Submitted by ssaliba on
Egypt – Twentieth session - 2014
5 November 2014 - 9.00 a.m. - 12.30 p.m.
Accepted and rejected recommendations
IV. Obligations of Egypt under international human rights instruments and treaties, and its reservations thereto (recommendations 1–5, 7, 10, 15, 17–27, 32, 34, 37, 44–47, 78)
16. In order for national laws to keep to international standards and to continue the process of democratic reform, the 2014 Constitution contains provision (especially Chapter II on the basic components of society and Chapter III on public rights, freedoms and duties) to ensure that Egypt abides by all its obligations under the international human rights instruments it has ratified. The Constitution also contains many other provisions in this regard. [...] Articles 80, 81 and 83 guarantee the rights of certain groups in society: children, persons with disabilities and the elderly, as well as obligating the State for the first time to guarantee the rights of dwarves.
17. During the period of transition Egypt has been experiencing since 2011, a number of laws and decrees have been issued to fulfil the country’s international obligations under human rights instruments. The most important of these are: [...]
(h) Act No. 86 of 2012 which regulates health insurance for children under school age; [...]
V. Civil and political rights (recommendations 10, 34, 35, 39, 40, 47, 48, 83–84)
22. As regards respecting minimum standards in the effective application of the death penalty, Egyptian legislation requires observation of all the standards contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (arts. 6 and 14) and in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 37). This matter is explained in more detail in Annex 2.
VI. Economic, social and cultural rights (recommendations 7, 21, 46, 50–54, 56–59, 61–64, 74, 77)
26. Chapters II and III of the 2014 Constitution respect and safeguard the economic, social and cultural rights of Egyptian citizens. These include the right to housing, the right to health and the right to education. The rest of those rights are protected under articles 92 and 93 of the Constitution.
VII. Empowerment of women and respect and protection of their human rights (recommendations 1, 7, 11–13, 16, 28–33, 40–43, 46, 58, 60, 63)
35. The Constitution guarantees equality before the law[...]It requires the State to ensure that women are adequately represented in national and local government, to abide by the international treaties Egypt has ratified which protect the rights of women, children and human rights in general, to take measures to ensure fair treatment [...].
37. Egypt has introduced new typological indicators to measure gender equality in the fields of work, health, education and political rights with the aim of monitoring the benefits accruing to women as a result of these policies, and of improving the methodological practices currently in use. This will lead to the development of tracking systems and budgets responsive to the special needs of women at a practical level in all stages of planning and follow-up, and will help to achieve Millennium Development Goals Nos. 4 and 5 concerning the reduction of infant mortality and the improvement of maternal health by 2015. [...].
39. Health-care programmes in Egypt include a national programme to protect against sexually or blood-transmitted diseases, especially HIV/AIDS, infectious hepatitis C virus, and other diseases. Twenty-seven youth-friendly clinics have been established throughout Egypt to inform young people of the dangers and socioeconomic dimensions of these diseases and methods for protecting against them. The centres protect patients’ right to privacy and confidentiality of information. A hotline has also been established in the Ministry of Health and its departments to receive inquiries and provide advice.
VIII. Children’s rights (recommendations 6, 14, 37, 49)
49. Article 80 of the 2014 Constitution defines persons under the age of 18 as children and protects their rights, in particular their right to a name, identity documents, free compulsory vaccination, health care, family or alternative care, basic nutrition, safe shelter, emotional and cognitive development and education, also for children with disabilities. It contains provisions for the care and protection of children from all forms of violence, abuse, mistreatment and commercial and sexual exploitation, and establishes a special judicial regime for child victims. These rights and freedoms were absent from earlier Egyptian constitutions.
50. Pursuant to Act No. 12 of 1996 as amended by Act No. 126 of 2008, the Government offers fully integrated care to children (social, educational, health, cultural and developmental) through a national network of service units including nurseries, children’s clubs, a host family project, a care initiative for working children, a project for rural children, residential nurseries, foster families and children’s villages. These efforts are complemented by the work of non-governmental organizations and of the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood (Annex 3: Work of the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood).
51. Comprehensive national strategies and programmes have been put in place to guarantee the best interests of children, especially as regards alternative child care. These include, for example, the foster family system, residential associations, residential nurseries, children’s villages, associations providing social care to children at risk of delinquency, supervision centres and social surveillance offices. A strategy proposed by the Ministry of Social Solidarity to improve quality standards in orphanages is currently being rolled out. Its main elements are: firstly, reviewing and modernizing the rules and regulations applied in orphanages; secondly, formulating quality standards within residential associations as a guide for administrators thus enabling them to offer integrated care to orphans in cooperation with specialized civil society associations and experts in the field, and thirdly, improving the competence and efficiency of workers in residence associations, training service providers and issuing them with certificates.
52. As one of its social care and development mechanisms to combat child labour the Government has set up centres for working children. These function through a social association which provides developmental care to children between the ages 6 and 18 in order to limit the negative effects of child labour, and follows up on implementation of articles 123 to 137 of the Child Act and its implementing regulations.
53. The Government is examining a number of measures to improve and extend the care available to children, including changes to relevant regulations and decisions in order to bring them into line with developments in society. This also involves amending articles 85 and 87 of the implementing regulations of the Child Act to make it possible for children to receive care in foster families from birth rather than from the age of 2, or extending the guesthouse project for follow-up care to children in residential associations who do not have a family of their own and who have reached the age of 18, as per the Child Act No. 12 of 1996. Other moves involve increasing the number of psychological guidance centres available at a national level for children in residential associations who do not have a family of their own, providing appropriate mechanisms to find timely solutions to the social and psychological problems this sector of society has to face and helping them achieve a better mental and social equilibrium.
54. Article 80 of the Constitution guarantees respect and protection for the rights of children within the criminal justice system, in accordance with relevant international standards. Egyptian legislation, particularly the Child Act and the Criminal Code, also ensure implementation of the care and rights laid down in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and in United Nations standards (Annex 5: Treatment of children in the criminal justice system).
IX. Rights of persons with disabilities (recommendations 15, 65)
58. The Government coordinates with civil society organizations and the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood to implement national policies aimed at protecting children with disabilities and integrating them into society. These cover a number of aspects such as offering training to service providers on how to protect children with and without isabilities and how to ensure they can access the basic information and skills they require to become productive members of society; putting in place a system to guard against violations of children’s rights, recognize potential violations, deal with them through the subcommittees and build the capacities of the members of those subcommittees, and supporting the creation of centralized units within ministries and national councils to safeguard children and to follow up on the implementation of protection policies at various levels (Annex 6: National programmes to protect the rights of children with disabilities).
61. The National Council for Disability is currently studying examples of educational integration of persons with disabilities in other countries and formulating an educational policy to ensure such integration in schools and universities. It is also offering alternatives to people who missed out on an education due to disability, such as single classroom schools or distance learning, and organizing a poll on employment trends and requirements in private companies to ensure that persons with disabilities are trained in a manner consonant with the needs of the Egyptian labour market.
XII. Combating human trafficking (recommendations 44, 45)
70. Egypt takes the phenomenon of human trafficking very seriously and has taken steps to qualify it as an offence. It has also ratified the relevant international and regional treaties which outlaw trafficking in women and children and oppose all forms of exploitation. The most important of these are International Labour Organization Convention No. 182 of 1999 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, which came into force pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 69 of 2002, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women And Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, adopted by the Palermo Conference in 2000 and ratified without reservation on 5 March 2004, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, ratified on 12 July 2002. The definition of human trafficking Egypt uses is that contained in article 3 of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women And Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, and Egyptian legislation penalizes all forms of trafficking described in that Protocol.
71. Pursuant to Prime Ministerial Decree No. 1584 of 2007 the Egyptian Government has established the National Coordinating Committee to Combat and Prevent Trafficking in Persons. This body has the task of formulating a national action plan to combat human trafficking, preparing an annual report on national efforts to counter this problem and monitoring Egypt’s fulfilment of its international obligations under the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. The Committee also proposes the necessary legislative measures and promotes cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Global Programme against Trafficking in Human Beings (GPAT) and other organizations in order to facilitate implementation of the Protocol.
76. The activities of the anti-human trafficking unit of the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood are progressing on three parallel axes: executive, legislative and promotional (Annex 8: Activities of the anti-human trafficking unit of the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood).
78. In the measures they take to protect victims of trafficking, the authorities show particular concern for the needs of children. Investigations are completed as quickly as possible, taking account of children’s best interests and avoiding direct contact between child victims and offenders during trial. Moreover, child victims have the right to be fully informed about security implications and criminal proceedings before it is decided whether or not they will testify at a trial. Particular weight is given to statements and complaints concerning child trafficking and exploitation presented by child protection committees and the National Child Protection Agency, and all measures necessary to protect child victims and witnesses are undertaken in coordination with these bodies. Children, whether victims, witnesses or accused, are treated with compassion and respect when they appear before the Public Prosecution, and no bodily, mental or moral harm may be inflicted upon them. They can only be held in the offices of the Public Prosecution for the purposes of the investigation or recording statements, and then for as short a time as possible. Provisions exist to ensure that child victim or witness are not frightened, and to enable them to give their evidence in complete freedom without pressure or influence, or physical or mental coercion. Their cases must also be presented to the special child protection committees to take all necessary steps, pursuant to article 96 of the Child Act, to protect and assist them, especially if they are in danger.
XIV. Respecting and protecting human rights at the national level (recommendations 6, 11, 12, 18, 20, 26, 32, 35, 38, 42–45, 47, 48, 66–75, 78)
86. The Government is developing educational programmes through family advice and counselling bureaux under the Ministry of Social Solidarity. The intention is to raise standards of living by helping families take full advantage of the various services available in society and so promote family stability. The Government is implementing these programmes through meetings and seminars with various groups in society, offering educational, psychological and social guidance services to lessen the negative effects of parents’ lack of knowledge about scientific child-rearing techniques and the effect they have on family stability. It is also developing educational programmes on the rights and duties of parents.
87. The Egyptian Government has developed curricula for primary and secondary schools which include information on human rights and general freedoms as well as on reproductive and sexual health, and are calibrated to take account of pupils’ gender and their level of mental development. Courses on the same subjects are also taught at university level. It has also created adult education programmes on citizens’ rights and duties and the responsibility of the State to protect and respect human rights and general freedoms. Furthermore, international human rights law is a basic part of university curricula in a number of institutions such as the faculty of law and the police academy.
XV. Cooperation with international human rights bodies (recommendations 22–27, 82)
101. Between 2010 and 2014 Egypt presented a number of periodical reports to treaty bodies[...]. Egypt had intended to present its fifth and sixth periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2012 and 2017 respectively; however a delay in the Committee’s discussions on the country’s fourth periodic report, presented in 2007 but discussed in 2011, led to a change in the scheduling for the presentation of the other two reports to 2016. Thus the fifth and sixth reports will be presented together as a combined report
1. The project looks forward to be a leading entity to support female breadwinners in bringing up family members who are able to participate in and develop the society, in tackling any difficulties that may encounter them, and in protecting their children so that the latter can serve their country and face the life.
3. A female breadwinners is compelled to work as her husband (i.e. the one responsible for the family) is absent so that she must search for a livelihood to cover the needs of her family. There are many resulting repercussions such as the dropouts that are caused by the divorce in poor families and the mother's inability to cover the education expenses of her children, the increasing rates of child labor as the children of divorcees resort to labor market because the fathers do not incur their expenses, the increasing rates of street children because of parent separation, the increasing child trafficking rates, the increasing rates of early marriage among the daughters of divorcees, and the family conflicts resulting from the children stay with fathers-in-law or mother-in-law.
4. The project supports female breadwinner from economic, social and psychological perspectives in order to help them perform their social and functional roles to achieve family stability and to protect children from vagrancy, exploitation, trafficking, dropout, child labor, and early marriage.
Attachment (6): Projects of The National Council for Childhood & Motherhood (NCCM) in Cooperation with Civil Society Organizations in the Field of Child Care
In cooperation with the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the NCCM conducted a national survey in 2001 involving a sample of 20,000 families. The survey adopted the procedural definition of child labor "every economic activity performed by a child aging 6-14 years within the last three years preceding the survey", and ended up with estimating the total number of working children at about 2,786,000 children, most of whom are residents of rural areas (83%). In terms of gender of the total working children, 73% are male and 27% are female.
First: 2001 National Child Labor Phenomenon Survey in Egypt, aiming at:
- Determine the volume of child labor phenomenon in ARE
- Explore the properties and circumstances of working children
- Determine the volume of child labor in hazardous and banned works in accordance with Child Act 12/1996 and Executive Regulations 3452/1997
- Consider to what extent child laws are applied to child labor in the facilities
- Identify the family circumstances of working children as well as the parents' characters
Second: 2003 National Strategy for Anti-Child Labor:
It aims at eliminating child work, especially the worst forms of child labor exposing children to risks, through:
- Create a central child labor data base, taking into account the gender while categorizing and analyzing the data
- Provide qualified cadres to deal with working children and develop a human and institutional capacity building program, bearing in mind the child rights perspective
- Enhance societal mobilization and media awareness regarding child rights
- Achieve coordination between the civil society role (non-governmental associations – labor unions) and private and public sector roles
- Update the policies and legislations on protection of working children and match them to international standards so as to ensure the best interest for children
- Provide direct services to raise the economic, health and educational levels
- Develop poverty fighting programs to prevent new children from joining the labor market and bring the working children back to education system
- Modernize hazardous industries so as to eliminate their risks against children, and provide possible alternatives to child hazardous works
Third: Leading pilot programs implemented by NCCM:
1. The Project on Protection and Care of Working Children at Al-Hirafeen City, Madinat Al-Salam Area, aiming at fighting child labor and enhancing the healthy and professional environment there.
2. The project involves an educational component to provide job opportunities to about 85% of targeted groups. To date, 84 children graduated from Literacy Program, 17 children were brought back to education system, 800 national ID cards and 400 birth certificates were procured, and 24 seminars were held to raise the awareness of 581 male and female members of the working children families, in addition to a number of recreational activities for working children.
3. The Project on Protection and Care of Working Children at Al-Diwikah Area, aiming at protecting working children and limiting hazardous child labor. The total number of beneficiaries is 3266 children. To date, 174 children graduated from Literacy Program, 121 children were brought back to education system, 18 children were enrolled in preparatory schools, 1000 graduated from Mubarak Cool Program for Vocational Training in the fields of leather manufacturing, garments, industrial mechanics, 162 workshops underwent child work categorization and occupational safety standards, 200 learners of families of working children pursued literacy activities, 1467 received awareness seminars about fighting female genital mutilation, child rights, reproductive health, fighting addiction and drugs, volunteering, societal participation, socialization, and bad effects of child labor, 11,236 residents of Al-Diwikah Area received health care services in all specialties offered by the Medical Center at Al-Ashirah Association, 1505 persons were granted loans amounting to 2 million EGP, and 1456 national ID cards and 432 birth certificates were procured.
4. Fighting child labor within the program of "Children In Danger" that succeeded in building the capacities of 421 governmental and non- governmental bodies involved in child labor and other issues such as safety, security, child rights, child protection, and policy making. Moreover, 2390 working children received recreational activities, 2522 children working in hazardous jobs were rehabilitated and trained on safe works and placed on safe jobs or education system, 933 families of working children were made aware of the seriousness of child labor, 323 workshop owners were made aware of the importance of occupational safety and health equipment and their capacities were built to use the same, 267 workshops were developed to match occupational safety and health standards, 1789 working children were made aware of occupational safety and health and received health insurance and comprehensive health care, 824 families of working children were enabled to establish income-generating enterprises and were helped to get fixed income.
5. The program of "Fighting the Worst Forms of Child Labor" funded by World Bank at Governorates of Minia, Damietta, Sharkiyah, Fayoum, and Qaluobiyah aims at developing models and mechanisms that can be applied and circulated as a general framework in the field of fighting child labor in Egypt through exploring the negatives, defining the positives, and presenting the challenges and successful initiatives and solutions. The project resulted in having 1414 working children re-included in education system, 69 alternative-education classes were opened accommodating 947 working and dropout children, 74 level-raising classes were opened accommodating 1416 children of those exposed to dropout due to weak academic achievement, 400 workshops of various fields received occupational safety equipment and tools, 554 children were enrolled in the vocational training program and directed to safe jobs, 279 guarantee loans were granted, 444 micro loans were granted to families of working children, 825 national ID cards were procured to link the families to loan and pensions system, 4211 working children and 400 mothers of working children received comprehensive medical examination and necessary medical tests, 5965 families and 1010 workshop owners were made aware of the bad effects of child labor and were trained on socialization skills and how to establish and manage small enterprises, 610 families were trained on child labor risks, socialization skills and how to establish and manage small enterprises, 22 training courses were held to the families of working children (610 beneficiaries) explaining child rights, child labor risks and bad effects, and the importance of education, 100 working children were trained on how to raise awareness of child rights, child labor risks, and occupational safety tools (from-child-to-child approach), 114 awareness sessions were held to working children, 2519 received open discussions, 51 visits were paid to 1129 working children and 550 student children, and 102 camps were held to 1720 working children and student children exposed to dropout in order to make them aware of their rights, the importance of education, dropout risks, and bad effects of child labor.
6. The program of "Fighting the Worst Forms of Child Labor" funded by state budget for family and population aims at raising awareness of child labor risks and economic empowerment of families. The program funded 4 workshops targeting 400 societal leaders at targeted governorates, and two seminars for training 60 families of working children on how to start and manage small enterprises to improve their incomes and living standards.
7. The program of "Fighting Child Labor in Agricultural Activities" in coordination with Ministry of Agriculture aims at eliminating child labor in agricultural activities through enhancing and building the capacities of extension workers of Ministry of Agriculture, forming a team of trainers, preparing cadres of leaders of agricultural directorates and labor inspectors, enforcing the laws on child labor in agricultural field, and raising the societal awareness of risks of child labor in agricultural field.
1. Treatment of Witnessing Child: during all stages of arrest, investigation, trial and execution, victim and witnessing children shall have the right to be heard and treated with dignity, sympathy and full respect for their physical, psychological and moral security. They shall also have the right to receive protection, healthy, social and legal assistance and reintegration into society. Labor Guidelines might be consulted in issues relating to the child victims of crime (Article 116 bis "d" of Child Law 12/1996).
2. Treatment of Accused Child:
a. Child under 12:
The child at this age shall not be subject to criminal liability due to the lack of discretion and it may not thus be interrogated within the strict sense of the term of interrogation under the Provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure for the inability to capture the essence of acts and the consequences thereof. However, the child may make its statement and be discussed in respect of the incident and its proofs, conditions and accompanying circumstances. Such discussion shall take the form of questions to be answered by the child and the purport of answers shall be written down in the record depending on the child's abilities and general perception according to the international standards accepted by Egypt. The child shall be handed over to a parent or the guardian for protecting and brining it upon each summoning as such action is not relative to the liability provisions.
b. Child Over 12 and Under 15:
The child at this stage may be interrogated but not be put in preventive detention. In case the investigation so requires, the Public Prosecution may order the child to be committed to a care home and brought upon each summoning for no longer than one week. If the Public Prosecution considers extending this term, it must present documents to the Child Court prior to the end of the aforementioned term so that the latter orders it to extend the same according to the preventive detention rules set forth in the Code of Criminal Procedure. In lieu of the stated commitment order, the Public Prosecution may order the child to be handed over to a parent or the guardian for protecting and brining it upon each summoning.
c. Child Over 15 and Under 18:
1. Children at this stage may be interrogated and their preventive detention shall be subject to the ordinary procedures taking into account that they may not be detained or imprisoned with adults in the same location. In matters relating to detention-requiring felonies and misdemeanors, the child must have a lawyer to defend it at the stages of investigation and trial. If it fails to retain a lawyer, the Pubic Prosecution or the Court shall appoint counsel according to the rules of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The legislator has broadened the scope of the child's right to have a lawyer for defense during the stages of investigation and trial to the extent that such right covers the detention-requiring misdemeanors while having been exclusive to felonies in the past.
2. It is prohibited to publish or disseminate any information, data, portrait or picture of child appearing before organizations concerned with children in danger or in violation of law, for protecting children from libel, respecting their feelings. Those who violate these provisions shall be punished by fine not less than ten thousand Egyptian pounds and not exceeding fifty thousand Egyptian pounds without prejudice to any more severe punishment stipulated by any other law.
3. It is worth mentioning that Article (99) of the Child Law 12/1996 prohibits the preventive detention of children under fourteen and permits, if required, their commitment in a care home and bringing them upon each summoning, for the term of no longer than one week unless the Court extends the same. Instead, the child may be handed over to a parent or the guardian for protecting and brining it upon each summoning. It is impermissible to take any of the alternative actions set forth in Article (201) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In case investigation requires the retention of child over twelve and under fifteen, it may be committed to a care home affiliated to the social care institution for the term prescribed by law.
Annex (8): Disabled Empowerment National Programs
Third: Educational Integration Program:
1. Among the objectives of Educational Integration Program is to integrate and protect the disabled children and to enhance the policies of disabled children integration into the governmental education schools in compliance with the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Child Law 12/1996 amended by Law 26/2008. The program is implemented through coordination with both the Educational Integration Committee at the Ministry of Education and the Educational Integration Network.
2. According to the program objectives, the capacity building of cadres at governmental education schools has been initiated in the target governorates (Cairo, Giza, Qaloubiya, Menya, Assuit and Sohag) as:
- The training content has already been set in cooperation with educational integration experts
- A number of training courses has been held for training the work team of schools nominated from the six governorates
- Coordination for determining the roles of integration subcommittees
- Building of integration subcommittee member capacities
3. The program also encompasses an awareness component through the usage of media and communications, including the publications of associations operating in the field of educational integration.
Annex (9): Legislative and Executive Frameworks in Respect of Investigation, Handling Torture Cases and other Harsh, Inhumane or Insulting Treatments or Punishments
11. Article 112/1 of the Child Law 12/1996 prohibits the imprisonment or detention of children with adults in the same location and orders the classification of children by age, gender and the type of offence. The Second Paragraph of the above Article punishes every public servant or person commissioned with a public service who detains or imprisons a child with an adult in the same location with imprisonment for a term not less than three months and not exceeding two years along with a fine not less than one thousand Egyptian pounds and not exceeding five thousand Egyptian pounds or with either punishment.
12. Duties of the Public Prosecution include the protection of child rights within the criminal justice system. The Public Prosecution is commissioned to carry out periodic or abrupt inspection of penal institutions and prisons or detention locations and to make sure those children are not imprisoned or detained with adults in the same location and that they are classified by age, gender and the type of offence. A report is prepared on the violations detected by inspection and the remedial actions taken in respect thereof.
13. The above rules and relevant clarifications shall apply to children who are imprisoned in execution of the sentenced punishments. As for the penal or social care institutions, the Minister of Social Solidarity shall issue a decree on the appointment of social inspectors who will consider cases and investigate complaints at such locations. However, this will not preclude the Public Prosecution from receiving and dealing with reports as required by current conditions and law.
Annex (10): Essential Duties of Anti-Human Trafficking Unit at the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM)
4. To protect, cure and reintegrate victims: the Unit has encouraged civil society institution networking by training more than 100 specialists from 48 non-governmental organizations from 5 governorates in the cure and rehabilitation of victims, which resulted in the formation of a national alliance of non-governmental anti-human trafficking associations under the presidency of the Centre for Egyptian Women Legal Assistance. For improving rehabilitation and integration services, several houses were established for providing protection and psychological, social and health rehabilitation to victims as well as the rehabilitation of children in cooperation with Belgian Face Organization, International Organization for Migration, Catholic Relief Services and Freedom Association.
Second: Publicity and Legislative Tracks:
1. Publication of Laws and Literature: To publish national laws and issue reference guide for law enforcement officers to counter human trafficking and how to identify victims, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration. This guide was circulated among the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior, the Public Prosecution, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the National Center for Social & Criminological Research, the Ministry of Education and the Governorates. This guide explains the nature of human-trafficking crimes (whether children and women) in light of national and international laws and shows the forms and objects used in the committal of the crime. The guide defines victim and offender; distinguishes between human trafficking crime and other crimes similar thereto such as smuggling of migrants; informs law enforcement officers of the means of effective law enforcement and advises them on the duties of the State and its institutions under both contractual obligations and those stemming from the national laws.[...].
5. Definition of the Sale of Children: though the definition of the sale of children and the prohibition thereof in pursuance of Article 291 of the Penal Code, Article 116 Bis (a) of the Child Law, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale and exploitation of children in child prostitution and child pornography, is similar to that of human trafficking, they are not identical as human trafficking includes the recruitment, transfer, lodging or receiving of children by traders for exploitation and as the child may at any stage of trafficking be sold or not, i.e. the sale is not a fundamental part of trafficking. Trafficking requires the sale to be accompanied by any act or transaction whereby the child is offered, delivered or accepted in whatsoever form by a person or a group of persons to another in return for remuneration or any other form of consideration for the purpose of sexual exploitation of the child; transfer of organs of the child; engagement of the child in forced labor; use of child in sexual activities for remuneration or any other form of consideration; use of the child in pornography by any representation, by whatever means, of a child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any representation of the sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes; production, distribution, dissemination, import, export, offering or sale or possession of child pornography; or through offering, procuring or providing a child for child prostitution, or improperly inducing consent, as an intermediary, for the adoption of a child in violation of applicable international laws on adoption, or any attempt to commit any of the said acts and to complicity or participation in any of the said acts at the domestic or transnational levels, even if the crime is not committed.
A. Scope of international obligations1
1. [...] In 2011, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recommended that Egypt ratify CPED, OP-ICCPR, OP-ICESCR, OP-CAT and OP-CRPD. In 2013, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) encouraged Egypt to sign and ratify OP-ICESCR and CPED.
3. CRC called upon Egypt to ratify the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) made a similar recommendation.
4. In 2011, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, recommended that the State party respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of migrants, in accordance with ICRMW, to which Egypt is party.
5. UNHCR recommended that immediate steps be taken to remove reservations to articles 12(1) 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and, most urgently, that access to education be extended to all refugee and asylum-seeking children in Egypt.
B. Constitutional and legislative framework
6. The Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons recommended that the Labour Code be extended to protect domestic workers, and that both the Labour Code and the Child Law be amended to prohibit exploitative forms of domestic work performed by children.
C. Institutional and human rights infrastructure and policy measures
12. CRC recommended that Egypt issue a standing invitation to all special procedures mandate holders, as was also positively considered by Egypt in 2010.
III. Implementation of international human rights obligations, taking into account applicable international humanitarian law
A. Equality and non-discrimination
16. UN Women stated that in Egypt women were discriminated against without having the opportunity or the means to complain. CEDAW was concerned that vulnerable groups of women and girls suffered from discrimination, and urged Egypt to put in place a strategy to eliminate traditional practices and stereotypes that discriminated against women.
17. CEDAW was concerned about the number of early marriages of girls; at the continued legal authorization of polygamy; at urfi marriages and at the situation of Christian women married to Muslim men regarding divorce, custody and inheritance. CEDAW recommended that Egypt consider issuing a unified family law on personal status covering both Muslims and Christians. CRC made similar recommendations.
B. Right to life, liberty and security of the person
19. CRC urged Egypt not to carry out the death penalty on children or on persons who were under the age of 18 at the time of the commission of the crime.
23. CESCR was concerned that female genital mutilation (FGM) continued to be widely practised, including on so-called medical grounds. CEDAW called upon Egypt to ensure the prohibition of FGM, as well as the prosecution of the perpetrators.59 CRC made similar recommendations.
24. CEDAW and CRC urged Egypt to adopt comprehensive measures to address violence against women and girls, including a law criminalizing all forms of violence against women. The purpose of the joint Safe Cities Greater Cairo Region: Safe Cities Free of Violence Against Women and Girls project – a global programme led by UN Women in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (United Nations Development Programme), UN Habitat, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and UNFPA – was the creation of safe neighbourhoods and communities free from violence against women and girls, in relation to Millennium Development Goal 3.
25. CEDAW urged Egypt to pursue a comprehensive approach in addressing prostitution, including exit programmes for women and legislation to sanction the demand side. In 2011, the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) urged the Government to take measures to ensure that children under 18 who were offered for prostitution were not liable to a criminal offence, and were treated as victims rather than offenders.
26. CEACR requested the Government to redouble its efforts to prevent and eliminate the trafficking of children. It encouraged efforts to raise awareness on temporary commercial marriages. CEDAW urged Egypt to speedily enact legislation on trafficking.
27. The Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons recommended that the State party enhance efforts to eliminate “seasonal” or “temporary” marriages, which amounted to trafficking of women and girls. CEDAW and CRC urged Egypt to prevent and combat the so-called “tourist marriages” or “temporary marriages” of Egyptian girls, usually from poor families in rural areas, to non-Egyptians.
28. CRC was alarmed at the high levels of corporal punishment in schools and in the home and urged Egypt to eliminate all forms of torture and ill-treatment against children, and to create a child protection system.
31. CRC recommended that Egypt explicitly prohibit the violation of the OP-CRC-AC provisions regarding the recruitment and involvement of children in hostilities.
C. Administration of justice, including impunity, and the rule of law
35. CRC urged Egypt to continue reforming its juvenile justice system and recommended putting in place a system of specialized child courts and specialized child prosecution offices.
36. CRC remained concerned at the detention of children by the military and the prosecution of children before military courts since 2011 under military law.
D. Right to privacy, marriage and family life
41. Concerned at the number of children living in institutions, CRC recommended that the alternative childcare system be strengthened.
G. Right to social security and to an adequate standard of living
50. Concerned at the high level of poverty, CRC recommended that Egypt improve social benefits and security schemes for poor families with many children and increase their social security pensions to the equivalent of the minimum wage, and focus anti-poverty programmes in rural areas.
H. Right to health
56. CEDAW recommended that sex education be widely promoted, with special attention to the prevention of early pregnancy and the control of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. CRC made similar recommendations.
57. CRC urged Egypt to review the current health insurance system to cover all children and lower the cost of health services for the most disadvantaged families.
I. Right to education
59. CRC urged Egypt to guarantee to all children access to free and compulsory quality education; step up awareness-raising programmes on the right to education; and ensure that all children have access to primary education.
60. CEACR urged the Government to strengthen its efforts to achieve gender parity with regard to education, so as to ensure equal protection for girls from the worst forms of child labour.
61. CEDAW urged Egypt to ensure the equal access of girls and women to all levels and fields of education.
K. Persons with disabilities
63. CRC was concerned at the extremely low number of children with disabilities who accessed services provided by the State.125 CRC urged Egypt to ensure that the draft law on the rights of persons with disabilities is in full conformity with the Convention, and CRPD and recommended its adoption, in accordance with the State party’s voluntary pledge to the UPR.
L. Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
64. UNHCR recommended ensuring adherence to the principle of non-refoulement, including for individuals who arrive at the border, individuals who are undocumented and individuals who are apprehended attempting irregular departure. CRC urged Egypt to end any forcible return of children who might have been, or were at risk of becoming, victims of crimes under OP-CRC-AC in their countries, to ensure access to health care for refugee children; ensure that they were not detained; and improve their living conditions.
7. The Council requested the quick adoption of the draft law to combat violence against women, prepared in 2013 by the National Council for Women, and called for a strategy to address the rights of child in new ways.
19. JS7 noted that the 2014 Constitution contains provisions regarding women rights to citizenship, women’s role in decision making and public life, poor and marginalized women, girls’, violence against women and early marriage, women representation in local councils. ECWR made a similar statement. JS8 called for the activation of the 2014 constitution provisions related to equality between men and women.
C. Implementation of international human rights obligations, taking into account applicable international humanitarian law
1. Equality and non-discrimination
37. AI stated that women and girls continue to face discrimination in law and in practice. The Personal Status Law discriminates against women in marriage, divorce and custody rights. JS7 made a similar statement.
2. Right to life, liberty and security of the person
49. GIEACPC noted that in Egypt corporal punishment of children is unlawful as a sentence for crime and possibly in penal institutions, but it is lawful in the home, alternative care settings, day care and schools.
3. Administration of justice, including impunity, and the rule of law
53. JS5 stated that military justice does not meet the minimum standards for neutrality or independence from the executive authority. Military trials of civilians take place without the presence of lawyers chosen by the defendants, or even a chance for defendants to communicate with such lawyers. The right to a public hearing is denied. JS2 stated violations of fair trial standards include the referral of more than 12,000 civilians, including several minors, to military tribunals, and increase in the rates of random arrest. JS2126 and IBAHRI127 called for the amendment of legislation in order to guarantee a fair trial. AI called on Egypt to cease trying civilians before military courts.128 Article 19129, AK130, ICJ131, JS8132, JS5133 and CSW134 made similar recommendations. IBAHRI recommended reviewing all convictions of civilians handed down by military courts since January 2011 and to grant the right to a retrial in a civilian court.
57. JS14 noted that children arrested in 2012 and 2013 in Cairo and Alexandria after demonstrations weren’t separated from adult detainees while in detention. Children with physical or mental disabilities were also detained. JS5 recommended ensuring that children are separated from adults both in pre-trial and post-conviction detention. JS8 called for reconsidering the cases of young detainees who were arbitrarily arrested without a legal justification, and release them. AK was concerned at the administrative detention of minors for non-violent crimes.
4. Right to privacy, marriage and family life
58. JS7 recommended improving the implementation of the Khul’ divorce law, and granting citizenship to the children of Egyptian women who are married to foreigners.
78. JS4 recommended Egypt to: prioritize reproductive rights and take steps against the medicalization of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and boost its work on the anti-FGM campaign; support family planning programs, especially in remote rural and disadvantaged areas.
9. Right to education
81. SCI recommended ensuring the right to affordable education, basic protection and security provisions in the school environment; taking all necessary measures to increase public expenditure for school education; and banning all kinds of violence in school.
82. JS2238 and JS8239 called for free education at the various stages in the State's educational institutions.
84. JS11 recommended ensuring that all children can enjoy the right to free primary education, without discrimination, by improving the quality of public education.242
12. Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
88. JS2 stated that Egyptian authorities detained hundreds of Syrian refugees with their children, and called for the immediate release of all detained refugees. JS8 urged Egypt to immediately release the refugees detained and to grant them free education and free healthcare.
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