Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, delivered Egypt’s statement before the high-level segment of the 40th session of the Human Rights Council and the high-level segment of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
The foreign ministry’s spokesperson, Ahmed Hafez, said that the participation of Shoukry will clarify Egypt’s vision on the importance of approaching the human rights matter from a comprehensive perspective which covers economic, social, and political dimensions.
“Egypt is keen to share with the council what it has achieved in strengthening its democracy, the rule of law, good governance, and furnishing the necessary infrastructure for human rights, albeit all the serious challenges that it has faced and continues to face,” he said.
He outlined Egypt’s efforts aimed at entrenching the human rights principles. He also reiterated Egypt’s position calling for the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.
“Egypt completed in a record time the process of institutional building based on a contemporary Constitution, which is in accordance with international standards in safeguarding human rights,” he said.
Moreover, Shoukry said that elections in Egypt were and will be held “in an environment of fairness, integrity, and transparency, and in accordance with effective constitutional guarantees, under the supervision of an independent electoral commission, while being widely witnessed by civil society organisations, media, as well as international and regional organisations.”
The foreign minister also said that diversity and plurality are inherent characteristics of the cultural and religious fabric of the Egyptian society. “These traits provide sources of strength and richness as well as a shield against the preachers of schism, extremism, and terrorism that aim at unravelling these solid national foundations of the Egyptian nation,” he explained.