99 Civil society organizations and networks applauds the Egyptian people and condemn use of excess power and life bullets and arming “gangsters” against people’s peaceful protests in Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, Jordan, Algeria, and Sudan
Second Statement 20/2/2011
Arab civil society organizations signed below Expresses their pride in the triumph of the revolution of the Egyptian people on 25 January 2011, as a political, social and economic revolution against injustice and tyranny, and endeavor to realize the freedom and dignity, democracy and social justice for the people of Egypt, and the impact of victory will show positively on the Pan-Arab world and puts an end to the disregard of the rights of the peoples of the region that have been deprived of citizenship rights to freedom and democracy, and put an end to the international contempt for the interests of their people through his alliance with repressive regimes over the past decades, in spite of all forms of torture, terrorism , repression , the media blackout, falsifying the will of the peoples of the region and the looting of its destinies, which has been practiced against them over the past decades with the knowledge of the West, which raises the slogans of defending freedom and human rights, but the will of the people was stronger than all forms of oppression and tyranny that has been practiced against them.
The undersigned organizations salutes the greatness of the Egyptian people and pioneering revolution in toppling the first symbol of the corrupt police political system in spite of all forms of torture, terrorism and repression, media blackout, and forging the will of the people and looting of destinies, which was carried out against the Egyptian people over three decades, and which culminated in a political theatrical election, a few months ago, brought to the People’s Council 95% of the members of the ruling party, and showed a security mentality and the fact that the nature of its tools through the anti-revolution on 28 January which termed as “the camel battle.”
The signatory organizations reiterate its appreciation of the revolution of the great Tunisian people, which deservingly topped the list of the peaceful democratic Arab revolutions, and initiated by dropping the strongest police regime in the Arab region, which played the role of spiritual guide of the Arab police regimes.
The undersigned organizations emphasize that the people’s revolutions that triumphed in Tunisia and Egypt did not emerge from individual incidents here and there, but they came as a result of many protests, sittings, marches, and demands by many political, syndicate, media, academic, and cultural forces in addition to civil society organizations during the last decade, through which various means of modern communication were used, including facebook.
The undersigned organizations condemn the excess use of force and life bullets and arming “gangsters” by the government in Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, Jordan, Algeria, and Sudan against people’s peaceful marches and sittings in various cities and governorates, and especially condemn the massacres against unarmed people in Lu’lua square (Bahrain, February 17th and 18th, 2011), Aden and Ta’az (Yemen, February 18th),and Baydhaa, BaniGazi, Tripoli, and Zentan (Libya, February 17th), and the organizations draws the attention to the danger that some Arab countries turn from oppressive to discriminatory through the rise of sectarian, religious, or ethnic groups.
The undersigned organizations concluded that reform and change in the Arab countries is possible peacefully, and without outside interference from anyone, and even more so that the hand of Western countries, especially the United States of America, creator of double standards, for providing advice and guidance, which would accelerate the victory of national revolutions Arab countries.
The undersigned organizations demand all Arab regimes to reconsider their interior and foreign policies to become expressive of their people’s will in national liberation, social development, respect of human rights, and spread of general rights that would ensure citizens the freedom of opinion, organization, and participation in managing the affairs of the country, peaceful power transformation, and transferring from the present oppressive regimes to democratic systems through free and honest elections, equality among citizens, and fighting corruption and corruptors.
In the opinion of the undersigned organizations , some of the declarations taken by some Arab regimes since the beginning of the year in conjunction with the development of revolutions of Tunisians and Egyptians is not only insufficient, but looked as if they were designed to absorb the dissatisfaction of citizens on the public policy for these systems, the promise “not to renewal or inheritance or reset the counter” and “set up a fund for youth” (Yemen), the statement that” the time has come for reform “(Syria), and giving every family of 4 thousand dinars (Kuwait), giving a thousand dinars (Bahrain), water distribution and refreshments at the demonstrators and the change of government (Jordan), declaring the necessity of “abolition of martial laws soon,” (Algeria), “allocating tens of billions of dollars to provide housing” and the call not to use facebook (Libya), and the allocation of part of the budget to solve the problem of the unemployed (Morocco ), remarks that “Egypt is different from Tunisia” or “This country is not Egypt,” and others could spare the Arab regimes the fate of the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia, but the speed in meeting the demands set forth below is a safe route of reform and peaceful democratic change sought by the citizens in the Arab world towards building democratic countries under the rule of law, social justice and good governance, where the progress, prosperity and freedom of the citizen is a necessary condition for progress, prosperity and freedom of society and the state.
The undersigned organizations emphasize the demands mentioned in the first statement issued by 696 civil society organizations in the Arab world on February 12th, 2011, and also demands the following:
- The abolition of emergency laws in force in the Arab countries.
- The release of all prisoners of opinion and political prisoners. And issue a general amnesty for all political prisoners and prisoners of opinion in the prisons of Arab countries.
- Modify the content of national laws and legislations to suit the international conventions and charters on human rights. And implement the recommendations of the bodies of the international and regional human rights treaties.
- Develop democratic constitutions in the countries that did not recognize modern constitutions.
- Convert kingdoms and states ruled by families to constitutional monarchies like the European kingdoms.
- Draw up appropriate legislations to prevent the continuation of the executive authority for more than two terms and ensure devolution of power.
- The realization of social justice, the rule of law, independence of the judiciary system, wise governance, the separation of wealth and power on the one hand, and real separation between the three authorities on the other hand.
- The launch of real development projects and investments in industry and agriculture that would contribute to decreasing the rising unemployment figures and numbers of the poor, and that helps farmers in their land and their fields in order to continue as producers. Our Arab countries need sustainable development across its parts.
- Respect of international criteria of free and honest elections, which are practically supervised by independent election committees, and allowing local and international monitoring of the elections, and make pleas of the election exclusive to the judicial authority.
- Amend civil laws and legislation, penal and personal status, nationality law, which guarantees equality between citizens, the rights of women and their role in society, and the issuance of a Family Code that guarantees the rights of all its members and particularly children.
- Respect of academic freedoms in Arab universities.
- Respect of media freedoms and the right to access information.
- Ensure the right of gathering, and political, syndicate, and association organization.
- Take measures to ensure to the revision of all national legislations that restrict the activities of organizations defending human rights and the exercise of freedom of activity, and modify the laws of associations, so civil society institutions can play their role effectively. In addition to the issuance of the law of parties that allows citizens to exercise their right to political participation in the management of their countries.
- The formation of a national documentation body to initiate criminal prosecutions of the perpetrators of political and economic crimes. Take action to fight corruption effectively through the realization of the slogan “no impunity for crimes committed on the economic wealth and public funds”, which formed and still form one of the main reasons for depriving the citizens of their economic and social development. And bringing the perpetrators to justice, and taking appropriate legal action to ensure recovery of looted state funds.
- Conduct immediate investigations about the people involved in the killing, arresting, detention, abuse, torture, and access use of force by the police against peaceful activists and demonstrators in various Arab countries, and compensating victims and providing medical and psychological services for them.
Names of the organizations signing the statement according to alphabetical order:
Regional Arab NGOs
1- The Arab Organization for Human Rights/ Egypt (included 22 organizations and 18 Arab countries)
2- Arab network to protect the human rights defenders (included 18 organization from 9 Arab countries)
3- Arab’s coalition against death penalty (included 9 national’s coalitions and 9 Arab countries)
4- Election network on the Arab regions (included 30 networks and organizations in 12 Arab countries)
5- Human rights trainers networks in the Arab regions (included 170 trainers).
6- The Arab Women Network (included 17 organization in 17 Arab countries)
7- Gulf Civil Society Forum (included more than 100 Academic, Jurist, Median and Thinker from the Gulf States).
8- Working Group for defending the freedom of Journalism and Expression in North Africa (12 organizations in 12 Arab countries)
9- The Arab Organization for Youth Lawyers.
10- The Arab Group for Media Watch.
11- Arab society for Academic freedom
12- The Arab Foundation for Supporting the Judiciary Reforms.
13- The Arab Program for Human Rights Activists (APHRA)
14- The Center of Arab Women media Workers.
National NGOs
Jordan
15- Amman Center for Human Rights Studies [ACHRS]
16- Amnesty International/ the Jordan Group.
17- The Arab Organization for Human Rights/ Jordan.
18- Al-Badil Center for Studies and Training
19- The Jordanian Network for Civil Society Organization (included 16 organizations).
20- The Jordanian network for Human Rights Trainers (included 45 trainers)
21- The Jordanian coalition against Death Penalty
22- The Jordanian Women Union
23- The Jordanian Association of Democratic Culture.
24- The Society of Working Women.
25- The Society of Arab Women.
26- The Society for the Development of the Family.
27- The Al Baqaa Women Charity Society.
28- Mosawat Network (included 87 woman asossiations)
Palestine:
29- The Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO) (Consists of 132 human rights organizations).
30- The Association School for Mothers.
31- The Health Work Committees.
32- Organization for Handicap without boarders.
Iraq
33- Iraqi coalition for human rights organizations (included 30 human rights organizations)
34- Freedom’s coalition in Iraq (included 72 organizations)
35- Civic coalition for minorities in Iraq (included 12 organizations)
36- Popular Aid Organization(PAO)
37- Azidi Solidarity and Fraternity Organizations
38- AL Masalah Organization for Development of Human Recourses.
39- Iraq’s Organization for Development and Peaceful Gathering.
40- Baghdad women society
41- Leadership women institution
42- Sawa Organization for Human rights.
43- Al Ahrar Organization for Human Rights.
44- Iraqi Human Rights Foundation
45- Civil rights organization in Iraqi Kurdistan
46- Human Rights Center in Iraq
47- Group of non-violence the Iraqi
48- Youth will organization for Nonviolent
Syria
49- Arab Organization for human rights in Syria
50- National Organization for Human Rights in Syria
51- Kurdish committee for human rights in Syria (AL Rassased)
52- Committee for defending democratic freedom and human rights in Syria
53- Kurdish Organization for defending human rights and democratic freedom in Syria(DAD)
54- Women initiative committee
55- Committee “together” to support women issues
56- Human Rights Organization in Syria(MAF)
57- Committees For The Defense Of Democracy Freedoms And Human Rights In Syria
58- Syrian Monitor for human rights.
Lebanon:
59- Lebanon Society for Human Rights.
60- Lebanon Women Rights Committee
Yemen
61- Yemen coalition for transparency and anticorruption (included 50 organizations)
62- Center for human rights Information and rehabilitation
63- Yemen organization defending rights and democratic freedom
64- Yemen organization for development and rehabilitation
65- Change organization for Defending Rights and Freedom
66- Yemen center for human rights
67- Democratic social forum
68- Sister hoods for human rights
69- Yemen Coalition for Civil society organizations (included 27 organizations)
Sudan
70- Civil forum in Sudan (include more than 54 organizations)
71- Center for gender’s studies
Bahrain
72- Bahrain Human Rights Society.
73- The Bahrain Women Union.(included 12 woman associations).
74- Bahrain Society for Transparency.
75- Bahrain Medical Society
76- Bahrain Teachers Society
77- Bahrain Sociologists Society
78- Confederation of Trade Unions of Bahrain
79- National Association to support education and training
Algeria:
80- Algerian League for Defending human rights
81- Algerian League for human rights
Saudi Arabia:
82- Women Rights Association
Morocco
83- Moroccan Foundation for Human Rights.
84- Center for human Rights
85- Nations Institute for Development and Cooperation and the International Research and Studies
Kuwait:
86- Kuwait Coalition to support International Criminal Court
Libya:
87- Human Rights Solidarity Organization
88- Libyan League for Defending human rights
Egypt
89- Al Kelmah Center for Human Rights.
90- Land Center for Human Rights.
91- Center for the Study and alternative development programs
92- Nadeem Center for Psychological Therapy and Rehabilitation
93- New Woman Foundation
94- Egyptian Association against medical negligence
95- Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners
96- ACT Center of the means of communication and appropriate for development
97- The Arab Association for Democracy and Human Rights Studies.
98- AlMahrosa Center for Publication.
99- Habi Center for Environmental Rights
