United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Pre-Sessional Working Group 51st Session 21-24 May 2013 Geneva, Switzerland EGYPT’S OBLIGATION TO RESPECT, PROTECT AND FULFILL THE RIGHT TO ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE, SCIENCE, ART AND CULTURE (ICESCR ARTICLE 15) submitted by Pro Bono United Nations Human Rights Reporting Program Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Lawi NOT ONLY are human rights inherent, inalienable, and universal. Economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights are likewise inextricably interdependent, indivisible, and interrelated. The enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by the people of Egypt, therefore, necessitates the attainment of their correlative civil and political rights, especially in the all-too- important and far-reaching area of the right to access to knowledge, science, art and culture (ICESCR Art. 15; UDHR Art. 27(1)). Another set of issues for the Committee to address is related to the ICESCR Article 15 “right to science and culture.” Article 15 has historically received little attention in the CESCR’s reporting process than many others, in part due to uncertainties of interpretation. Recent work by the CESCR to produce general comments makes this provision ripe for greater emphasis. The right to science and culture recognizes the importance of protecting and expanding access to technology and opportunities to take part in cultural life. Pursuing this track is quite important in order for the people, and children especially, to gain access to the latest advances and developments in the field of education, pursuant to ICESCR Article 13 (right of everyone to education) in relation to General Comment No. 11 (Plans of action for primary education (art.14)) and General Comment No. 13 (The right to education (art.13)). Over the past two decades, a significant international threat to enjoyment of this right has come in the form of increasing international pressure on developing countries to expand protection for intellectual property without regard to the social costs, often borne by the most vulnerable sectors of society. The need to recognize the often detrimental impact of increased patent and copyright protections on access to technologies and cultural works is a theme of the recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights Farida Shaheed, The right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications, A/HRC/20/26, subsequently adopted by the Human Rights Council in 2012 (available at http://daccess- ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=A/HRC/20/26&Lang=E). Page 1 of 3 Pro Bono UN Human Rights Reporting Program, Indiana University McKinney School of Law Egypt: Right to Access to Knowledge, Science, Art and Culture (ICESCR Article 15) Page 1 of 244 Egypt’s obligation “to take steps” (ICESCR Art. 2(1)) In important respects, Egypt deserves praise for its efforts to promote the Article 15 right to science and culture. At the international level, Egyptian diplomats have been active at the World Intellectual Property Organization and other fora to promote a Development Agenda that is consistent with the human rights perspective on intellectual property. Egypt has provided important international leadership on this front. Egyptian judges also deserve praise for interpreting Egyptian patent law in ways that will promote wider enjoyment of the right to science and right to health via access to life-saving medicines, and encouragement to do so with an even more explicit emphasis on human rights justifications. Egypt’s initiatives in this regard need to be further strengthened, pursuant to Egypt’s obligation under ICESCR Article 12 (right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health) as interpreted and applied in General Comment No. 14 (The right to the highest attainable standard of health (art. 12)). At a broader level, however, there remains a regrettable lack of awareness of intellectual property (IP) as a human rights issue. Debates on IP in Egypt still focus problematically on topics of policing and enforcement. The Committee can help focus attention on translating Egypt’s international commitment to and leadership on the right to science and culture into domestic practice. There is room for improvement in ensuring that new technologies and cultural works are made affordable to all sectors of society. These issues are discussed in greater detail in Access to Knowledge in Egypt: New Research on Intellectual Property, Innovation and Development included in pp. 4-244 as part of this report (eds. Nagla Rizk & Lea Shaver, 2011) (full text available at http://leashaver.net/books/). Respect, protect and fulfill framework The right to access to knowledge, science, art and culture implicates a broad array of fundamental human rights, not only in the economic, social and cultural spheres, but in the civil and political areas as well. This includes, among others, the enjoyment of their Article 6(1)(2) right to work (interpreted and applied in General Comment No. 18 (The right to work (art.6)) and further analyzed together with Article 2(2) and Article 3 (nondiscrimination) and General Comment No. 20 (Non-Discrimination in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 2 para. 2)) and General Comment No. 16 (The equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights (art. 3)). Egypt has the obligation to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to equality and non- discrimination in exercising the right to access to knowledge, science, art and culture, as enshrined in ICESCR Article 2(2) (right to nondiscrimination in enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights) and Article 3 (equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights) in relation to General Comment No. 20 and General Comment No. 16. Page 2 of 3 Pro Bono UN Human Rights Reporting Program, Indiana University McKinney School of Law Egypt: Right to Access to Knowledge, Science, Art and Culture (ICESCR Article 15) Page 2 of 244 Conclusion Egypt has the obligation to ensure that the traditional intellectual property approach to private rights protection and enforcement, as discussed by Professor Lea Shaver, et. al., in Access to Knowledge in Egypt: New Research on Intellectual Property, Innovation and Development, does not emasculate the people’s right to access knowledge, science, art, and culture, which the otherwise prohibitive cost of “privatized knowledge” can make inaccessible, thereby causing discriminatory impact upon those who cannot afford it. ICESCR Article 15 explicitly obligates Egypt to take “steps… to achieve the full realization of this right.” Pursuant to its obligation under ICESCR Article 2(1), Egypt needs to adopt and implement policies, rules, regulations, and laws that will enable access by the people of Egypt, especially those belonging to vulnerable sectors, to knowledge, science, art and culture, given this access’ strategic and pivotal role in the people’s attainment of their right to holistic development. PROPOSED QUESTIONS I. Please provide the Committee with information about the policy, legislative, judicial, administrative, regulatory, budgetary and other measures taken by the government of Egypt in order to guarantee the right to access to knowledge, art, science, and culture, especially in light of significant developments in information and communication technology (ICT)? II. What steps has Egypt taken to ensure that schoolchildren can gain access to advances in the field of knowledge, art, science, and culture especially those made easily accessible through various means of ICT? III. What steps has Egypt adopted to effectuate and realize the elderly’s and persons with disabilities’ right to access to affordable medicines and healthcare? i Team Members: Eslah Salah Alkathiri, LL.M. candidate; Dr. Mohamed Arafa, S.J.D.; J. Michael Blackwell, J.D. candidate; Ritu Chokshi, J.D. candidate; Sherif Mohamed Mansour, J.D. candidate; Deyana Fatme Unis, J.D. candidate; Qifan Wang, J.D. candidate Faculty Advisers: Professor Lea Shaver, J.D. and Dr. Ian McIntosh, Ph.D. Founder, Head & Trainer: Perfecto `Boyet´ Caparas, A.B., LL.B., LL.M. American Law, LL.M. Human Rights (Honors); Graduate Studies Program Manager, Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, 530 W. New York Street, Indianapolis, Indiana USA Page 3 of 3 Pro Bono UN Human Rights Reporting Program, Indiana University McKinney School of Law Egypt: Right to Access to Knowledge, Science, Art and Culture (ICESCR Article 15) Page 3 of 244 Egypt: Right to Access to Knowledge, Science, Art and Culture (ICESCR Article 15) Page 4 of 244 Access to Knowledge in Egypt Page 5 of 244 Egypt: Right to Access to Knowledge, Science, Art and Culture (ICESCR Article 15) A2KEgypt.indb i 12/12/09 9:42:59 PM The cover image features the entryway of the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan, as photographed by Egyptian architect Khaled ElChiati. The architectural masterpiece and Cairo landmark has been famous as a site of theological and legal learning since 1363. Page 6 of 244 Egypt: Right to Access to Knowledge, Science, Art and Culture (ICESCR Article 15) A2KEgypt.indb ii 12/12/09 9:42:59 PM Access to Knowledge in Egypt New Research on Intellectual Property, Innovation and Development EDITED BY NAGLA RIZK & LEA SHAVER BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC Page 7 of 244 Egypt: Right to Access to Knowledge, Science, Art and Culture (ICESCR Article 15) A2KEgypt.indb iii 12/12/09 9:42:59 PM First published in 2010 by: Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc 36 Soho Square, London W1D 3QY, UK and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA Copyright © Nagla Rizk, Lea Shaver and the contributors 2010 (CC) 2010 by Nagla Rizk, Lea Shaver and the contributors This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial licence. Anyone is free to copy, distribute, display or perform this workand derivative works based upon it.