Egypt Action Plan

Seminar on the European Neighbourhood Policy: Human Rights in the EU-Egypt Relations. Recommendations of Egyptian NGOs for the EU-Egypt Action

The seminar took place in Cairo on 26-27 January 2006 and gathered representatives of Egyptian civil society, and from civil society in the Euro-Mediterranean region and Ukraine, as well as representatives from the EU Commission and Member States.*


Action Plans with Mediterranean partners have regrettably been elaborated and negotiated secretly between the EU and Mediterranean governments without proper consultation of human rights NGOs.  That is why it is essential that NGOs are properly informed, consulted and involved in the implementation of the Action Plan, if it is meant to become an important platform for promotion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

This seminar aimed at providing NGOs’ inputs to ongoing negotiations between Egypt and the EU on an ENP Action plan, and to discuss the wider perspectives of the ENP in terms of its human rights and democracy agenda.

The seminar came out with a range of recommendations of which the main recommendations addressing the Action plan for Egypt concerns:
  • The Lifting of the State of Emergency
  • Combating Torture and the Status of Prisoners
  • The Independence of the Judiciary
  • Public freedoms (the right of association and assembly)
  • Women’s Rights
  • Free and Fair Elections
  • Death Penalty
  • Non-discrimination of disabled
  • The rights of migrants and refugees
  • Workers’ rights
  • Freedom of the Media
  • Freedom of thought and belief

Documents from the Seminar

 
*The seminar was organised by the EMHRN in partnership with the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, with the kind support of the Foundation Open Society Institute (Zug) and the European Commission.