Recommendations of the conference On "Towards the law for Transitional Justice"

Cairo, 14^th April 2013 

 

Recommendations of the conference

On "Towards the law for Transitional Justice"

The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) called upon the Egyptian government and recommended it to consider many of the recommendations reached at the conclusion of the conference "Towards the law for Transitional Justice". These recommendations include:

1. calling upon the Egyptian authorities, particularly the Shura Council and the President of the Republic to ratify and access to the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC), especially since the Arab Republic of Egypt had signed the Rome Convention on the International Criminal Court on 28 December 2000 and it only remains ratification by the Shura Council to this Convention to enter this statute into force.

2. calling upon the Egyptian President of the Republic and the Shura Council to take urgent measures in order to pass legislation, adopts the application of the principles of transitional justice as a secured and specified way for transition from tyranny and its effects, which witnessed in the past era, to democracy and freedom for which the 25^th January Revolution occurred. This matter will have a deep impact in real, fair and quick trials for those involved in past abuses, compensate for Martyrs and Victims of the Revolution, honor the memory of the martyrs, know the truth and ensure non-recurrence of the previous gross violations of human rights in Egypt.

3. Speeding up towards the establishment of an independent civilian body composed of judicial elements, dealing with files of the past and with the most serious crimes such as extrajudicial killings, torture and enforced disappearances, and other things that required programs of transitional justice, in order to filter these files and for the prosecution and the accountability of those involved in these violations. These files are difficult and complicated and the formation of the above mentioned body.

4. Speeding ​​up the adoption of these programs and mechanisms for the issuance of this hoped legislation and the establishment of this body as soon as possible so that events may not be aggravated and hindered the transition to democracy safely.

It should be noted that these recommendations came within the framework of the conference "Towards a law for Transitional Justice," which was organized by the ACIJLP on Monday 8^th April 2013 at the headquarters of leadership preparation center in Agouz with the participation of 100 participants including human rights activists, political and media figures in Egypt.

The Conference discussions addressed the answer to questions raised by the mechanisms and programs of transitional justice including:

• How can we progress towards universal justice during the political transition period in order to achieve a more just and democratic future, How do we deal with past crimes and violations and reveal its reality, what are the means of accountability for past crimes and abuses, and mechanisms to prevent its recurrence, What are the necessary conditions for reconciliation or amnesty in exchange for recognition of the truth, and why it is not permitted to the most serious crimes, and what are these crimes, What is the status of victims of past abuses and the means to redress the harm and reparation?

The conference aimed to put vision accepted by actors, and to determine a point in which all parties can stand to accountability and undertaking not to repeat past abuses to achieve a more just and democratic future based on innovation and focus on building new and balanced relationships between individuals and society. In addition to calling upon a law that adopts transitional justice programs, represented as follows:

Trials (whether civil or criminal) - the search for truth and fact-finding (whether through a formal national investigation and such as truth commissions or investigation commissions) - reparation (whether through symbolic or material compensation or rehabilitation) - institutional reform (including legal and institutional reforms and removing offenders from public office and conducting trainings on human rights for public employees) - the establishment of memorials and "collective memory".