A-PDF MERGER DEMO A-PDF MERGER DEMO Delivering Democracy Repercussions of the “Arab Spring” on Human Rights Human Rights in the Arab Region Annual Report 2012 (1) Delivering Democracy Repercussions of the “Arab Spring” Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies on Human Rights CIHRS Human Rights in the Arab Region Annual Report 2012 Reform Issues (32) Publisher: Cairo Institute for Human Co-founder Rights Studies (CIHRS) Dr. Mohammed El-Sayed Said Address: 21 Abd El-Megid El-Remaly St, 7th Floor, Flat no. 71, Bab El Louk, Cairo. P.O. Box: 117 Maglis El-Shaab, Cairo, President Egypt Kamal Jendoubi E-mail address: [email protected] Website: www.cihrs.org Director Tel: (+202) 27951112- 27963757 Bahey eldin Hassan Fax: (+202) 27921913 Cover designer: Kirolos Nathan Deputy Director Cracked House Wall by MattTheSamurai Ziad Abdel Tawab There is hope by Bolognist The Window by UtopiaIsBanished Layout: Hesham El-Sayed Dep. No: 2013/ 15711 Index card Delivering Democracy Human Rights in the Arab Region Annual Report 2012 Publisher: Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) Reform Issues (29), 24cm, 256 Pages, (Cairo) Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (Author) With support from The European Commission (2) The Open Society Foundation Contents Why This Report? 5 Introduction: 9 What Prospects for the “Arab Spring” in Light of an Early “Autumn” of Political Islam? Section One Behind the “Arab Spring” 27 Summary of the Report: Where is the “Arab Spring” Taking Us? 29 The League of Arab States in the Wake of the “Arab Spring” 49 Tyranny of the Majority: Islamists’ Ambivalence towards Human Rights 63 The Crisis of Transitional Justice Following the “Arab Spring”:Egypt as a Model 95 Section Two Challenges to Human Rights in the “Arab Spring” States 115 - Egypt 117 - Tunisia 147 - Libya 171 - Yemen 189 - Syria 205 - Bahrain 225 Section Three Human Rights in the Countries Less Affected by the “Arab Spring” 239 - Iraq 241 - Lebanon 257 - The Occupied Palestinian Territories 271 - Saudi Arabia 291 - Sudan 307 - Algeria 327 - Morocco 335 Acknowledgements 351 (3) Contributors to this Report Head researcher Essam El-Din Mohamed Hassan Researchers and authors of background papers Ismael Abdel Hamid Sarah Dorman Farida Maqar Salah Nasrawy Moataz al-Fegiery Khalil Abdel Mo’men Sherehan Osman Ziad Abdel Tawab Mervat Rishmawi Head Editor Bahey eldin Hassan English Version Editing and revision by Translation by Sarah Dorman Mandy McClure and and Jeremie Smith Sarah Dorman Nadine Wahab Paola Salwan Daher Special acknowledgement is deserved by several fellow human rights defenders and academics for their valuable contributions to the revision, editing, and review of this report or for their provision of additional information. Among them are the following: · Elghalia Djimi – Vice president of the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State– Morocco · Dr. Radwan Bou Gomaa – Human rights activist and university professor – Algeria · Dr. Radwan Ziadeh–President of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies– Syria · Ali al-Dailami – President of the Yemeni Organization for Defending Rights and Democratic Freedoms - Yemen · Kamel Jendoubi – President of the Committee for Respect for Human Rights and Liberties in Tunisia - Tunisia · Magdy al-Naim – Rights expert - Sudan · Mohamed Masqati – President of the Bahraini Youth Center for Human Rights-Bahrain · Massaoud Ramdani – Vice president of the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights – Tunisia · Walid Aboul Kheir–President of the Monitor for Human Rights in Saudi Arabia-Saudi Arabia · Walid Ahmed Salis– Researcher with the Adala Center for Human Rights (Saudi Arabia) (4) Why this report? The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies is pleased to present its fifth annual report, in which it monitors and analyzes the state of human rights in the Arab region throughout the year 2012. The publication of this report comes as we mark the passage of two years since the beginning of what has come to be known as the “Arab Spring,” during which the peoples of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen were able to overthrow the symbols authoritarianism and tyranny in their countries through enormous popular uprisings whose effects were felt to varying degrees all across the region. Therefore, this report focuses special attention on the implications of the “Arab Spring” and the resulting opportunities for the promotion of human rights and democratic transition in the countries of the region. In order to better analyze these changes, several new chapters have been added to this year’s report. For example, one chapter has been dedicated to the specific challenges facing the transitional periods in Egypt and Tunisia, including the implications of the leading role which has been played by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and by its counterpart, the Ennahda movement, in Tunisia. Given that the countries undergoing transitional periods have largely failed to adopt holistic strategies for achieving transitional justice and preventing impunity for crimes committed by the former regimes, this report also dedicates a chapter to shedding light on the problems facing the implementation of transitional justice mechanisms, focusing on Egypt as a case study. Another chapter of this year’s report focuses specifically on the effects of the “Arab Spring” on the institutions available for joint work among Arabs, specifically at the League of Arab States, and discusses the (5) opportunities for engaging and developing mechanisms for the protection of human rights in these institutions. The previous annual reports provided overviews of the state of human rights in 12 Arab countries, namely Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, and the occupied Palestinian territories. In addition to these country chapters, a new chapter has been added to focus on Libya, given the developments seen in this country throughout 2011 which led to the ouster of the Qaddafi regime. These country chapters have been divided into two sections. The first section covers the countries which were most affected by the “Arab Spring,” highlighting the major challenges and complexities faced in many of these countries as they pursue transitions to democracy. The second follows the developments seen in the countries which have yet to be thus affected by the “Arab Spring.” As in the previous reports, this year’s report bases its evaluations on the general framework of civil and political rights, with a specific focus on a number of key issues. The key themes analyzed in this report include the following: · The political transitions in the countries which witnessed the overthrow of the leaders of the former regimes, focusing on the extent to which these transitions are contributing to the establishment of democracy, introducing mechanisms which allow for accountability and uncovering the truth regarding past violations, and ensuring a genuine break with the patterns of abuses which pervaded these countries during decades of dictatorship; · The most prominent developments seen in the countries under study in terms of constitutional and legislative reform; · The mechanisms in place for dealing with the spread of political and social protest movements; · The extent to which freedom of expression and media freedoms have been expanded or restricted; · Practices related to the promotion or repression of the right to freedom of association, whether in regards to political parties, civil society organizations, or unions; · The situation of human rights defenders and the nature of the restrictions and threats faced by these defenders and the organizations with which they work; (6) · Restrictions imposed on freedom of religion and belief as well as the state of the rights of religious, ideological, and ethnic minorities; · Instances of violations to the right to a fair trial, including trials before politically motivated courts; · Grave violations to human rights, including arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance, torture, and extrajudicial killings; · Grave violations committed by non-state actors, which increased significantly in the countries undergoing unstable transitional periods, as such violations were exacerbated by a security vacuum, by some factions of political Islam seeking to impose their political control over their opponents and to impose their religious views on society, and by the tendency of some parties to use violence to confront government oppression or to respond to the violence exercised by some factions of political Islam. This report relies on background papers prepared by researchers in the Cairo Institute and by rights experts in some countries under study. The report has also relied heavily upon information documented by other Arab and international rights organizations, in addition to analysis, observations, and information provided by members of the advisory board of the Cairo Institute’s International Advocacy Program and by a number of Arab experts who were consulted by the Cairo Institute to give their opinions on the final drafts of this report. (7) (8) Introduction What Prospects for the “Arab Spring” in Light of an Early “Autumn” of Political Islam? Bahey eldin Hassan The battle for the “Arab Spring” continues to be waged on three fronts1: between the revolutionaries and remaining members of the old regimes, between secularists and those who call for the establishment of a religious state, and between various actors of