President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi was keen to respond to criticisms of Egypt’s human rights record during last week’s World Youth Forum (WYF), and said reporting by Western human rights organisations on the human rights situation in Egypt was often inaccurate.
During a simulation model of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session held on 11 January, President Al-Sisi said Egypt had an integrated and comprehensive approach to human rights.
“In discussing human rights, we must take into account the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. In this respect, let us note how Western countries violated human rights in terms of restricting freedom of movement during the pandemic. They took this measure because they saw that in such a case supreme national interests must come first while respect of human rights takes a back seat,” said Al-Sisi.
Human rights cannot be limited to freedom of expression and political pluralism, said the president, but must include economic and social rights. “This is our vision of human rights. We are a country which has a high growth rate of population which is increasing by 2.5 million every year. From our perspective, high quality education, healthcare, and employment are fundamental human rights that should take priority.”
During the session, the representative of the Union for the Mediterranean called on Egypt to take “rapid corrective measures” to improve its image in the area of human rights.
“In Egypt, and despite the limited...
The Kristo Asafo Mission of Ghana has rejected claims that former Dome-Kwabenya Member of Parliament, Sarah Adwoa Safo, was shot during an incident at the church’s property at Kwabenya, describing...