Egyptian FM rejects US criticism of rights situation

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Saturday rejected criticism of the country’s human rights situation by his US counterpart, John Kerry, saying that such matters were the responsibility of the Egyptian government, which was working to implement the constitution.

Kerry said on Friday he was “deeply concerned” by the deterioration in the human rights situation in Egypt, including a decision to reopen an investigation into human rights NGOs.

In a press conference with his Slovakian counterpart in Cairo, Shoukry said that Egypt “rejects” any kind of international guidance on human rights.

“Human rights issues are the responsibility of the Egyptian government, which is very keen to implement and put into action the constitution, which stipulates respect for and commitment to human rights,” Shoukry said.

He added that not only is the Egyptian government working on human rights in Egypt, but that such matters are discussed by the public and by NGOs.

In a statement released by the State Department on Friday, the US secretary of state said the decision by the Egyptian government this week to to reopen an investigation of several non-governmental organisations working on human rights comes against a wider backdrop of arrests and intimidation of the political opposition, journalists, activists and others.

“I urge the Government of Egypt to work with civic groups to ease restrictions on association and expression and to take action to allow these and other human rights NGOs to operate freely,” Kerry said in the statement.

A judicial committee overseeing a five-year-old investigation into several rights activists accused of receiving illegal funding from foreign sources ordered on Thursday the freezing of assets of four Egyptian human rights activists and their families. They include rights activist Gamal Eid and investigative journalist Hossam Bahgat.

source:Ahram Online