile Street, Cairo tower and the view from above, for the temples and for the touristic places here such as the castle and the Pyramids and so many other places. In addition to that, the delicious cuisine, I never get enough of Mahshy, kofta, Hawawshy, Hamam Mahshy, kbda w sogaa, konafa bileshta, Baqlwaa, basbosa Semsamia and Mango juice. On the top of all this the country’s warmness, Egyptians, seriously Egypt is warmer than other place in the world, so please appreciate it,” Aldanov said.

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The International Criminal Court and Negotiated Peace:

Reflections from Colombia director of the Center for the Study of Law, Justice, and Society (Dejusticia) and professor at the Universidad Nacional of Colombia. Rodrigo Urimny

a researcher at the Center for the Study of Law, Justice, and Society (Dejusticia). Nelson Camilo sanchez

The Colombian case shows the need for flexibility in balancing the duty to prosecute international crimes with the duty to negotiate an end to the civil war. Today, Colombia is a crucial experiment to test whether it is possible to negotiate a peaceful end to a long standing armed conflict, and at the same time not fall foul of the duty to prosecute the crimes committed in that conflict. This duty is derived from the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). Worryingly, in Colombia the ICC Prosecutor’s strict interpretation of that duty is placing undue difficulties on the peace negotiations. The same is true of the prosecutor’s policy to interpret narrowly the Rome Statute provision that she consider whether it is “in the interests of justice” to open an investigation or prosecution. The Colombian case is crucial because a peace agreement to the 50-year old conflict seems probable. The government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a leftist guerilla group, have reached substantive agreements on several issues. Further, both parties seem genuinely interested in reaching an agreement that is compatible with both the rights of victims and the

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duty to prosecute. It is clear, however, that a peace agreement will not be possible if a too strict interpretation of this duty is applied. For example, one that would require the state to investigate all of those responsible for every international crime, and punish them in proportion to the gravity of the crime, which implies lengthy prison sentences. This is the position the ICC prosecutor seems to be taking in Colombia. Yet, no armed group would agree to demobilize if it meant that the majority of its members would receive such punishment. An eventual peace agreement in Colombia will not fulfill a strict interpretation of the duty to prosecute. Such an interpretation might be reasonable in other contexts, but is impossible in the context of a negotiated peace in Colombia. This does not mean, however, that the peace agreement should provide for a total amnesty: a complete forgiving and forgetting. There are alternatives. The peace agreement could provide for measures to seek the truth (such as a truth commission), reparation programs and legal and other guarantees to ensure the non-repetition of serious human rights abuses. With respect to criminal justice, the agreement could provide for trials for those most responsible for international crimes, leading to some form of alternative criminal sanction, which would be less severe than ordinary sentences for these crimes. And, in order to grant legal certainty to the peace process, the agreement could establish conditional amnesty for those who carry less responsibility – they would not be prosecuted provided they truly contribute to finding the truth and providing reparation to victims. Such an agreement does not fulfill the strict interpretation of the duty to prosecute. This leads to two questions: does such an agreement violate the Rome Statute? If so, should the ICC open cases

in Colombia regardless of whether this would seriously impact the possibility of consolidating peace? Our answer to both questions is negative. The duty to prosecute is not an absolute rule, but rather a duty that should be considered in the face of other obligations on the state. And an ICC investigation that would destabilize a peace process that has genuinely sought to include the concerns of victims, and balance peace negotiations with the quest for justice, would be contrary to the “interests of justice.” Certainly, states have a duty to prosecute international crimes, but there are various lacunae regarding the reach and content of this obligation, as we indicated in a recent book. Paraphrasing Mark Freeman, demanding a duty to prosecute every case in all contexts may lead to tension with other duties on the state, such as putting an end to an armed conflict and preventing further human rights abuses. There is no international norm that says the duty to prosecute must prevail against any and all other state obligations. It is inevitable, therefore, that a balance be struck. The ICC should have more flexibility and prudence when it evaluates whether to open a case in a country that is negotiating a peace agreement. It must take into consideration the various forms of transitional justice adopted during peace processes, often after incredibly difficult and complex negotiations. Thus, in principle, peace processes that rule out general and unconditional amnesties should be respected, even if the provision for justice does not meet a strict interpretation of the duty to prosecute. Such may be the case because, for example, the agreement permits conditional amnesty for those who have committed war crimes and are not high up the chain of command. For this reason, we consider that in such cases it is unlawful for the ICC Prosecutor to open

investigations and threaten the stability of the peace process. Such an intervention would violate article 53 of the Rome Statute, which indicates that the Prosecutor should not open investigations when there are “substantial reasons to believe that an investigation would not serve the interests of justice.” The policy the prosecutor has formally adopted on the matter distinguishes between the “interests of justice” and the interests of peace, arguing the latter is beyond her remit. Rather, the prosecutor argues it is the UN Security Council (UNSC) that might consider the impact an ICC investigation might have on peace, and, if necessary, suspend an investigation (a power granted to the UNSC under Article 16 of the Statute). In this view, the Prosecutor may only consider the interests of the victims. We believe, however, that this interpretation of “the interests of justice” is legally flawed. But even if the Prosecutor considers only the interests of the victims, why limit this to past victims? As Ronald Slye maintains, in a transition to peace there is a negotiation not just between victims of past abuses and their perpetrators, but rather also between past victims and future victims who will suffer if the war does not end. In Colombia, a too rigid understanding of the duty to prosecute and the “interests of justice” in the Rome Statute threaten the possibility of negotiating an end to the armed conflict. This can’t be correct; the purpose of the ICC was certainly not to make it impossible for wars to end through negotiated peace processes. This post was originally posted on the openGlobalRights Blog as part of the debate on theInternational Criminal Court.

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The Egyptian State Conservative Human Rights Approach The United Nations’ Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) tries to install the basis for a global Respect for human rights. A lot of efforts have been exerted to Mohamed Ashraf achieve this aim; including urging states to sign and ratify different Human Rights conventions and treaties. It also includes creating the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which is assigned to provide the UN member states to declare their stance in Human Rights issues internally. Reports are issued from state agents to do this job in Geneva in annual meetings. Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of concerns about the post Morsi-ousting’s situation. Many Human Rights organizations and countries showed their worry and concern regarding many laws, especially the protest and civil society law. That is because they were issued unilaterally, without actual discussions with the social and the political actors on whom these laws are supposed to be imposed and whose interests and work will be on stake. Another part of the concern goes for civil rights. A lot of reservations were made by the UN, many state delegations and international NGOs about the status of certain minorities in Egypt, such as homosexuals and atheists.

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The issue of the laws of civil society and protests are merely political which makes them of less alleviations and complications. However, issues regarding the civil rights and minorities, as those mentioned are extremely problematic due to the various dimensions and considerations pertaining to it. The state, while dealing with them has to consider public opinion and perception of these rights. Despite all the accusations of Human Rights violations and criticism to the recent laws mentioned, The Egyptian government still publicly announce their commitment, at least verbally, for establishing a civil society, protecting Human Rights in general, promoting Women equality, protecting children and so on. Yet, when it comes to issues of homosexuality and religious freedom, the state publicly announces its explicit opposition and rejection to ensure these minorities’ rights. It makes it clear even to the international community that it will not change its stance towards these minorities. This issue was evident in the Egyptian government reaction to the recommendations made by the UPR in the UN. The government announced its adoption or approval to what it called “80% of the recommendations”, but it rejected the other

recommendations due to their “contradiction to Islamic values”. The question that may be asked is how Middle Eastern countries managed to avoid legal pressures from the international community on basic equality issues. This includes equal inheritance rights between males and females and civil rights of homosexuals. That is despite how many of them, including Egypt, signed and ratified many conventions including the one concerned with civil and political rights. Simply, the Arab states signed these conventions with reservations not to be committed to what is considered un-Islamic. This gave these conventions sufficient ambiguity that enabled them to maneuver basic civil rights. Such alleged reason projects a sense that the system in Egypt is Islamic or extreme, which is not true. Egypt has a lot of legislations that oppose sharia, such as the legalized use of alcoholic liquors or the allowance of usury in economics. This is not to say that religion is not important in the Egyptian sphere, but rather to say that religion is overlooked in certain aspects. This takes us to the assumption that the government’s stance on such issues is more of political, rather than religious. It is a stance that takes into consideration the fact that the current

regime is coming, after one with alleged Islamic background. This means that the current one should be cautious with the religious discourse reaching the people. This suggests that the state is trying to prove that it is still conservative enough by avoiding provoking the public opinion. However, the state recently have been viciously and extremely arresting a lot of citizens for “fornication and practicing debauchery”, which is the legal cause for prosecuting homosexuals. Such arrests surprisingly increased in the current regime compared to the regime of Muslim Brotherhood. The stance for human rights in Egypt is flawed with political considerations mixed with religious factors, which distort the whole process of a hopeful democratization. More secularization of the state can lead to a more progressive state approach for Human Rights. The current contradictory standing of the state that merge, or confuse to be precise, secularism with religious references is dangerous to the Human Rights discourse and can lead to a great deal of serious violations. simply avoiding theto irritance t is still conservative enough; it is h the religious discourse reaching the people alleged Islamic

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Death Penalty:

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The State’s Weapon According to the latest report on death penalty, published by Amnesty International, 22 countries have sentenced people to death in the year 2014. Compared Esraa Shaalan to 2013, the number of imposed death sentences increased by 28% due to Egypt’s and Nigeria’s alarming mass sentencing in both countries in the context of internal conflict and political instability. The death penalty is a sentencing option for various offenses in different countries used as a punishment or deterrent for criminals and political opponents. Although capital punishment is not prohibited under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), various movements and organizations condemn it and call for its abolition. Under article 6 of the ICCPR, the death penalty must be limited to only the most serious crimes and cannot be imposed if a fair trial has not been granted. It also requires that other ICCPR rights are not violated, the crime is not punishable by the death penalty at the time it was committed. It cannot be executed if the offender is not entitled to seek pardon or a lesser sentence, the offender is under the age of 18 or if the offender is pregnant. With development of human rights instruments under UN, death penalty exercised in major part of the world has started to be considered against the dignity, respect, honor of human beings and a clear violation of fundamental human rights. This discourse leads to the ongoing debate on the issue of death penalty as a capital punishment. Ahmed Afifi, a web developer in Amnesty International in Switzerland said that:

“ the number of those sentenced to death

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

largest number of death sentences in 2014 was to egypt with 509 imposed death sentences right after Nigeria

in Egypt rose to 973 in February after an Egyptian court confirmed a death sentence for 183 defendants.“ They were convicted of murdering eleven policemen and two civilians in August 2013, whose deaths came in an attack on a police station. “These death sentences are yet another example of the bias of the Egyptian criminal justice system,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui of Amnesty International. “These verdicts and sentences must be quashed and all of those convicted should be given a trial that meets international standards of fairness and exclude the death penalty.” in a statistic, published by the Washington post, showing the 25 countries that gave out the largest number of death sentences in 2014, Egypt is placed second with 509 imposed death sentences right after Nigeria. Most of those sentenced were convicted of taking part in violence during the political unrest in 2013. They included many members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood. “So far, 415 people have been sentenced to death in four trials for the killing of police officers, while the case of killing hundreds of protesters during the uprising against former President, Hosni Mubarak, has been dropped. To date, No security officers have been held to account for the killing of 1,000 protesters in August 2013,” Amnesty International stated opposing the death penalty altogether. Egypt’s constitution does not refer to capital punishment; however, in accordance with Article 2, as amended in 1980: “Islam is the State religion and Arabic is its official language. The Sharia is the principal source of legislation.” The primary sources of Islamic criminal law are the Quran and Sunnah of Prophet Mohammad followed

415

973

people have been sentenced to death in 4 trials for the killing of police officers

Person were sentenced to death in egypt

by consensus of opinion, analogy, interpretation, public interest and custom. “...Take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law. Thus does He command you, so that you may learn wisdom,” Sura Al An’am (6:151) Crimes inflicting death penalty such as intentional murder and spreading mischief in the land are punishable by death. Murderers can be punished with the death penalty, unless the perpetrator is forgiven by the victim’s family. Crimes listed under spreading mischief in the land such as apostasy, terrorism, rape, adultery, homosexual behavior. In addition to land, sea or air piracy along with general crimes that affect the community as a whole, lead to the capital punishment. Dr. Mark Bachmann, philosophy Professor at University of Zurich, has been studying both sides of the debate on the politically divisive and morally complex issue of capital punishment with the focus on the Arab world for years. To the question “Is the death penalty morally acceptable?” he answered: “There is the theory of Talion that states: “If a man has committed murder, man should be killed.” It is a theory of retribution-not revenge that has the purpose of punishing every crime while the sentence should be equally severe to the committed crime. The punishment is not a political instrument for the maintenance of society, but it is justice in itself. Kant, for example, defined the death penalty as a duty of the state.” According to Bachmann, some modern philosophical theories of ethics disagree with the practice, although many philosophers argue that certain crimes should automatically result in the person losing his or her “right to life.”

Person were

excuted

“ Behind the punishment is the philosophy of preventing serious crimes and to promote justice by serving as a deterrent and a warning to those who might be criminals. “Personally, I think the idea of a deserved punishment should not lead to the killing of a human being, not even by the state. This theory is not always practical, sometimes barbaric and immoral in itself,” Bachmann said, “In this specific case, the Egyptian government is one of the best examples for the lack of a moral authority that should be functioning as a role model regarding the state’s use of torture, repression and death penalty.” He said that the capital punishment in Egypt might be a deterrent, a desire for revenge, a desire to divine justice or it might be a helpless call for justice. He stated that the question whether it is morally acceptable or not is non-existent as it is a society of an oppressed mind. According to Bachmann, the use of death penalty for political reasons against some opposing political and religious parties is alarming. It creates a complex situation for prisoners and puts them in a defenseless and unequal situation. “It would really surprise me if the death penalty in Egypt would constitutionally be invalidated in the next couple of decades,” he said. Multiple studies by human rights groups as well as governmental agencies, such as the death penalty information center, have proven that the capital punishment has no deterrence effect on future criminals. However, states around the world are using this specific excuse, as well as justifications such as religion, to carry out the death penalty to extract revenge or to punish political dissidents, opposition figures and religious rivals.

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

From De-concentration to Devolution

Egyptian Local De-ministration’s Direction to the Future It is not a disputed fact that the January 25 revolution was, to a great extent, triggered by the deterioration of living standards in Egypt and the failure of the Ahmed Abdelaziz regime to alleviate, to say the least, its citizens’ suffering. Foremost, among the root causes of this failure was the dysfunctional local administration system in Egypt. This article aims to shed light on Egypt’s unfit municipal system, and the prospects for its reform in the future. th

Egypt, since its inception, has operated as a highly centralized polity. It was only until 1826, when Egypt was administratively subdivided into four-tier system under Mohammed Ali. However, the provisional and municipal councils’ organization was first defined in Article 133 of the 1923 constitution as Ninette Fahmy, Associate Professor of Middle East and Comparative Politics in American University in Cairo, stated in the book “The Politics of Egypt: state-society relationship”. From the British rule to Mubarak’s, the reluctance to devolve powers to local government, for fear of the emergence of contending power centers and empowered citizens, proved persistent. Especially under the latter’s rule, local administrations were almost nothing but a hub for rampant corruption as Ahmed Hussein mentioned in his article “the inevitable struggle: local government in Egypt”. Nahla Mahmoud in her book “The Governor and the gap between reality and expectations” also said that the public perceived them as networks for cronyism and bribes. Tadamun under the title “The Right to Democratic Local

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

Government in the Egyptian Constitution” claimed that the manifestation of local administrations’ failure can be seen in the waste piles in the streets, the contamination of drinking water, in some villages, with sewage, chaotic traffic and the lack of sense of security. But what accounts for this dysfunction? Many factors could account for the gap between the administrations’ supposed and actual roles. These factors could be categorized into political, legislative, operational and individual-related reasons. Since the local system of government is a reflection of the central government’s doctrine and practices as Fahmy mentioned, it is hardly surprising that Egypt’s successive authoritarian regimes tended to deprive local administrations of the adequate powers to govern and improve Egyptians’ standards of living. According to Tadamun, the purpose was always to disempower citizens and to condition them to accept the governmental predetermined course of action. Also, there is a profound legislative debacle that impedes the democratization of local administration in Egypt. For instance, Articles 179 and 181 of Egypt’s 2014 constitution entrench the central domination of local units. That is because they, respectively, do not require the governors and other local units’ heads to be solely elected. They also underline the right of the national authority to interfere in, and even annulment of, the municipalities’ decisions. In addition, Nahed Adeeb claimed in her paper “The local system in Egypt, the current reality, problems and justification for the change” that operational factors can be witnessed in the extremely complicated voting system of the municipal elections. Citizens, in the standard case, are required to elect representatives for three different levels of local popular councils: the

governorate; the city; and village. An instance of the individual-related factors is candidates for municipal office. Many of these candidates lack the minimum experience or knowledge to communicate with the public or to monitor and evaluate the executive plans of developing their local communities. Salwa Tobbala in her paper about local governance and democratization claimed that the democratization of local administrations is inconceivable without the ‘Political Will’ to transform the corrupt local system in Egypt. Those who are benefited from the current situation would fight decentralization and portray it as a call for dividing Egypt. Nevertheless, it could be argued that there would be no hope for a democratic future and better living conditions in Egypt without fixing this local system. this is because the democratic local governance would ensure better understanding of citizens’ problems and produce the most competent officials. This would increase opportunities to improve living standards in localities. Also, encouraging citizens to engage with their local entities and express their ideas and opinions would help forge new relations between them and the government based on trust and cooperation. These new relations would largely contribute to Egypt’s political stability as well as democratic growth. Democratization of the local system primarily needs a legislative reform of the Local Administration Law, 43/ 1979, and the Constitution’s articles 175-182 in a way that promotes two fundamental rights. First is the right to public participation. In this regard, the legislative reform could be inspired by progressive constitutions like that of 1996 in Bhutan Kingdom which calls for direct public participation in government affairs. Second is the right to democratic local government.

This right could be supported through studying constitutions of South Africa (1996) or Thailand (2007) which provide detailed and expansive sections on local government. These constitutions commit the national government to promote and protect the local units’ capacity and autonomy to efficiently perform their intended role. Furthermore, following and investigating of the democratization process in countries that experienced an authoritarian past could be of value for Egypt. For instance, in Poland, the National School of Public Administration (KSAP), modeled after the French ‘Ecole Nationale d’Administration’ was established in 1991 by the first democratically elected government. According to Ezra Suleiman in his book “Dismantling Democratic States”, this helped to train public servants and prepare the capacities needed for local governments to better serve their communities through decentralization. Egypt has always been characterized by its highly centralized authority. This tendency weakened the local administrations and contributed to the deteriorated living conditions in the country. In order to improve these conditions and help stabilize and democratize Egypt, a decisive political will should be in place to promote and enhance the democratization of the local system. This could happen through legislative, operational and regulatory reform mechanisms. , Jerzy Regulski stated in her handbook “A Practical Guide to Building Local Government” that democratic change is not easy, but when it is implemented in a reasonable and comprehensive way, society can adjust and seize the opportunity to develop itself.

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

Justice

and the Falling Masks Egypt has passed a long journey with a corrupt system that was based on a legitimacy supported by the corruption of judges, their loyalty to the authoritarian regimes, and Ali Taha their decisions based on what these systems seek. This was supposed to change after two revolutions between January 25 and June 30. Hopes were that justice would embrace the rule of law, instead of personal interests, and that the secret vanguard organization that was planted within the judiciary would fall. The totalitarian system of the 60â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s was expected to vanish. Unfortunately, all hopes are gone or seems to be so. That is because the secret organization that lasted in Mubarakâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regime under the protection of the State Security Investigation (SSI) returned to prominence strongly and currently controls the judiciary and combats transparent officials. They explain this by claiming the need for purging the judiciary from Muslim Brotherhood and April 6th members. When they file lawsuits against activists or media workers, trials are held and issued immediately without delay. However, if their opponents do so, lawsuits find their way into the rotten drawers and never see the light again. This helped in sustaining and expanding

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

corruption and allowing them to be more and more unjust. Therefore, someone needs to work on the independence of judiciary in order for the state to be more powerful. Maintaining the independence of judiciary means maintaining the independence of their decisions and guaranteeing the implementation of these decisions. However, it does not mean ignoring structural reform, as the judiciary has become loose and it clearly does not need an expert eye to be noticed. One can see courts make decisions in issues that are not related to their jurisdiction. Others issued death sentences for hundreds claiming that they belong to MB, without even hearing their defense as in the case of Minya. Judges should not form their decisions according to accepting or rejecting any political organization, even if that organization was accused of terrorism. Justice is blind when one carries the scale of justice. It does not distinguish between what is ugly and what is good, except by the provided evidence in the lawsuit papers. Even judges themselves were not safe from such silly trials of exclusion and trials

of opinion. Maintaining a conscience was considered a physical criminal conduct. For example, when some judges commented on certain political events in the country, even though they contradicted the majority of the people, they were just opinions and they were not supposed to be tried. Their trials were even unfair and they did not have the chance to defend themselves, and the court that tried them did not respond to the raised defenses. Judges deserve unbiased and fair trials even if they were corrupt. Those are the guarantees advocated for by the Universal Declaration on Civil and Political Rights, and the Universal Declaration of Independence of the Judiciary under the title of guarantees of fair trial. If judges themselves do not have access to justice how can we ask it for other people! When a judge is being punished twice by referring him to two disciplinary trials in one year with prepared accusations, just because he stood in front of tyranny, demanding real independence of judges and calling for real reform of the judicial system, this sends a warning those in charge of the state and stakeholders that a group controlling the interests

of judges does not favor them, nor favor Egypt. In addition, using feelings while judging and the lack of guarantees of a fair trial is also harmful. That is because one day they might be tried as others with the same mechanisms, by people who never feel shame in being loyal to those who are in charge. Losing the feeling of justice is the main reason for public discontent which in return agitates revolutions and public uprisings. We appeal to President AbdelFatah El-Sisi, who carries the banner of making progress towards the renaissance of Egypt that reform does not target the economy only. Judicial reform is the freedom train that can push Egypt from the scope of developing states into the ranks of developed ones. However, abandoning the judiciary in its current situation, under the control of specific groups whom support corrupt people and do not care for citizens and their rights, makes you Mr. president responsible for all of that. Giving up on reforming the judiciary under the name of highness and independence of judiciary is like giving up on the state of constitution that you swore the oath of allegiance on it to give the whole care to the interests of people. Translated by: Ahmed Sherif

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

The Dream of Taking

a Microbus More than 15 years ago, when I was a student in high school, I used to ride pick-up trucks with my friends to school in Qaha. The Mohamed Ali Nasr town, which was 7 kilometers away from Karanfel and around 30 kilometers away from Cairo. We were ready to get into the car to go to our school by 7:00 AM and we were around 40 students stuck in the back, which does not exceed (1.5 Ă&#x2014; 2) meters. We used to squat in the car during cold times, in order to feel warm, however, we could feel the blood freezing in our veins due to the cold air resulting from the car speed. Suffering was not limited to the cold winter, but we had to wait in that cold weather for long times till the car is completely full. We also had to wait for a

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

long time, after 5:00 PM till we find a car and after 7:00 PM there were no cars at all and the village becomes isolated till the next morning arises. In these miserable conditions, we felt our dignity being humiliated us every day as these cars are used to transport animals and goods. People used to compare us to animals using verbal altercations as we could not find humane means of transportation as they did. This situation made us feel ashamed of inviting our friends to our village in any occasion, so they do not see these cars or take it. We were afraid of how they would perceive us. There were no means of public transportation passing through our village to reach Qaha, which was the closest town to us. The only solution was begging drivers to cover the box of the car to protect

us from cold, but they did not respond as they used to transport goods and animals in these cars. They used to treat us in a humiliating way, when we tried to complain and use harsh words and insults. Rich people in the village used to avoid riding in the box of the car, by hiring their own cars. This situation lasted for 40 years until 2013, when fights occurred between students in high school and the drivers, as they tried to prevent students from taking Suzuki cars that has 7 seats so that they control the means of transportation in the village. After this, we started a cooperative organization to transport passengers by cars that have 26 seats. When drivers of pick-up trucks knew about this, they sold their cars and bought Suzuki cars till we had around 100 Suzuki cars for transportation. This

helped in transporting people fast and they were no longer waiting for long periods and the humanity and dignity of Karanfil people were restored. People then started to talk about how the village managed to end such a phenomenon. We did not stop the initiation of the organization and we managed to start it in the middle of 2013 and I had the honor to manage the organization. The organization now owns 3 buses with 26 seats and it will connect the village with the closest metro station with is Shoubra El-Kheima. In the End, we are proud that we succeeded to eliminate the pick-up truck phenomenon that used to transport more than 3000 citizens daily. This happened using cooperative methods away from the state that ignored us as if we are not living in its geography.

Witness.2nd issue.August 2015

Every word is written to express a story and a personality, All the events that are happening around us need documentation to be lessons for the coming generation,Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s be the storytellers

-Jehad Rajab