egypt: Egypt's New Chill on Rights Groups

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From: Human Rights Watch, [email protected]

Egypt's New Chill on Rights Groups
NGOs Banned, Activist Harassed

(New York, June 21, 2003) -- The Egyptian government's refusal to allow two
human rights groups to register as legal entities casts a shadow over their
capacity to work, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch also
expressed concern over the government's detention and interrogation of a
prominent Egyptian human rights activist as he was returning from a
conference abroad.

On June 8, 2003, the New Woman Research Center received a letter from the
Ministry of Social Affairs rejecting its application to register under the
terms of a new law governing the activities of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs). The letter stated that "security agencies do not
approve the registration of the aforementioned foundation." Several days
later, the ministry again cited objections by state security to deny the
application of the Land Center for Human Rights to register a new entity,
Awlad al-Ard (Sons of the Earth).

"These two groups have been spotlighting important human rights issues for
years," said Joe Stork, Washington director of the Middle East and North
Africa division of Human Rights Watch. "By refusing to give them legal
status, the government has confirmed that the new NGO law is intended to
stifle civil society."

The New Woman Research Center, founded in the early 1990s, raises public
awareness of women's rights issues, including female genital mutilation and
domestic violence. The Land Center for Human Rights, founded in 1996, works
on economic and social rights issues, primarily in rural areas. The center
has produced a series of reports on agricultural child labor, land tenancy
issues, and environmental problems, as well as other topics.

On June 15, Egyptian immigration authorities detained and questioned Mohamed
Zarea, director of the Cairo-based Human Rights Center for the Assistance of
Prisoners (HRCAP), as he was returning from a regional human rights
conference in Beirut. According to the HRCAP, Zarea was interrogated for an
hour about the conference and the views of participants. The HRCAP said that
Zarea refused to cooperate and was eventually cleared through Egyptian
immigration.

Law 84/2002, passed by the People's Assembly on June 3, 2002, requires
existing groups to apply for registration with the Ministry of Social
Affairs as NGOs within one year of the law's passage in order to operate
legally. Most Egyptian human rights groups have submitted applications, but
in most cases they did so shortly before the June 3, 2003 deadline and have
not yet heard from the Ministry of Social Affairs, which has sixty days to
approve or reject the application or request changes in the group's
statutes. Human Rights Watch pointed out that article six of the law
requires the government to justify any rejection in terms of noncompliance
with the law.

"There is nothing in the law requiring clearance by the security services,"
Stork said. "In banning these two groups the government has gone beyond even
its own restrictive legislation."

According to information received by Human Rights Watch, the ministry has
held up the registration of at least one other NGO pending the removal of
certain board members considered objectionable by government security
services.

The New Woman Research Center has filed an appeal in the Administrative
Court against the government's decision. Law 84/2002 and the executive
statute for its implementation contain vaguely-worded provisions which
tighten state control over NGOs and severely compromise the right to freedom
of association. The statute bars groups that the state determines to be
"threatening national unity [or] violating public order or morals" (Article
11). NGOs are prohibited from receiving funds from abroad without ministry
approval (Article 17; Executive Statute, Article 58). The Ministry of Social
Affairs must approve nominees to the governing boards of NGOs (Article 34)
and can deny requests to affiliate with international organizations (Article
16). The ministry can dissolve an NGO at will, as well as freeze its assets
and confiscate its property, without a judicial order (Article 42).

The law provides criminal penalties for unauthorized NGO activities (Article
76). Persons who form "clandestine organizations" can be punished with one
year's imprisonment and a substantial fine-in effect criminalizing many
forms of informal or grassroots organizing. A person who receives donations
on behalf of an NGO without ministry approval can be sentenced to six months
in prison. Persons carrying out the activities of an NGO prior to its formal
registration are liable to a three-month prison term.

"In Egypt as elsewhere, the state has a legitimate interest in registering
civil societies, but in a way that allows citizens to exercise their basic
political rights," Stork said. "Neither the letter of this law nor its
implementation so far demonstrate good faith on the part of the government.
If the past is any guide, the authorities will use this legislation to
pounce on any group whose activities cross the very low threshold for
dissent in Egypt today."

Law 84/2002 passed the People's Assembly despite widespread opposition from
NGOs, which called attention to the unreasonable powers it gave the state. A
similarly restrictive NGO law had been passed in 1999, but was struck down,
largely on technical grounds, by Egypt's Constitutional Court one year
later. Many groups have until now functioned as companies registered under
various provisions of Egyptian civil law. However, Law 84/2002 requires such
groups or companies to re-register under its provisions in order to carry
out NGO activities legally.

To read more on human rights issues in Egypt, please see:
http://www.hrw.org/mideast/egypt.php

For more information, please contact: In Washington D.C., Joe Stork: +1 202
612 4327 or +1 202 291 0846 In New York, Scott Long: +1-212-865-5536

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of Human Rights Watch**