696 of Arab civil society organizations from 14 Arab countries Alcobeitin solidarity with revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia And calls for serious reform in the Arab countries

First statement

With concern and responsibility we have been  following the Arab popular movements demanding freedom and democracy in all Arab countries in a peaceful and spontaneous manner, and as the undersigned civil society organizations express  their excitement of the peoples revolutions of Tunisia and Egypt, these movements and claims revealed the lack of legitimacy of Arab regimes as they imposed the police systems that do not respect freedom of opinion and expression, assembly and association on the one hand and have been forging the will of the people for several decades, through the organization of a series of forged parliamentary and presidential elections under the nose of public opinion, domestic and international, not to mention the rampant corruption and tyranny.

The undersigned organizations appreciate and respect the active role of civil society organizations in Tunisia and Egypt, in particular human rights organizations in defending ovulation against the Arab people.

The undersigned organizations consolidate with the statement of (66) Egyptian human rights organizations issued on Tuesday, February 4 (2011), in which they warned the Egyptian demonstrators ,in vain, to be aware of those who wish to thwart the cause of the  uprising, which lead the organizations to  adopt a national program to promote and protect human rights and public freedoms, and to support the demands of democratic transition and the holding of parliamentary and presidential elections free and fair.

The undersigned organizations strongly condemn the repression, which resulted in many hundreds of martyrs of freedom and many thousands wounded in Tunisia, and Egypt, and demanded not to let profiled officials responsible for committing such violations in both countries escape with impunity. It also condemns the use of intimidation of citizens by the ministries of interior in both countries through similar and preset plans to withdraw from the police forces, as well as the secret police who on the evening of January 14 in Tunisia, and evening of January 28 in Egypt, began to loot the public and private property as a new way to punish citizens who are demanding reform and change and the departure of the dictator, putting citizens in front of two choices: either chaos (i.e., the absence of personal security for citizens) or stability (i.e., the survival of the dictator).

The signatories appreciate the speed in both Tunisia and Egypt to form the People’s Committees of districts and cities.

Also the signatories condemn the delinquency of both regimes, deposed Tunisian and illegitimate Egyptian, in the exercise of various forms of surveillance and / or restriction and / or cutting communications and / or the Internet and / or satellite which did not become a barrier to the departure of the head of the regime in Tunisia, and will not be an obstacle to reach the goals of the Egyptian revolution.

The undersigned condemns the attacks on demonstrators opposed to the Egyptian regime, and they demand a judicial inquiry of all the circumstances that accompanied the revolution of the two peoples, Tunisian and Egyptian ranging from the use of excessive force and live bullets in the face of peaceful marches to the sudden disappearance of the security forces,  the launch of acts of sabotage and looting all the way to sending groups of horsemen ,and the like, to assault peaceful demonstrators in Al-Tahrir square in Cairo.

The undersigned organizations call on all Arab regimes to review the internal and external policies to reflect the will of their people in national liberation and social progress, respect of  human rights and promoting public freedoms, which guarantee for citizens freedom of opinion and expression, association and participation in the management of public affairs, and the peaceful transfer of power in the transition from the current repressive regimes to democracy through free and fair elections, equal rights of citizens, without discrimination.

The democratic transition in the whole world during the nineties of the past century did not reach the Arab societies, and today we see that this shift has arrived for our societies that are yearning for democracy and freedom, justice, equality and the creation of a nation of citizens not just inhabitants, for it has begun in Tunisia and now in Egypt and the movement is on in Sudan, Yemen , Syria, Algeria, Morocco, Jordan and the countries of Arab Gulf, where movements started reflecting a more dynamic aspiration and demanding to participate in the management of the state as indicated by all expectations and circulating news, all of these activities and mobilitiees existing in all Arab countries will deliver our societies to the ranks of democratic communities and this is what the Arab people deserve after a the  long patience of the injustice and repression, oppression, tyranny, corruption and crushing of dignity of the citizens in all Arab countries.

We believe that the time has come for all the Arab regimes to be conscious that the people are no longer helpless and / or afraid of the oppression of the police systems, it’s time for the Arab regimes to respond to the aspirations of their peoples, and we sincerely call upon them to relate ruling to the will of the people, in a peaceful and civilized manner.

Today we are in front of a historical movement that no one can stop, and the Arab regimes should be aware of the importance of its role in protecting people whatever the result in intransigence or  ruling, and we will  hold them fully historically responsible for  what will happen at all levels.

The undersigned organizations demand the following:

1. The Amendment of national legislation in line with the international law of human rights.
2. The abolition of emergency laws in force in a number of Arab countries.
3. Respect of international standards for elections to be free and fair, and supervised by independent election commissions, not just namely but in practical terms, and to allow monitoring of these elections, locally and internationally, and limiting the appeals in the elections to the judiciary authority only.
4. Respect for academic freedom in Arab universities.
5. Respect for media freedoms and the right to access information.
6. Ensuring the right of everyone the rights of assembly, political organization, union and association.
7. The release of all prisoners of opinion.
8. The realization of social justice, the rule of law, independence of judiciary, wise governance, the separation of wealth and power, and  real separation between the these three authorities.
9. Limit the presidencies of the Republic for only two terms per person.
10. Turning monarchies into constitutional monarchies.
11. The abolition of restrictions on the right of citizens to move to and from the country.
12. Hold an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council to consider the gross and systematic violations in Egypt, and the formation and dispatch of an international commission to investigate abuses committed.
13. Send a fact-finding team urgently from the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to document the abuses that have been committed.

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.

9-             The Arab Organization for Youth Lawyers.

10-         The Arab Group  for Media Watch.

11-         Arab society for Academic freedom

12-         Arab Internet Activists

13-         The Arab Foundation for Supporting the Judiciary Reforms.

14-         The Arab Program for Human Rights Activists (APHRA)

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-         Center for families awareness

20-         Electronic society ghrorg for human rights culture

21-         The Academy of Change and the Studies of Democracy and Development.

22-         The Jordanian Network for Civil Society Organization (included 16 organizations).

23-         The Jordanian Coalition  for amendment personal status law (included 13 organizations).

24-         The Jordanian network for Human Rights Trainers (included 45 trainers)

25-         The Jordanian coalition against Death Penalty

26-         The Jordanian coalition against Poverty.

27-         The Jordanian Women Union

28-         The Cultural Society for Youth and Childhood.

29-         The Jordanian Association of Democratic Culture.

30-         The Society of Working Women.

31-         The Society of Arab Women.

32-         The Society for the Development of the Family.

33-         The East and West Center for the Development of the Local Community.

34-         The Center of Arab Women media Workers.

35-         The Al Baqaa Women Charity Society.

36-         Bushar  Center for Women Researches  and  Studies.

Palestine:

37-         The Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO) (Consists of 132 human rights organizations).

38-         The Falasteeniat Foundation.

39-         The Palestinian Human Centre for Democracy and Human Rights.

40-         The Association School for Mothers.

41-         The International Movement to Defend Children.

42-         Besan Center for Reseashes and Development.

43-         The Health Work Committees.

44-         Union Committees for  Agricultural Work .

45-         Center for development Work(Togather).

46-         The Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC).

47-         Creative Center for teachers .

48-         Ramalla Center for Human rights studies.

Iraq

49-         Iraqi coalition for human rights organizations (included 30 human rights organizations)

50-         Freedom’s coalition in Iraq (included 72 organizations)

51-         Iraq Network  for Human Rights Culture and Development.

52-         Civic coalition for minorities in Iraq (included 12 organizations)

53-         Justice Network for Prisoners(included 32 organizations)

54-         Popular Aid Organization(PAO)

55-         Kofan organization for human rights and democracy

56-         Azidi Solidarity and Fraternity Organizations

57-         AL Masalah Organization for Development of Human Recourses.

58-         Muslim Peacemaker Teams

59-         Iraq’s Organization for Development and Peaceful Gathering.

60-         Al Safa Society for Development and Friendship between Peoples.

61-         Civil Development Organization(CDO).

62-         Baghdad women society

63-         Hamurabi organization for human rights and democracy watch

64-         Leadership women institution

65-         Coalition for Karbalaa for Civil Society Organizations

66-         Congregation of Cultural for Democracy

67-         Bent Alrafedain Organization – Babel.

68-         Sawa Organization for Human rights.

69-         Iraqi Teachers Leque .

70-         Touz organization for Human Rights Studies.

71-         Women Congregation of Cultural for Democracy

72-         Graduates league of Universities and college in Iraq.

73-         Al Ahrar Organization for Human Rights.

74-         Al-Rafedain Center for the guarantee of human rights

Syria

75-         Arab Organization for human rights in Syria

76-         National Organization for Human Rights in Syria

77-         Kurdish committee for human rights in Syria(AL Rassased)

78-         Committee for defending democratic freedom and human rights in Syria

79-         Kurdish  Organization  for defending  human rights and democratic freedom in Syria(DAD)

80-               Women initiative committee

81-               Committee “together” to support women issues

82-                Human Rights Organization in Syria(MAF)

Lebanon:

83-         Lebanon Society for Human Rights.

84-         Lebanon Women Rights Committee

85-         Lebanon   Democratic Women’s Gathering.

86-         Al Rased Center for Human Rights

87-         Palestinian Human Rights Foundation (Monitor)

Yemen

88-         Yemen coalition for transparency  and anticorruption (included 50 organizations)

89-         Yemen coalition for Human Rights organizations(included 35 organizations)

90-         Center  for human rights Information and rehabilitation

91-         Yemen monitoring for human rights

92-         Yemen coalition against death penalty

93-         Yemen organization defending rights and democratic freedom

94-         Yemen organization for training and rehabilitation

95-         Committee against torture and unlaw arrests

96-         Change organization for Defending  Rights and Freedom

97-         Hod Organization

98-         Yemen center for human rights

99-         Democratic social forum

100-      Sister hoods for human rights

101-      Al-Jazeera center for human rights studies

102-      Center for the protection of journalists

103-      Dialogue center

104-      Without handcuffs Women journalists

105-      Democracy school

106-      Future Partners Foundation for Development

107-      Yemen Society for Academic freedom.

Sudan

108-      Civil forum in Sudan (include more than 50 organizations)

109-      Sudan’s center for developing and democracy

110-      Center for gender’s studies

111-      Organization  Medicine  Emergency

112-      Human Security initiative Organization.

Bahrain

113-      Bahrain Human Rights Society.

114-      The Bahrain Women Union.

115-      Bahrain Society for Transparency.

116-      Bahrain Center for Human rights.

Algeria:

117-      Algerian League for  Defending  human rights

118-      Algerian League for human rights

Saudi Arabia:

119-      Women Rights Association

Morocco

120-      Moroccan League for  Defending  human rights

121-      Moroccan Center for Human Rights.

122-      Moroccan Monitor for  Defending  Voter rights

123-      Moroccan Foundation for Human Rights.

124-      Center for human Rights

Kuwait:

125-      Kuwait Society for Human Rights.

126-      Kuwait Coalition to support International Criminal Court

Libya:

127-      Human Rights Solidarity Organization

Mauritania:

128-      Mauritanian Centre for Social and Development Studies