Geneva Institute for Human Rights

A workshop in cooperation between Geneva Institute for Human Rights and Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights Association revealed Arab civil society organizations are still far from human rights protection mechanisms

The lack of awareness of international mechanisms for the protection of human rights and sufficiency and efficiency of work implemented at the national level, stands at the boarders of local redress mechanisms. The issue is further exaggerated by the poor knowledge and awareness of the international mechanisms used to protect human rights, as well as the lack of effective communication skills”. According to Mr. Nazar Abdelgadir, the Executive Director of the Geneva Institute for Human Rights, an international human rights expert and human rights advocate, these factors are the most important causes for what he calls “the incapacitating barriers” towards achieving human rights amongst civil society organizations in the Arab region.

This has been one of the most important issues that has been discussed in explicit details during a training workshop held at the Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights Association on Thursday, March 11, 2010 under the title "Strengthening the Capacity of Civil Society to monitor the outputs of the Universal Periodic Review" as a collaboration between Maat and the Geneva Institute for Human Rights (an institute located in Switzerland but which works extensively in the Arab region and cross-cuttingly amongst various sectors, including civil society organizations and governmental organizations and institutes, academics, and human rights defenders and organizations).

The training workshop is considered the first activity to set in motion a cooperation protocol signed by the two organizations, Maat and the Geneva Institute in March 8, 2010, which provides cooperation between the two organizations in building the capacity of Egyptian civil society organizations in effective communication skills with the international mechanisms for the protection of human rights. Providing much needed training and retraining opportunities for Maat’s partners and members of the coalition of CSOs for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in this regard, as the Protocol provides the cooperation of the two organizations to work on the Arab and regional levels.

The workshop comes within the framework of the "community-based monitoring of the outputs of the UPR" which is implemented by Maat and aims to build the capacity of partners NGOs in the coalition on methodological follow-up outputs of UPR and communication with international mechanisms to protect human rights, and raise the awareness of community-based actors with the mechanism and orientation on the UPR and the importance of communicating with it, as well as the provision of effective institutional mechanisms to monitor the outputs of the UPR and the provision of related information.

The workshop dealt with two major issues: requirements of civil society organizations to follow up the outputs of the UPR and the use of information and the outputs of the UPR in communicating with international and national mechanisms for the protection of human rights. A group of leaders, officials of the CSOs, Human rights activists and interested journalists participated in the workshop.

The workshop began at six with a speech of by Mr. Ayman Okeil, Chairman of the Board of Trustees in Maat who explained community-based monitoring for the outputs of UPR program and the previous activities of Maat that were held in the context of this issue. He also spoke about the signed cooperation protocol, and the expected positive results of the partnership and cooperation agreement with GIHR, he then welcomed Mr. Nazar Abdelgadir to the participants and left him to present his speech.

In the speech, Mr. Nazar Abdelgadir addressed the national, regional and international human rights mechanisms, the differences between them, and then explained the international mechanisms for the protection of human rights in detail, their types and number, which amounted to 39 mechanisms: 8 mechanisms are treaty bodies and the other 31 mechanisms represented in special rapporteurs and mandate holders. He provided this initial information, so that all participants would be informed of the different mechanisms.

Abdelgadir explained UPR mechanism as the last of these mechanisms, as this recent mechanism has only been in action for not more than two years; as full implementation only began in 2008. He also pointed out the stages of adoption of reports of to the States under this mechanism, taking the review of Egypt as an example, which was held at the seventh session of the review UPR, in February 2010. Egypt presented its reports and interventions of the delegations of States members of the Council in a meeting that lasted for three hours. The adoption of the report of the State will be in June 2010 by the human rights council at its thirteenth session in an hour with an allocation of twenty minutes for ten Egyptian civil society organizations and 20 minutes to the delegation of the Egyptian government, and finally the report of the 14th session of the HRC will be adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations at its next session.

Abdelgadir emphasized the need for Egyptian CSOs to work from now this days forward to monitor, follow-up and put advocate in implement the recommendations which Egypt has committed and not satisfied with the UPR mechanism, but to communicate with other international mechanisms to protect human rights and not to stand at the borders of the national level because this is the real role that will add face value and is specifically assigned to CSOs. Abdelgadir considered that Arab CSOs have been too late in this regard in comparison with African, Asian and South American CSOs, and that it was time for them to take action.

Participants were actively participating in the workshop and added their voices and intervened with comments as well as raised different questions. One issue raised was about the control of major countries on international mechanisms for the protection of human rights as a continuation of the extension in a new imperialism. Abdelgadir said that this was far from contrary to the reality because amongst the 47 members of the HR Council, 31 states advocated for the third world issues along the line, and the most prominent evidence of this is that there are more than 6 special sessions of the Council from a total of 13 special sessions held at the age of the Council and they were particularly about Palestinian cause, proving that there was no hidden agenda.

With regard to the concerns about Egypt's position in the Council as vice president and how this might affect on the directions of the CSOs; The CSOs were informed that they will be allowed to apply for a speech at the meeting that will be held in June 2010; Nazar Abdelgadir said that this is not consistent with the rules of transparency and integrity followed by the mechanisms of the Council.

Abdelgadir referred to the important and vital role of the media regarding putting pressure on governments and advocating for them to cooperate with international mechanisms for the protection of human rights and to promote awareness of international and regional mechanisms.

In another context, the participants condemned the absence of Arab mechanisms to protect human rights and the reluctance of governments in this regard and that CSOs aren’t effective in pressure to create these important entities in the system of universal human rights, and he requested them to have a more unified and influential position in this regard.

The workshop revealed the urgent need for capacity-building of community-based stakeholders with regards to monitoring the results of the UPR and the need for effective communication with international mechanisms to protect human rights. This role would be part of what Maat will try to do in the near future, with assistance and cooperation with GIHR.