VZCZCXRO6759
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #1433 2080527
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 270527Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3268
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0449
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0303

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 001433 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ELA, DRL/NESCA, IO/RHS AND G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2029 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PTER SENV KIRF KTIP UN EG
SUBJECT: MFA LOOKS AHEAD TO THIRD UN EXPERT VISIT, 2010 UPR 
 
REF: A. CAIRO 1181 B. CAIRO 1059 C. CAIRO 858 D. CAIRO 598 E. CAIRO 288 Classified By: Economic-Political Minister-Counselor Donald A. Blome for reason 1.4 (b).
1.(C) MFA Deputy Director for Human Rights Omar Shalaby told us July 21 that the GOE has decided to invite UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons Joy Ngozi Ezeilo to Egypt, and is currently discussing possible dates with her office. Shalaby said that the GOE intends the visit to illustrate its commitment to combating trafficking, and is part of an effort to invite UN experts to Egypt in advance of the February 2010 UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Egypt. In April, the GOE allowed the first ever visit of a special rapporteur, Martin Scheinin, whose mandate covers "the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism" (refs C,D,E).

2.(C) Shalaby told us that the GOE was pleased with the June visit of Catarina de Albuquerque, the UN Independent Expert on human rights, water and sanitation. He said the MFA arranged meetings for de Albuquerque with senior GOE officials and permitted her access to the entire country. Shalaby added that de Albuquerque visited several locations outside Cairo unaccompanied by GOE officials. De Albuquerque issued a June 29 press release praising the GOE for considering drinking water and sanitation "a right for all its people." The press release also noted remaining challenges, such as increasing access to sanitation and improving drinking water quality in poor areas.

3.(C) Shalaby told us that the MFA has been holding intensive discussions about its September submission to the UN Human Rights Council for the February 2010 Universal Periodic Review of Egypt's "fulfillment of its human rights obligations and commitments." He voiced doubt as to whether the rapporteur and expert visits "would be enough" for the GOE to cite as evidence of human rights progress. "We need something big," he said, such as passage of either a new counterterrorism law to replace the state of emergency, or a uniform law on the construction of places of worship.

4.(C) Comment: This is the first time we have heard the MFA explicitly link the visits of UN experts and rapporteurs to the 2010 UPR, and the first time the MFA has expressed doubt to us over these visits' political utility. The MFA attaches great importance to multilateral fora such as the UN Human Rights Council, and would not want to be embarrassed in such a setting. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shehab told the Ambassador in June that the GOE wants "legislative achievements" on human rights before the UPR (ref B), and members of the quasi-governmental National Council for Human Rights, such as reform-minded NDP insider Hossam Badrawi, have told us they are pressing for human rights progress before the UPR (ref A). However, these moderate forces will probably continue to face resistance on many human rights issues from conservatives in the Interior Ministry and the NDP's upper echelons. Tueller