Lawyers Committee Applauds Egyptian Court Ruling on New Women’s Research Center

The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights applauds the October 26, 2024 ruling of the Egyptian administrative court in favor of the New Women’s Research Center against the Ministry of Social Affairs. The court rejected the decision of the Ministry of Social Affairs to refuse to register as an association the New Women’s Research Center, a well-established, internationally recognized women’s rights organization based in Cairo. This ruling sets an important precedent for independent Egyptian civil society organizations and their ability to carry on with their work free of government interference. The Ministry will no longer be able to simply refuse to recognize an association on unspecified “security grounds.”

On June 11, 2003, the Lawyers Committee sent a letter to the Egyptian authorities condemning the Ministry’s decision not to register the NWRC and another human rights NGO, the Land Center for Human Rights. Under Law 84 of 2002, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were required to register with the government before June 5, 2003. If denied registration, NGOs have the right to appeal to the administrative court, although such proceedings risked prolonged delays as there was no predetermined time limit for such appeals. This effectively obstructed the ability of NGOs to function as they are not permitted to operate while awaiting a decision.

When internationally recognized NGOs were promptly denied registration, it became clear that the broad powers of the law were being used to stifle the growth of a fragile civil society. The New Women’s Research Center, along with the Land Center for Human Rights, were among the groups denied registration for unspecified “security reasons”. The Lawyers Committee argued that Law 84 of 2002 was in violation of the right of freedom of association and expressed its disappointment that the ministry “has used the powers vested in it to effectively order the closure of these two organizations whose work for human rights is internationally recognized.”

The New Women’s Research Center was formed in 1982. It carries out research on women’s rights issues in Egypt and campaigns against violence against women. On June 8, 2003, it received a letter, signed by the deputy minister of social affairs, informing the organization that its registration application had been denied on security grounds.

While the Lawyers Committee is encouraged by the administrative court’s recent ruling, it emphasizes its continued concern for other NGOs that have been denied registration and whose cases are still in court. The Lawyers Committee would also like to reiterate its concern that Law 84 of 2002 provides overly broad powers to the government to stifle the legitimate activities of independent non-governmental organizations from which Egypt has much to gain.