Annual Report of The National Council for Human Rights

Cont. - Chapter Four

Grievances

3- Classification of Complaints according to Governorates:

Table (2) shows the distribution of complaints delivered to the NCHR from individuals and civil society organizations according to the governorates from which they were sent:

Table (2)

Classification of Complaints according to Governorates

The above table shows that the greatest number of complaints delivered to the NCHR were from Cairo, as they reached 1,015 complaints, representing 20.6% of the total of 4,850 complaints delivered to the NCHR during the period from March until December 2004.

The great number of complaints delivered from Greater Cairo which encompasses parts of Giza and Qalubia can be attributed to the following reasons in light of the contents of these complaints and the areas and districts they were delivered from:

Of the total number of complainants, 78 live in slums and graveyards. These areas are characterized by high unemployment rates and their residents are usually involved in illegal activities and trade (i.e. narcotics, prostitution, smuggling, etc.). Most dwellers are apathetic or hostile towards the State and its various organs. A majority of their complaints include claims that their residential areas do not benefit from public spending, whether in the form of infrastructure projects, services, or housing facilities. These slums are hideouts for many extremist groups, thieves, and outlaws selling narcotics and weapons. These areas also foster political violence and extremist ideologies. Academic studies show that 14% of extremist group members in the early nineties were from El-Sahel District, 9.1% members were from El-Sharabia District, 9.1% from El-Waily District, 7.3% from El-Mataria District, 31% from Imbaba District, and 24.2% from Bulak El-Dakrour District. Accordingly, the residents 75 slums in Greater Cairo are continuously subject to police raids. As a result, they feel insecure, and this gives rise to feelings of hostility and disdain toward the State and society. Such feelings are conveyed in their complaints, in which they claim that security and police authorities detain, torture and beat them.

In their efforts to uproot extremism and violence, security forces have resorted to imprisoning, detaining and torturing the members of such extremist groups in a random and sometimes exaggerated manner, resorting to the provisions of the Emergency Law. It is therefore understandable that a great number of those subject to detention and torture should submit complaints to the NCHR regarding the unrestrained and abusive measures taken by security forces in these areas.

Furthermore, approximately 172 complaints convey how the residents of slums have been gravely affected by the State's increased rapid withdrawal from providing economic and social services, especially with the privatization of the public work sector, shrinking of social spending and commodity subsidies, and the reduction of public spending on education, healthcare, and housing. This, in turn, has led to the deterioration of living standards in these slums, prompting its residents to demand that the NCHR grant them their basic rights in healthcare, housing, education, and a fixed source of income to provide the vital needs of their families.

Besides, Greater Cairo is the biggest source of complaints regarding prisoners' rights, as Abu Zabal, Tora and El-Marg prisons are located in this region. According to 486 complaints, violations are committed against the human rights of prisoners on a daily basis, whether regarding healthcare, education opportunities, the type and quality of meals, the application of conditional pardons and releases, moral and physical torture, and the deprivation of visitation rights and solitary confinement for long intervals.

Moreover, Greater Cairo is congested with the main chairman quarters of many public and private institutions and organizations in which violations against workers are committed. Complaints in this regard amount to 17% of the total number of complaints from residents of this region. Greater Cairo also includes three major universities (Cairo, Ain Shams and Helwan) at which 65% of college students are enrolled. During student union elections.

These universities witness many forms of violations and compromising of electoral and voting rights which have led in many cases, based on the claims of several complainants, to the interference of State security forces. During these elections, dozens of students are usually detained, such as in the elections of November 2004. In addition, some administrative bodies that do not have jurisdiction over these elections sometimes appoint individuals and students that are not involved in student activities, on the basis that they are trustworthy and are not inclined to particular political movements.

Furthermore, most human rights organizations are based in Cairo. Therefore, the residents of the Greater Cairo region are more familiar with the activities of these organizations.

It is evident from the above table that most complaints from Upper Egypt including the governorates of Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minia, Assyut concern a certain type of violation to civil and political rights, particularly regarding imprisonment, forcible disappearance, beating, and torture by security authorities. Upper Egypt, since the early eighties until the turn of the century, has been known to foster religious extremist groups that have used the insufficiency of State services to incite a great number of youths to join them and adopt their hostile attitude toward the State and government officials.

Security forces have therefore endeavored to uproot these extremist groups by arresting their members and the supporters of their ideologies. As a precaution, they also tend to arrest those likely to join such groups in the future.

The actions taken by security forces to face extremist groups do not comply with the regulations and legal procedures stipulated by international agreements and conventions and by the Egyptian Constitution and laws. In other words, security forces do not respect the human rights and freedoms of individuals in their strenuous endeavor to maintain security and stability to better protect citizens from the violence of extremists.

The above table also indicates that the least number of complaints delivered to the NCHR were from coastal and border governorates, including Aswan, North and South Sinai, New Valley, Luxor, Red Sea, Port Said and Damietta governorates. The total number of complaints from these governorates amounts to 231 complaints, representing 4.7% of the total number of complaints. Most of these complaints concern the compromising or violation of complainants' rights, whether by imprisonment, torture or religious intolerance. However, 31% of these complaints include requests to be granted the right of administrative transfer and health care for complainants' families, or include complaints regarding the abuse of some local governmental officials of the powers and administrative authorities vested in them.

4- Classification of Complaints according to Violated Rights:

The complaints delivered to the NCHR from March through end of December 2004 have also been categorized according to the rights claimed to have been compromised or violated such as civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. The NCHR has also received a number of complaints in which complainants discuss public issues and include their viewpoints, proposals and recommendations to curb or resolve them. Such issues include the prohibition of traveling, environmental pollution, the non-execution of court judgments, and the abuse of powers and authorities by civil servants.
A number of other complaints received by the NCHR do not fall under the NCHR's jurisdiction. For example, some complainants request legal assistance in their disputes reviewed by Egyptian courts. Other complaints include requests for the NCHR to publish poetry and short stories or requests for jobs. Besides, there are still a number of complaints under study, such as requests for court appeals or retrials.

Table (3) shows the classification of complaints according the rights that individuals and civil society organizations claim to have been violated:

Table (3)

Classification of Complaints according to Violated Rights

From the above table, it is evident that the complaints which do not fall under the NCHR's jurisdiction outnumber the total of all other complaints, as they amount to 1,646 complaints, representing 35% of the total number of complaints.

Similarly evident is the fact that complaints regarding cultural rights are the least in number. This may be attributed to the fact that complaints concerning civil and political rights are more comprehensive. Furthermore, cultural rights concern only a small group of people, who do not believe that the NCHR is the most expedient channel to deliver them justice. Furthermore, other groups believe that cultural rights are only "supplementary" rights when compared to other essential rights being violated on a daily basis. This point will be further discussed in the following part of the report.