FAAE Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development |
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Comité permanent des affaires étrangères et du développement international |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
Securing the Human Rights of Coptic Christians in Egypt after the Arab Spring: A View from Canada's Parliament
Ottawa, May 24, 2013 -
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development today tabled a comprehensive report prepared by its Subcommittee on International Human Rights (SDIR) entitled, Securing the Human Rights of Coptic Christians in Egypt after the Arab Spring: A View from Canada’s Parliament. The report makes 14 recommendations for Canadian policy towards Egypt.
“Egypt’s millions of Coptic Christians are every bit as much Egyptian citizens as its Muslim majority,” stated subcommittee chair Scott Reid. “The Egyptian government has a responsibility to ensure their safety and their right to worship freely.”
Massive protests against Egypt’s former dictator, President Hosni Mubarak, forced his resignation in February 2011. During these protests, Egyptians of different faiths marched together at Tahrir Square in support of greater political freedoms under banners proclaiming: “We are all Egyptians.”
“This is not a partisan issue,” said Wayne Marston, Vice Chair of the subcommittee and the NDP Critic for Human Rights. “All parties agree that the persecution of religious minorities in Egypt must cease immediately. If there is no religious freedom and no freedom from persecution, then there is no rule of law and ultimately no democracy.”
SDIR members believe that this popular uprising and the peaceful, democratic election of President Mohammed Morsi have created an opportunity for the Egyptian people to build a tolerant, pluralistic democracy. The report recognizes and supports the positive steps that Egypt is taking, while sounding the alarm about human rights violations and abuses.
In particular, the SDIR report draws attention to the fact that Coptic Egyptians continue to face violations of their right to freedom of religion and belief, widespread discrimination, and cultural marginalization. Moreover, violent, sectarian attacks on Coptic Christians and their places of worship have increased since the fall of the Mubarak regime.
“The religious persecution of the minority Copt community constitutes an assault on a universal human right – that of freedom of religion – and one fundamental to the promotion and protection of human dignity and international peace,” said Irwin Cotler, second Vice Chair of the Subcommittee and the Liberal Critic for Human Rights.
In the course of the SDIR study, it became clear that respect for the human rights of Coptic Egyptians and other minorities is directly tied to respect for the rule of law in the country more generally. SDIR members hope that in charting the country’s course for a democratic future, the Government of Egypt will ensure that the human rights of all Egyptians, regardless of faith, are effectively protected. Religious intolerance, discrimination, extremism, and violence have no place in the new Egypt. In their report, SDIR members have recommended that Canada continue to insist that the Government of Egypt respect the human rights of all Egyptians, including the rights of its Coptic citizens.
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