Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for those comments expressing gratitude. I assure you the gratitude is felt right back at you. Certainly Amnesty International appreciates the fact that this subcommittee looks at so many issues that are of real concern for us, and

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think there have been times when concerns have been raised that there may be some officers who played a direct role in some of the violence. Obviously we've pointed to concerns that security officials were responsible for violence in Maspero Square. I've highlighted the concern

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Okay, thank you.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  We wouldn't pretend it's easy. Is it possible? Yes, of course, it's possible. Anything's possible if the will is there. Are there formidable changes that need to happen? Yes. I've touched on some of the changes. Some of them are law reform issues that need to be dealt with and

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes. It's always difficult to conclusively measure human rights violations. We're asked to do so all the time. Is it better in this country than it was last year? Is it worse here or worse there? At the end of the day, it's impossible to do so. We have, however, signalled that ov

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think some of the suggestions I've raised as to the kinds of law reform steps that need to be taken should be prominent in Canada's dealings with Egypt. I think there are some very concrete individual cases and individual situations that can be raised--for example, demanding th

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  The powers they have under their constitutional decree are far-reaching and in fact are wider than the powers that whoever eventually becomes Egypt's elected president would have. So they do certainly have the power to do all of this.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I know that was a bit sly of me, because it was off topic. It's the same world region, but Bahrain, not Egypt; it's very much on our minds because his appeal is to be heard tomorrow. So there's the timeliness of it and the fact that it's the same region, and some of the same issu

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  They absolutely have the power to do so.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Throughout this year, our sense has been that the international community has been stumbling a bit to keep pace with the changes happening in Egypt. We saw that even at the very outset as the revolution, as it's come to be called, began to take place. First, the western community

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Well, I'm a human rights advocate. I live in eternal optimism, but determination as well. I think part of what we need to see happen with respect to Egypt, whether it's the Muslim Brotherhood or anyone else who comes to govern or share in governing the country, is that for the fi

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think we have to watch it closely. As I said, I don't think the answer is to be barring or prohibiting certain political parties, etc. Clearly, democracy means democracy, and human rights means humans rights. What has gone wrong in so many countries in the past, certainly inclu

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Ten months.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think the concerns on both fronts are very well founded. Obviously the concern about violence, physical safety, and security is paramount. The fact that so many Coptic Christians have been attacked and so many killed, often in or around their places of worship, is wholly and en

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Amnesty International doesn't take positions on political parties per se. We obviously have a lot to say to them, whether they're seeking office or whether they have assumed power, with respect to their human rights responsibilities. We will be very attentive to that with respect