Opening of "legal units" project

"Maat" and build a new generation of human rights defenders

 

05/08/2009

 

Building new generations of human rights defenders a great goal deserves to make efforts to achieve it and national organizations, governmental and non-governmental organizations working in this area cooperates between each other for it, the construction of this generation will be by focusing on young people recently graduated and the final year students in law schools, because of their background knowledge in the field of law can be built upon and refined by training and ongoing rehabilitation.

 

In this context comes the "law units" project which is implemented by Maat Foundation for Peace and Development and Human Rights in cooperation with Freedom House Foundation which opened on Tuesday, August 4, 2009 its first training sessions for students of the Faculty of Law, University of Cairo in the headquarters of the National Council for Human Rights, where the Council is hosting the four training sessions to be held in the framework of the project for students of final years and recently graduated from law schools in Cairo and Helwan Universities, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd Vice-President of the National Council for Human Rights participated in the Inaugural Conference of the project, and Professor Ayman Okail Chairman of the Board of Trustees of "Maat" Foundation in addition to the interns, media men and human rights activists.

 

The project seeks to build the capacity of students of law schools in the Universities of Cairo, Helwan in identifying the needs of families of prisoners, and building the capacity of these students with regard to the provision of legal assistance to prisoners and their families, and raise awareness of family members on their democratic rights guaranteed by law, the project seeks to support these marginalized groups to claim their rights legally and encourage them to participate in the democracy events within the country.

 

"Maat" implements "Legal Units" project in coordination with "Tanweer" Center for Development and Human Rights which will host the practical training for students, Giza Governorate through the establishment of a unit within the Center to provide legal advice and legal support to the families of prisoners managed by the trainees.

 

The inaugural event had began with a speech by Mr. Ayman Okail Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Maat Foundation for Peace and Development and Human Rights reviewed the phases of interest by "MAAt" in dealing with prisoners and their families which started with the attention of prisoners and their rights and ways of providing legal assistance to them, this was followed by the attention of prisoners and provide psychological support and social and legal status to them, finally, attention to building a generation of lawyers who are able to provide legal support and legal advice to prisoners and their families, and the establishment of a permanent institutional entities for this purpose which is to be achieved through this project.

 

"Okail" pointed out that the new thing in the "Legal Units" project is that it works with the legal men of the future represented in students and fresh graduates and there is great importance for the formation of conscience and thought these young people and their inclusion into the ranks of human rights defenders, "Okail" also stressed that what distinguishes this project is the inclusion of the mechanisms of international and national human rights protection, this area suffers from a severe lack of attention by the efforts and activities that promote a culture of human rights.

 

Dr. Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd spoke which reviewed in his speech the human rights situation in Egypt asserting that they had not yet reached the level to which we all hoped but there are positive changes have taken place by the impact of civil society organizations and the impact of the presence of the National Council for Human Rights, pointed out some of the reforms under way in this regard especially in the conditions of prisons, Abul-Magd reviewed some of his personal impressions of this, from the reality of his frequent visits to prisons as a representative of the National Council for Human Rights.

 

Aboulmagd commended to go for the work with the young lawyers and students of the final years of Law College as an ammunition in future of human rights work, he also stressed on the continued support of the National Council for Human Rights to civil society organizations and his keenness to cooperate with them in setting up events to achieve this purpose in advance thanks to "Maat" Foundation it has taken this approach, he called on young people need to take advantage of what they are going to learn in these courses and apply it in their working lives when they exercise the legal profession.

 

"Maat" Foundation planning to the "legal units" project to be a beginning of series of events and activities related to international and national mechanisms for the protection of human rights given the failure to give this section of the human rights culture the attention it deserves in the Arab area in general and Egypt in particular.