Presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei on Thursday announced that he would be offering up his human rights convention for public debate.
In a video posted on YouTube, ElBaradei said the convention is the best way to address national anxiety concerning the process of forming a new government. ElBaradei said that Egypt must decide whether to form a civilian or a religious state, and whether citizens’ rights will be preserved following the resolution.
He said the civilian state, which he prefers, protects citizens' rights, ensures freedom of religion and opinion and would end military trials, and make torture illegal.
He pointed out that Egypt had signed a number of agreements to protect citizens’ rights, but that most of these agreements have not been implemented and rights have not been respected.
“We can modify the law or the constitution but this convention cannot be modified,” he said.
ElBaradei went on to say that the convention, which will be announced shortly, is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is applied in democratic states.
“Egyptians have the right to remain part of the Muslim Brotherhood or a leftist group, but their dignity and freedom cannot be violated,” he said.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
