Egyptian Children Still Awaiting Justice

The case of Emad and Nancy, the Egyptian twins who have been denied birth certificates due to their religious beliefs, has been postponed yet again. A detailed account of the court proceeding can be found here. It is growing increasingly apparant that one of the tactics being utilized by the Egyptian judiciary to perpetuate this injustice is that of delay. What reason could justify the continual postponement of the determination of the rights of these children? There are no new factual issues arising, no new legal developments affecting the court’s deliberations. The fact is that every day that the decision is delayed is a day that these chilren continue to be denied access to public school due to their lack of birth certificates.

The Egyptian court would do well to review Article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Egypt is a signatory, which states:

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

This, taken in conjuction with Article 18 of the Egyptian Constitution, which provides that “education is a right guaranteed by the state” leads one to the inevitable conclusion that these children are entitled to an effective remedy by the Egyptian court. These continued delays are an affront not only to the children involved, but also to the dignity of the Egyptian judiciary. Let us hope that the court will rise to the level of performing the function of a competent national tribunal.

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