Most of the largest Egyptian political parties have committed to ambitious reform concerning human rights, but have given mixed signals about their desire to end discrimination, protect women’s rights and abolish the death penalty, Amnesty International said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Ahead of parliamentary elections, the organization asked political parties running in Egypt’s elections to sign a “human rights manifesto” to signal that they were serious about delivering meaningful rights reform.
Amnesty International wrote to 54 political parties and sought meetings with 15 of the main ones, nine of whom signed the manifesto, either in its entirety or in part. Three others gave oral feedback.
The Freedom and Justice Party, which won the most seats in the People’s Assembly, was one of three parties not to respond substantively, Amnesty International said.
“With the first session of the new Parliament happening this week, it is encouraging that so many of the major parties engaged with us and were prepared to sign ambitious pledges for change on combating torture, protecting slum residents' rights and ensuring fair trials,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's interim Middle East and North Africa director.
But he added that it is disturbing that a number of parties have refused to commit to equal rights for women, particularly with only a handful of women taking seats in the new Parliament.
While the only parties to sign all of the pledges contained in the manifesto were the Egyptian Social Democratic Party and the Popular Socialist Alliance Party, which have 34 and 7 seats respectively, about a dozen parties agreed to the first seven points of the manifesto, including commitments on civil and political rights. Key promises included ending the state of emergency, combating torture, upholding freedom of expression and association, ensuring fair trials and investigating abuses committed under Mubarak.
A number of parties expressed reservations over the ninth pledge, which called for women’s rights to be protected, including equal rights in marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance. The Salafi Nour Party, with 125 seats, and the Wasat Party, with 10 seats, invoked Islamic law to explain their resistance.
Most parties expressed reservations over the 10th point, which called for the abolition of the death penalty. They stated that abolition contradicted Islam or that they were continuing to study the issue. Even the two parties inclined to abolish the death penalty said that this was a long-term goal and could not be achieved within a few years.
The Wafd Party, with 38 seats in Parliament, and the Reform and Development Party, with 10 seats in Parliament, declined to accept this point.
The Free Egyptians Party, formerly part of Egyptian Bloc, which won 34 seats in parliament, failed to provide feedback on the manifesto or respond to requests for meetings to discuss it.
