2021 Egypt Webinar: Overcoming Human Rights Violations during Covid-19 Pandemic

As the world is suffering from the pandemic due to COVID-19, a webinar titled “2021 Egypt Webinar: Overcoming Human Rights Violations during Covid-19 Pandemic” was held in Egypt on March 6. This event was held to discuss measures to protect human rights affected due to social conflicts intensified by the COVID-19 and ways to achieve peace in Egypt.

Hon. Dr. Adly Hussein, President of the Court of Appeal of Cairo, stressed the importance of protecting human rights and said that he agrees with Mr. António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nation, who said that the coronavirus pandemic is not only public health emergency but also an economic, social, and humanitarian crisis. He also said that the pandemic should not be an excuse to violate the basic principles of society or people’s freedom and human rights.

Mr. Tharwat Gaid Salama Gaballa, Chairman of Horus Foundation for Development and Training said, “In 2021 and all the future to come, we hope all physical and emotional obstacles posed by Covid-19 are resolved and we can do practical activities to stabilize society. It is also important to work in the civil society level with or without having government measures. In the future, I sincerely hope that HWPL’s webinars in Middle East will continue and address human rights issues regularly.” He showed examples of activities that can be done in the civil society level during Covid-19 even if not directed by the government and said he hopes HWPL would regularly address human rights cases within the Middle East through webinars.

Dr. Ibrahim Ahmed, International Law Professor at American University of Egypt said, “From these crimes, we learned that human rights violations are not something that can be hidden, but they are a serious social problem that destroys the peace of mankind by destroying personal peace and the order in the world of mankind.” He also said, “I also would like to work with HWPL to become an educator who cultivates a person’s personality in the right way and creates a citizen of peace through continuous peace education, rather than doing a one-time campaign on human rights in this era of crisis.” He also asked the attendees to pay attention to Egypt so that it could become an advanced country of peace.

Journalists who attended this event said that it was impressive to see HWPL continue with their peace activities even during a pandemic period and said they would work hard to inform on the news of peace.

The hatred and discrimination inherent in the social turmoil due to COVID-19 are leading to human rights violations and hate crimes against minorities. HWPL will shed new light on cases of human rights violations through regular webinars and help them overcome the pandemic situation through social protection and support.