The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), founded in April 1985 and with its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, is a non-profit NGO and one of the longest-standing bodies for the defense of human rights in Egypt. It investigates, monitors, and reports on human rights violations and defends people's rights regardless of the identity, gender or color of the victim. EOHR faces any human rights violations made either by governmental or non-governmental parties. It is registered with the United Nations and works with other human rights groups.

Overview

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) was founded in 1985 by Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Hani Shukrallah. It was the first human rights organization in the country and remains one of the most professional non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Egypt. Its headquarters is in Cairo, and has regional branches with a national membership of approximately 2,300 active volunteers in 17 provincial branches located across the country. EOHR is a non-profit NGO working within the framework of the principles established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments regardless of the identity or affiliation of the victim or violator. EOHR acts and reports on both governmental and non-governmental human rights violations. According to its reports issues annually the decade of the late 1980s through to the late 1990s was marked by an increase in torture in Egypt. During this period the organization's activists were regularly harassed and arrested making their work increasingly difficult. Despite these challenges the organization maintained a steady accounting of state and non-state violations of human rights and started a series of publications of human rights books to raise awareness of human rights issues in the country. An attempt to start a theater company to tour villages with plays improvised on human rights topics was scrapped after the organizer was arrested by state security forces. During the last decade of the Mubarak dictatorship the EOHR was represented, while maintaining its independence, on the state sponsored Supreme Council of Human Rights.

EOHR's international status

EOHR is part of the wider international and Arab human rights movement. It cooperates with the United Nations human rights bodies, as well as with other international and regional human rights organizations. EOHR was registered at the Ministry of Social Affairs in 2003 under registration No. 5220/2003. EOHR was granted special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2006. This consultative status enables EOHR to enjoy closer interaction with the United Nations by participating in the activities of the International Council for Human Rights, according to ECOSOC decision 31/1996. This decision aimed to reinforce the principles of the human rights stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Vienna Declaration and all other international human rights documents. EOHR is also a member of five international organizations: the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR), the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), International Federation for Human Rights (IFHR), the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), and the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX).

Goals

Working methods

EOHR adopts peaceful methods to promote and defend human rights. It believes that the promotion of human rights is a common goal for the entire world community and it is determined to spare no peaceful effort in its struggle against human rights violations. His main actions are: The EOHR accomplishes this by fact-finding missions. These include visits to prisons in order to collect testimonies, and to obtain document information about human rights violations. It also Issues urgent appeals, press releases, reports and publications on human rights violations. Furthermore, the EOHR tries to raise awareness on human rights issues among individuals and groups through publications, conferences, seminars and studies. In addition, this organization contacts Egyptian governmental and non-governmental bodies as well as international, regional and national organizations to seek co-operation, obtain information and take action to increase respect for human rights. Through the use of these methods the EOHR has adopted a peaceful method to promote and defend human rights in Egypt.

Organizational structure

The General Assembly of fee-paying members holds supreme authority in EOHR. A General Assembly meeting is convened once every other year to review and evaluate the organization's progress and to elect the board of trustees. The board of trustees is the policy-making body within the EOHR and is led by the chairman. It is made up of fifteen elected members, and up to four other prominent figures in the field of human rights can be invited by the board of trustees to join. The executive board is elected by the board of trustees and consists of the Secretary-General, the Treasurer and representatives of the main committees of the organization. The executive board, led by the Secretary-General, is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the EOHR and for any decisions made in the interim period between meetings of the board of trustees. EOHR has five substantive and inter-linked units, two projects and three auxiliary units: The unit includes a number of lawyers who receive complaints on the human rights violations and do the required investigations in order to make sure that the complaint is serious. They receive individual allegations of human rights violations and investigate each case's merits. Much of their work takes place in the field, on the ground, in prisons, in court, in detention centers, in homes, anywhere information can be found. The investigating lawyer writes an official report on each case. Then, depending on the nature and the merits of the case, the case may be removed from consideration or investigated further. Appeals and requests for information may be made to competent authorities and complainants may receive free legal counsel so that they can pursue a formal suit. All services made available to victims of human rights violations are absolutely free of charge. The unit does also the following: The unit includes a number of lawyers located at the headquarters of EOHR and others in the governorates to do the following: This unit conducts academic research on human rights issues, analyzes the raw material of human rights abuses supplied by the Field Work Unit and the WLAP. This desk is responsible for producing EOHR's reports and is our routine link to the Arab media. The unit handles the following: This unit coordinates EOHR's partnerships with other human rights organizations throughout the non-Arab world. This desk also coordinates our endless battle to equip us with the financial resources necessary to meet our objectives. Moreover, it is responsible for translating all EOHR's literature into English so that it can be shared with the English-speaking world. Thus, the unit includes a number of translators work on the following: The Training Unit The unit includes a number of certified specialized trainers doing the following: The Women's Legal Aid Project (WLAP) This project manages human rights problems dealing with women's issues. Such problems include marital and family issues and sexual discrimination. WLAP undertakes most of the work supporting campaigns that focus on women's issues and coordinates an educational and training program aimed at increasing women's legal literacy in Egypt's poorer areas. This project was established in 2001 as a joint project between EOHR and the American University in Cairo. This unit provides legal aid to those who seek refugee status in Egypt and it works within the framework of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Accounting and Financial Unit The Unit handles the accounting works and prepares the annual financial report of EOHR. Administrative and Secretarial Unit The unit handles all the administrative and secretarial works, organizes meetings' appointments of the secretary general, prepares the published materials to be sent to those who are interested in the human rights' issues, via E-mail or fax. Archiving Unit The unit handles paper and electronic archiving of the published materials of EOHR.

Campaigns

Achievements

The EOHR also worked much on the political and constitutional reform issues:

Publications

Since 1985, EOHR has issued many kinds of publications on the human rights: