Ref: 14/2012

Lawyer Raji Sourani, Director of the
Palestinian Center for Human Rights and Vice President of the International
Federation for Human Rights, is participating in a fact-finding mission
established by 270 Arab and European organizations to investigate the status of
civil society organizations in Egypt. 

The Mission started its visit to Cairo on
Saturday, 11 February 2012, by a meeting with a number of representatives of
Egyptian civil society organizations. 
The meeting discussed the campaign of defamation and persecution waged
against those organizations and their representatives following a campaign launched
recently by the Egyptian government against a number of those
organizations.  It also addressed those
organizations’ position towards the new NGO draft law.  

Other members of the Fact – Finding Mission
include: Mr. Kamal al-Jandoubi, President of the Euro-Mediterranean Human
Rights Network; Khadija al-Shareef, Secretary-General of the International
Federation for Human Rights; and Abdul Sattar Bin Mousa, President of the
Tunisian League for Human Rights. 

The Mission will hold more meetings during the
coming days.  Members of the Mission will
meet today and tomorrow with the Minister of International Cooperation, the
Minister of Justice and officials of the Ministry of Social Solidarity.  They will also attend a hearing of the Human
Rights Committee of the People’s Assembly.