The New Amendments to the Implementing Regulations of the Law on Environment: Huge Expansion in the Use of Coal, and Serious Health and Environmental Toll
The Implementing Regulations of the law on Environment has been recently amended by the Prime Minister's Decree no. 964/ 2015, which was published in the official gazette on 19 April 2015. The amended Regulations included the standards and conditions on the use of coal. This amendment has been expected since the decision made by the Council of Ministers, in April 2014, concerning the use of coal as part of the energy mix in Egypt.
Human Rights Groups Declare Solidarity with Residents and Workers in Complaint to the IFC ombudsman against Titan Cement
The undersigned organizations declare their solidarity with residents and workers harmed by the Alexandria Portland Cement factory (Titan Cement) in the Wadi al-Qamar area of Alexandria, as they file a complaint against the company with the Office of Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, which finances Titan.
The Egyptian Economic Development Conference: Is it A step Forward Or Pursuit of Policies of the Past
The Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) arrives this month amidst an official government and media discourse reflecting the government's high hopes for the EEDC to attract investments needed by the economy to emerge from its current financial crisis.
Egypt Where Impunity Is Entrenched and Accountability Is Absent
Introduction: The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights today said Egypt’s worst human rights crisis in decades has continued unabated in 2014 with massive and systematic violations of basic rights and freedoms despite starting the year with a promising new constitution.
“The Trial of the Century’s” verdict on the Gas Case: Impunity in Corruption Cases Continues
A wasted golden opportunity to achieve justice in public funds cases
The Absence of Transparency: An Economic Cost and An Infringement on Citizens’ Constitutional Rights
The public budget, with both revenues and expenditures, is the mirror reflecting the government’s social and economic biases and the choices governments make for the citizenry. It is thus the most fundamental, important expression of the political and economic preferences of the political regime.
Social Housing between Old Policies and Future Opportunities
Since the 1950s and to the present day, Egyptian governments have sponsored subsidized housing projects for limited-income Egyptians. These various projects go by many names, from popular housing, to economic housing, housing for youth and the future, and most recently social housing; one project carried the name of deposed former president Hosni Mubarak.
Launch Of The Second Phase Of The Campaign For A Communal Drafting Of A Patient Rights Charter
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and its partners in the patients’ rights project announce the beginning of phase two of the project: the community-wide drafting of a patients’ rights charter in Egypt.
Partial Solution To The Crisis Of Street Vendors at Masr Station In Alexandria
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights welcomes the cooperation of the Alexandria governorate in finding a solution to the crisis of street vendors that will preserve the sellers’ sole livelihood by building kiosks in the environs of Masr Station, instead of arbitrarily moving them to another location, as was the case in Cairo, without consideration for compromise solutions that balance the vendors’ constitutional right to work and the government’s regulatory duties.
Supreme Health Council: an EIPR Proposal To Reform The Health System In Cooperation With The Ministry Of Health and Population
In early 2014, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) submitted a proposal to the government to reconstitute, develop, and animate the Supreme Council for Health Services, established by Republican Decree 61/1966 and amended in 1978 and 1993.
The new HCV Treatment: Negotiations that Lack Transparency and a Medicine Egyptians Can't Afford
Last month, the government announced a new strategic plan to address hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Egypt, which claims the lives of thousands of Egyptians every year. The announcement was accompanied with a celebration of a deal with the pharmaceutical giant, Gilead, which would provide the Egyptian government with a new revolutionary treatment for HCV costing $300 per box.
As a Result of a Direct Threat to their Work: Egyptian Human Rights Organizations Have Decided Not to Participate in Egypt’s UPR before the UN
The review of Egypt’s human rights record over the past four years will begin this week as part of the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review in Geneva.
From Civil Society Groups to the UN: 100 Recommendations for the Egyptian Government on 12 Rights Issues Involving Violations in Law and Practice
The Universal Periodic Review of member states’ rights records before the UN Human Rights Council ends with the state under review announcing a commitment to a set of recommendations to improve the status of human rights and meet the demands of its citizens.
Ongoing Violations Against Residents Of Hod al-Musallas In Muntazah
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights is deeply concerned about an imminent social catastrophe that could displace some 5,000 families out of their homes in rural Muntazah, located in the Alexandria governorate, following action taken by the Endowment Authority to expel them from agricultural land in their possession and convert the land into real estate investment projects.
19 Rights Organizations Declare: A Dramatic Deterioration in the Status of Human Rights in Egypt over the Past Four Years
In preparation for Egypt’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) before the UN, scheduled for November 5, the Forum of Independent Egyptian Human Rights Organizations (the Forum), comprised of 19 organizations, published a joint report on the status of human rights in Egypt over the past four years. The report was sent to the UN Human Rights Council in March, the deadline for the submission of governmental and independent reports to be discussed during the UPR.
IFC Environmental and Social Standards are Meaningless in Practice
Located in Wadi al-Qamar in western Alexandria, Titan Cement, established in 1948, is financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group, which specializes in private-sector finance.
Health Insurance on Farmers Day is a Partial Step in the Wrong Direction
In a sudden move by the state to mark Farmers Day, a law was issued by presidential decree number 127 for 2014 to institute health insurance for farmers who have no insurance protection under any other law.
Social Dialogue is the Most Effective Mean to Solve Economic and Social Challenges
Prior to the revolution of January 25, Egypt was in a state of increasing political and social distress. Though this spurred ever more frequent economic, social, and political strikes and demonstrations, the state made no serious attempt to address the issue.
Victims of Corruption and Human Rights Violations are the Rightful Heirs of our Recovered Assets
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights released a research paper Monday titled, “How to Use Our Looted Assets: Best Policies for Managing Recovered Assets.” The objective is to multiply the social and economic benefits of these assets in a way that achieves a measure of justice for those groups most harmed by the corruption.
EIPR: Educational Curricula Reflect Hyper-Nationalism and Lack Respect for Diversity
The Ministry of Education has recently announced a change in the curricula of at least 30 text books according to news reports. The changes included textbooks of history and national instruction, and reportedly involved the inclusion of the state’s narrative of the political changes since 2011.
