Setting

D. Serious loyalty

Human rights are those basic standards without which people cannot live in dignity as human beings, and although it took the world long centuries and difficult travails to reach There was a global agreement on the "what" and scope of these standards, but in the end there was agreement on what humanity could not continue in its absence, and without which in a package of international instruments that gradually rose from the stage of literary adoption to the stage of legal obligation".

With successive decades, this system - global in nature - developed and its components were formed to have standards, tools and mechanisms for protection and promotion, and there is no country in the world now that has not joined this system, or at least most of its components, by ratifying and joining the agreements and covenants establishing it. These rights and the framework of these standards.

Since 1948 until now, the movement to codify human rights has increased globally through the United Nations, which adopted and issued 17 declarations, covenants, conventions and annexed protocols covering various aspects of human rights. In parallel, regional groupings have been active. The other is in adopting and approving a package of human rights instruments that require adherence to and enforcement in countries that enjoy membership in these groupings. As for the national level, most states have taken the initiative to integrate human rights standards into national constitutions, laws, and internal legal systems. Thus, once the right was legally established, the same right became the legal tool that rights holders can use to claim before other duty holders in cases of deprivation or violation of this right, and in this way those who bear obligations can be held accountable. And responsibilities (duty holders).

Although it still needs further development and empowerment to confront the political power of influential countries, the human rights system in its current state plays an undeniable role in shaping the characteristics and features of the post-World War II era, and has become an important figure in the equation of international relations, diplomatic weight and attractiveness. .

1) The role of community organizations in promoting human rights

As part of the development in the system of protecting and promoting human rights, civil society organizations, with civil society organizations at its heart, have received, over the last two decades, growing interest from researchers, policy makers, governments, and international agencies. This interest has coincided with the increasing role that these organizations play in development processes in their comprehensive sense ( Economic, political, and social), especially in light of the agreement on the importance of popular participation as a means of development and one of its main goals at the same time. Civil society organizations serve as the “institutional framework” that accommodates and organizes citizens’ participation in public affairs. .

 

The United Nations system for the protection of human rights gives broad opportunities for civil society organizations to participate in human rights protection mechanisms through various paths, as the United Nations system for the protection of human rights enjoys a long and positive relationship with civil society organizations. Over the years, arrangements for the formal participation of civil society organizations in United Nations meetings and bodies have developed into a practice It is widespread in most United Nations bodies and all its mechanisms, almost without exception..

 

As United Nations mechanisms allow civil society organizations to obtain consultative status, the existence of a “consultative status” means that the organization has obtained the right to participate in the consultation process with the international organization, and participation in the consultation process allows representatives of civil society organizations to express their views on the issues discussed at the conferences And meetings or in placing items on their agenda. Organizations enjoying consultative status also have the right to submit “shadow reports,” also known as “alternative reports,” which are reports parallel to the official reports submitted by the government regarding its implementation of international human rights treaties, as well as providing the opportunity for civil society organizations to communicate, cooperate, and participate in all other international mechanisms concerned with monitoring and protecting human rights. .

At the national level, civil society organizations in their various forms play a pivotal and influential role in promoting human rights, especially in light of the development that has occurred in human rights rules in recent years, to include building an integrated system of concepts and practices, in what is known as the approach based on Human Rights "HRBA", which is the approach that adopts the best solutions and approaches to integrate human rights rules into administration and actual practice in planning and implementation, leading to the enforcement of human rights.

 

Here we must point out that human rights goals are linked to achieving human rights principles, and should not depend on what a single organization can achieve with its own resources, but rather through organizations that work with governmental and non-governmental parties towards common human rights goals, and integrate into alliances and networks using various networking and partnership tools. To achieve these long-term, broad and ambitious goals, there is an urgent need to work with various organizations and at different levels..

 

The features of the role that civil society organizations can - and must - play in promoting human rights can be described using the human rights approach by understanding the natural progression in the steps of fulfilling and enforcing rights, which is the progression whose first threshold begins with making rights available and enabling people to access them, then protecting those Those who are at risk of having their rights violated, raising their awareness about the requirements and procedures for accessing the right, and finally contributing to the approval and adoption of public policies that respond to human rights standards and guarantee protection and redress..

 

(2 The role of civil society organizations in promoting availability and accessibility of rights

The reason for the violation of the right may not be the intention of states and governments to deprive some people of their rights, but it may be due to a deficiency in resources, capabilities, and abilities that leads To leave groups of citizens behind the pace of development, below the poverty line, and lacking the ability to fulfill their needs and basic rights to food, clothing, drink, and shelter..

Here the role of civil society organizations specialized in relief activities and services and interested in areas of economic and social development emerges, as they intervene with whatever volunteer resources they can mobilize. To help those who lack the ability to access their rights and enable them to obtain them, either through relief interventions and direct aid, or through capacity building interventions and enabling these groups to restore decent livelihoods..

The inspiring examples of this approach are many and numerous around the world, as there are thousands of relief and charitable organizations that carry out this role to the fullest, and in Egypt there are many It is one of the major organizations that has gained accumulated experience in this aspect of direct human rights work, and the Civil Alliance for Development Action may be an important model for this type of intervention by civil society organizations, especially since it includes in its membership the most important and largest development, relief and charitable organizations in Egypt..

The performance of Egyptian civil society under the umbrella of the Civil Alliance for Development Action has been distinguished during the recent crises that required intervention of this kind - supporting groups Those affected by the economic crisis and the aggression on the Gaza Strip - with a degree of coordination, constituted an important added value for coordinating efforts between charitable work organizations and helped to extend the activity of member organizations and reach larger numbers of deserving groups..

 

The role of civil society organizations in raising awareness and protecting against human rights violations. Civil society organizations play an important role in education and awareness of rights, and both human rights and development civil society organizations are active in this field, which is considered necessary. It is necessary to bridge the gap in knowledge about rights and ways to fulfill them, and to intervene to help in the event of violations.

In general, we can limit the most important areas of activity of civil society organizations to raising awareness of legal and constitutional rights that target a wide range of groups. A basket of rights also includes training on international instruments. To protect human rights, training in election follow-up skills and political participation in general, awareness in the reproductive and population fields..

On a parallel level, civil society organizations can play an important role in protecting citizens from violations of their rights and enabling them to access redress mechanisms if they are exposed Legal assistance interventions for victims of human rights violations may be a common model for these interventions. The role of civil society in protecting and defending consumers of goods and services is one of the forms of protection and awareness-raising roles, as it contributes to confronting the high prices of basic commodities such as food and medicines, in addition to the frightening spread of fraud and corruption that has permeated ordinary transactions..

The Egyptian human rights organizations whose movement has escalated since the end of the 1980s are clear examples of exercising the roles of raising awareness of human rights standards and protecting against Violations. These organizations have accumulated significant experience in this field, and a number of more than 20 organizations have obtained consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council..

 

The role of civil society organizations in advocacy and reforming policies to promote human rights

Public policy is the principled guide to actions taken by a state's administrative executive authorities with respect to a particular class of issues in a manner consistent with the law and institutional norms. In general, the basis of public policies is the extent of compliance with the relevant basic national constitutional law as well as the implementation of legislation.

In the field of human rights, it requires the participation of various parties in discussing, proposing and reforming public policies to always remain able to respond to human rights standards, and here the role of community organizations emerges. Civil society, which plays - due to its attachment to the public - a role in expressing people’s aspirations, crystallizing their problems, and linking them to the human rights standards and obligations that fall on the state. Therefore, these organizations can be the most effective parties in analyzing existing policies and proposing alternatives to them, especially since these organizations, by virtue of the law regulating them, are not considered to have an economic, financial, or political interest. They are neutral, objective, non-partisan, and non-profitable, and therefore the reforms proposed by them will be closer to meeting the aspirations of The vast majority of the public.

Reviewing the reality and experiences of Egyptian civil society indicates the emergence of good models in this regard, despite the fact that most think tanks are affiliated with government institutions or entities. A university academy, but there are think tanks closer to civil society, perhaps the most important of which is the Egyptian Center for Thought and Strategic Studies, which has played a notable role over the past five years in analyzing and proposing alternative policies at the level of the security and service sectors and foreign policy..

Some Egyptian human rights organizations have also been active in the field of supporting social accountability for elected officials, and playing the role of mediator between citizens on the one hand and members of elected popular councils. And executive officials, on the other hand. The Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights has had a rich experience in this regard, as in 2008 the Foundation implemented a community dialogue project for members of parliament, which succeeded in forming a group of committees of popular leaders within the targeted governorates, to evaluate the performance of members of parliament. It also strengthened communication with a number of representatives of elected legislative councils and opened community dialogues with them that ended with recommendations for alternative public policies that meet the needs of citizens. .

 

(5 Future challenges and issues (towards a more effective role for civil society in promoting human rights )

Despite the increasing importance and remarkable activity of civil society organizations in promoting aspects of human rights, there are challenges that require intervention in order to overcome them, especially in light of The dynamism of human rights standards is the dynamism imposed by increasing needs, technological development, and growing challenges in the national, regional and international contexts. We can highlight the most important challenges and necessary future treatments as follows:

-The institutional capacity challenge: In order for civil society organizations to grow and develop and increase the effectiveness of their roles, they constantly need Planning and implementing appropriate strategies to enhance their institutional and human capabilities to suit the context in which they operate, and from here highlights the role that old platforms and units can play in technical and institutional support for major civil society organizations, similar to the model followed by the Misr Al-Kheir Foundation, for example..

The challenge of coordination and integration between civil society organizations: This is a very important issue, as work needs The National Bank to develop its organizational structure, the rules governing and regulating its work and the mutual relations between its components, and the guarantees and requirements for continuous coordination and integration to ensure maximization of efforts, work efficiency, and building on results instead of conflict and duplication of efforts..

-The funding challenge: which is a very important issue to ensure the ability of civil society organizations to meet the requirements for promoting human rights. الانسان، وهنا تبرز الحاجة إلى ضرورة وجود آليات تمويل وطنية تنظر إلى العمل الأهلي ككل متكامل ومترابط، ومن ثم ضرورة دعم المنظمات العاملة في المجال الحقوقي المتعلق بالمناصرة وإصلاح السياسات والتثقيف والحماية، جنبا إلى جنب مع استمرار دعم المنظمات العاملة في المجال الإغاثي والمساعدات المباشرة.

-تحدي الفصل بين ما هو سياسي وايديولوجي من جانب وما هو حقوقي وموضوعي من جانب آخر: فالملاحظ إنه بسبب حالة الركود والخواء السياسي في عقود سابقة، بادرت منظمات حقوقية ونشطاء للعب أدوار لها طابع سياسي، وهو ما أثر بالسلب على الصورة الذهنية للحركة الحقوقية وخلق نقاط احتقان بينها وبين الدولة، وقد آن الآوان لمعالجة هذه القضية بشكل شفاف وأمين على ارضية الاعتراف بالدور الهام والمحوري لمنظمات المجتمع المدني في تعزيز حقوق الانسان.