[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 586 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 586

   Supporting democracy, human rights, and civil liberties in Egypt.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 20, 2010

   Mr. Feingold (for himself and Mr. McCain) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Supporting democracy, human rights, and civil liberties in Egypt.

Whereas the Governments of the United States and Egypt have long shared a strong 
        bilateral working relationship;
Whereas the people and the Government of Egypt play an important role in global 
        and regional politics, including with respect to the Middle East peace 
        process, as well as in North and East Africa;
Whereas Egypt has been and continues to be an intellectual and cultural center 
        of the Arab world;
Whereas respect for democracy, human rights, and civil liberties are fundamental 
        principles of the United States and critical to our national security 
        objectives;
Whereas, in his June 4, 2009, speech in Cairo, Egypt, President Barack Obama 
        noted, ``[G]overnments that protect [human] rights are ultimately more 
        stable, successful and secure. Suppressing ideas never succeeds in 
        making them go away.'';
Whereas the United States National Security Strategy, released in May 2010, 
        states, ``And we reject the notion that lasting security and prosperity 
        can be found by turning away from universal rights--democracy does not 
        merely represent our better angels, it stands in opposition to 
        aggression and injustice, and our support for universal rights is both 
        fundamental to American leadership and a source of our strength in the 
        world.'';
Whereas the authorities in Egypt continue to harass, intimidate, arbitrarily 
        detain, and engage in violence against peaceful demonstrators, 
        journalists, human rights activists, and bloggers;
Whereas, despite President Hosni Mubarak's pledge in 2005 that Egypt's 
        controversial emergency law would only be used to fight terrorism and 
        that he planned to abolish the state of emergency and adopt new 
        antiterrorism legislation as an alternative, in May 2010, the Government 
        of Egypt again extended the emergency law, which has been in place 
        continuously since 1981, for another two years, giving police broad 
        powers of arrest and allowing indefinite detention without charge;
Whereas, in renewing the emergency law, the Government of Egypt asserted that 
        the law would be used only in drug and terrorism cases and it would 
        release all emergency law detainees in other cases, a pledge it has made 
        in the past but failed to fulfill;
Whereas, in response to the emergency law extension, Secretary Hillary Clinton 
        released a statement noting, ``This extension is regrettable given the 
        pledge made by the government to the Egyptian people in 2005. We are 
        confident that Egypt can draft and adopt effective counterterrorism 
        legislation that conforms to international standards for civil liberties 
        and due process. And the United States urges Egypt to complete this 
        legislation on an urgent basis and to rescind the State of Emergency 
        within the coming months.'';
Whereas opposition lawmakers and human rights and democracy activists have 
        protested the extended emergency law because of concerns that it would 
        continue to be used to silence critics and stifle dissent;
Whereas the Department of State's 2009 Human Rights Report notes with respect to 
        Egypt, ``The government's respect for human rights remained poor, and 
        serious abuses continued in many areas. The government limited citizens' 
        right to change their government and continued a state of emergency that 
        has been in place almost continuously since 1967.'';
Whereas Human Rights Watch reports that ``Human rights violations in Egypt are 
        widespread and routine, including arbitrary detention, torture, and 
        unfair trials before state security and military courts. . . . State 
        Security Intelligence (SSI), a bureau of the Ministry of Interior, 
        polices the political sphere and considers any exercise of freedom of 
        assembly a security threat, frequently beating and arresting peaceful 
        demonstrators.'';
Whereas the independence of the judiciary in Egypt continues to be undermined 
        through exceptional parallel court systems, executive administrative 
        orders overriding judicial decisions, and politically motivated 
        lawsuits;
Whereas past elections in Egypt, including the June 2010 elections to the Shura 
        Council (the lower house of parliament), have seen irregularities at 
        polling and counting stations, security force intimidation and coercion 
        of voters, and obstruction of peaceful political rallies and 
        demonstrations;
Whereas excessive use of force by security forces in Egypt is occurring in 
        violation of Egypt's obligations to protect fundamental human rights and 
        may undermine the country's long-term stability;
Whereas political reform in Cairo would significantly enhance the leadership of 
        Egypt throughout the Middle East and Africa and could help ensure 
        constructive political engagement in these regions for years to come; 
        and
Whereas, in April 2010, a bipartisan ``Working Group on Egypt'' wrote in a 
        letter to Secretary of State Clinton, ``[W]ith three sets of elections 
        coming up over the next eighteen months, Egypt now has the opportunity 
        to energize a process of political, economic, and social reform. If the 
        government responds to demands for responsible political change, Egypt 
        can face the future as a more democratic nation with greater domestic 
        and international support. If, on the other hand, the opportunity for 
        reform is missed, prospects for stability and prosperity in Egypt will 
        be in doubt.'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That, the Senate--
            (1) reaffirms that respect for basic human rights is a 
        fundamental value of the United States and that providing 
        unconditional support for governments that do not respect those 
        basic human rights undermines the credibility of the United 
        States and creates tensions, including in the Muslim world, 
        that can be exploited;
            (2) recognizes that, while the Government of Egypt faces 
        legitimate security threats, genuine political reform in that 
        country will help to counter extremism while also solidifying 
        prospects for stability and prosperity;
            (3) encourages the Government of Egypt to promptly honor 
        its commitment to permanently repeal the state of emergency, 
        which is a significant obstacle to consolidation of the rule of 
        law in Egypt;
            (4) calls on the Government of Egypt--
                    (A) to take all steps necessary to ensure that 
                upcoming elections are free, fair, transparent, and 
                credible, including granting independent international 
                and domestic electoral observers unrestricted access to 
                polling and counting stations and instructing its 
                security forces not to engage in violence;
                    (B) to end all arbitrary detention, torture, and 
                other forms of harassment against media professionals, 
                human rights defenders and activists, and opposition 
                figures, fully respect freedom of expression and 
                association, and release all individuals detained for 
                peaceful expression as well as those detained under the 
                emergency law for issues unrelated to drug or terrorism 
                allegations; and
                    (C) to lift legislative restrictions on freedoms of 
                assembly, association, and expression in advance of the 
                2010 elections;
            (5) urges the President and the Secretary of State--
                    (A) to make respect for basic human rights and 
                democratic freedoms a priority in the ongoing 
                relationship and dialogue between the Governments of 
                the United States and Egypt, and to focus on the 
                importance of these issues, including free and fair 
                elections, during all bilateral meetings; and
                    (B) to broaden the engagement of the United States 
                Government with the people of Egypt and support efforts 
                in the country to help promote human rights and 
                democratic reform, including by providing appropriate 
                funding to international and domestic election 
                observers, as well as to civil society organizations 
                for democracy and governance activities;
            (6) emphasizes the importance of ensuring and strengthening 
        the independence of the judiciary in Egypt; and
            (7) recalls that pursuant to the laws of the United States, 
        organizations implementing United States assistance for 
        democracy and governance activities, and the specific nature of 
        that assistance, shall not be subject to the prior approval of 
        the Government of Egypt.
                                 <all>