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Solidarity Statement
Of the Egyptian Civil Society Organizations
With the Center for Trade Union and Workers Services "CTUWS"
Call to Revoke the Decision
To Shut Down CTUWS' Branch in Naj Hamadi

The undersigned Egyptian Civil Society Organizations hereby express their support for and solidarity with the Center for Trade Union and Workers Services "CTUWS" and their strong condemnation to the attacks against CTUWS represented lately in the Administrative Decision No. 44 of the year 2007 issued by General Al Sherbeeny Hasheesh Chairman of the City of Naj Hamadi (Governorate of Qena in Southern Egypt) issued this morning Thursday 29 March 2007 to shut down CTUWS' branch in the city of Naj Hamadi. The issuance of this decision completes the series of administrative provocations against that Branch throughout the last week, the latest of which was summoning the staff of the said branch to the police station where the Chief Officer told them that the branch must be shut down and that as a police office he is mandated to implement the decision regardless to its validity or legality.

The undersigned Organizations express their great concern for the recurrence to use administrative attacks and pressure techniques against human rights and non governmental organizations while our society seems to have surpassed such practices during the last few years. The undersigned Organizations consider this trend a serious approach and a distressing indication to what may be considered a governmental stand towards the civil society and non governmental organizations, particularly those engaged in human rights and social defence spheres.

The civil society organizations as well as all the alive and democratic powers in our society aspired for salient democratic reforms to expand the space for civil society, not to be subject to the power of the state bodies or to the accusations plotted for them. We were surprised by this administrative decision which represents a direct violation of the right of expression and the right to peaceful democratic organizations. The decision jeopardizes the relationship between the state bodies and the civil society organizations at a time when the move to political reform in our country has become questionable after the amendments to the constitution were approved.

The decision of the Local Council of Naj Hamadi to shut down the CTUWS Branch and the collaboration from the police to enforce the decision which they consider as an enforceable administrative decision even though it was issued by an incompetent body mean that the civil society organizations are besieged by administrative interventions which threaten them from each and every direction. These interventions render the civil society organizations unable to play their role particularly in social defence, monitoring and lobbying against the government bodies.

The undersigned Organizations - which decided on February 12th 2007 to form a permanent committee for solidarity with the Center for Trade Union and Workers Services "CTUWS" and to support it by all means - and which call upon the Governor of Qena and the Minister for Local Government to revoke the decision to shut down CTUWS' branch in the city of Naj Hamadi, forward this call to all the alive and democratic powers to consolidate with the CTUWS. Meanwhile, the undersigned Organizations call upon all the executive government bodies to respect the fundamental human rights stipulated by international conventions ratified by the Government of Egypt and to give the civil society organizations the opportunity to perform their role which is essential for maintaining social stability and observe the principles of good governance at the present time when people are afraid of the retreat of the limited democratic margin which our society was in a dire need for its expansion and not for its destruction.

Signatories according to alphabetical:
  1. Afaq Socialist Center
  2. Al Kalema Center for Human Rights
  3. Appropriate Communication Technologies for Development (ACT)
  4. Arab and African Research Center
  5. Arab Penal Reform Organization (APRO).
  6. Arab program for human rights activist.
  7. Association for Health and Environmental Development (Ahed)
  8. Awlad Al-Ard Institution for Human Rights
  9. Cairo Center for Human Rights Studies.
  10. Center for Alternative Development Studies.
  11. Center for Egyptian Woman's Legal Assistance (CEWLA)
  12. Center for Human Rights legal studies and Information
  13. Center for Socialist Studies
  14. Civil Monitor for Human Rights.
  15. Egyptian Association against Torture.
  16. Egyptian Center for Children's' Rights
  17. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
  18. El Nadim Center For the Management and Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence
  19. Forum for development and Human Rights Dialogue
  20. Group for Democracy Development
  21. Hisham Mubarak Law Center.
  22. Land Center for Human Rights
  23. MAAT Center for Juridical and Constitutional Studies
  24. Shumuu association for human rights and care for disabled people.
  25. The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession
  26. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
  27. The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression
  28. The Egyptian Association For Community Participation Enhancement
  29. The Egyptian Association for the Family Development
  30. The Egyptian Association for the Support of Democratic Development (EASD)
  31. The Egyptian center for Housing Rights
  32. The Egyptian Center for Women's Rights
  33. The Egyptian Organization For Human Rights
  34. The Egyptian Social Democratic Center.
  35. The Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners
  36. The Legal Assistance for Human Rights Association.
  37. The New Woman Foundation
  38. The South Center for Human Rights
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