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Cairo, 7/6/2003
law of the NGOs The Association for Human Rights Legal Aid obtained the approval of the Ministry of Social Affairs on its decision to be registered according to the New Egyptian Law of NGOs No 84/2002. This is the second time in less than four years for the Association to be registered according to the organizing laws of civil society, for the association had been registered under the law 153/1999, in spite of the reservations on the law and its executive panel, it contains a several restrictions for the civil work that make it insufficient on the realistic level. Though the Association for Human Rights Legal Aid has its reservations on the new law, it registered under it, for the Association believes that approaching any issue realistically and boosting the role of the general assembly (alone) in directing, monitoring and firmly- establish the values of democracy and participation are the best ways to come over the restrictions put by the state to the civil society. During the period of working under law No 153 the Association continued to emphasize on its reservations on the law and its executive panel till the law was decided unconstitutional. Since registering for the first time, the Association had held two general assembly meetings. On the decisions made in them, we decided to register under the new law. Furthermore we decided many other decisions made to deep -seated the values of democracy and participation in the internal structure of the Association itself. The principal of separating authorities is the most important principal the Association members saw it is important for its work; this is through obligating the board of directorate to assign an executive manager to run the daily work and the different activities of the Association, and let the strategic planning and forming the general attitude of the Association for the board of directorate. In this democratic context in managing the Association, another principal was established, which is circulating authority inside the Association. AHRLA general assembly decided that the chairman should not be in charge for more than four successive years in one cycle (the cycle takes six years). In one cycle the board is changed biannually with a rate of the two thirds. In spite of registering under the new law of NGOs, the Association still refuses the several implicated restrictions put to the civil work, taking in its consideration that the articles of the new law bear many faces of violations for the public freedoms, the constitutional rights and the international instruments ratified by Egypt concerning the right to organization, the right to peacefully gathering and the freedom of expression. AHRLA believes that freeing the civil society from the states authority and its security bodies will be achieved only by uniting all the efforts of the civil society to work on canceling the bad reputation restricting laws, it is the only path to reach the democratic reformation wanted by the internal will not by the international pressures. In this context, the Association for Human Rights Legal Aid calls upon the government to take in its consideration while intending to establish the National Council for Human Rights the international measures adopted by the UN General Assembly related to establishing national councils for human rights. The state also must amend the national legislations to go in line with the ratified international human rights treaties and conventions that had become a part of its national legislations. All the bad reputations and restricting laws, the Emergency law is on top of them, must be canceled in order to protect the citizens' rights and create a nation in which citizens' can enjoy their freedoms. |