Egyptian parliament approves higher human rights council

At a time when Gamal Mubarak, the secretary of policies at the ruling national party, continues his public meetings in several Egyptian governorates, the Egyptian Shoura council yesterday, initially, approved a draft law providing for founding a human rights national council, already prepared and advocated by the newly established secretariat at the party which is headed by the son of the Egyptian president.

According to official sources this council aims at consolidating and enhancing the culture of human rights and enhancing its practices. This council is a separate entity in practicing its activities. It is composed of one president and 20 public figures.

In a massive conference in al-Gharbeya ( western province ) in the Egyptian Delta, Gamal Mubarak said that "the public policies of the ruling party are not superior and arrogant," noting that the "party's grass- roots in the governorates play a basic role in formulating policies and that the labor work at the local level constitutes the base on the ground which the political work is based."