Issue of UN ‘Farhah’... All You Need to Know

By: Yassmine ElSayed

CAIRO, Dec. 13 (SEE) – Days after the issue started, Egypt is following Lailani Farhah, UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing until she assumes the responsibility for her faulted report on Egypt.

In the first official visit to the country by an expert appointed by the Human Rights Council since its establishment in 2011, Farhah, visited Egypt from 24 September to 3 October 2018.

The Egyptian government facilitated her meetings with high-level government officials from the Ministries of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, Justice, Foreign Affairs, Social Solidarity and government institutions responsible for urban development, human rights, security and law enforcement.  She met also inhabitants in several neighbourhoods and representatives from international financial institutions as well as development agencies, NGOs, and academic officials. The government allowed an access to information on housing projects in Egypt, which is sponsored by the state. Her report, however, included faults in many aspects.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to non-discrimination, began her term in June 2014. She is the Executive Director of ‘Poverty Free Canada’, NGO based in Ottawa. As an experienced lawyer over the past 20 years, she worked on local and international levels and has worked to implement the right to adequate housing for the most marginalized groups and on the conditions of the poor and most needed.

According to a UN statement, special rapporteurs form part of the so-called special procedures of the Human Rights Council. The special procedures, the largest independent expert body of the United Nations human rights system, is the general designation of the Council's independent mechanisms for survey and monitoring to address either specific country situations or thematic issues around the world. Special procedures experts work on voluntary basis; they are not United Nations staff members and do not receive salaries for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and act in their inpidual capacity.

On its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its deep condemnation of the press release issued by the Special Rapporteur as it contained false and fabricated facts and baseless allegations about state policies in the field of housing. .

An official statement by the ministry explained that Egypt invited the Special Rapporteur as a way to enhance cooperation with international human rights bodies as well as to learn about international experiences in dealing with the challenges faced by states in providing adequate housing. However, she was surprised by the Special Rapporteur's attempt to fabricate lies from the very first moment of her arrival in Cairo and stir up crises in various meetings, although all possible means were available for her to carry out her work, which all raising doubts about her negative intentions and deliberate targeting of Egypt.

The Ministry stated that these suspicions were clearly confirmed after the Rapporteur met with Al-Jazeera satellite channel, known for its blatant support for terrorist organizations, immediately after issuing her report.

“This is an evidence that she was malicious and politicized, and having other goals, only covered by human rights causes,” the statement said. “This is especially true as her report did not mention at all any any positive aspects of housing policy in Egypt.. She hadn’t also provide any data for her allegations, even to meet the minimum professional standards of employment”.

According to the ministry, the Special Rapporteur has chosen to conceal and even obscure the government's unprecedented achievements in providing adequate housing for the most needed citizens and the progressive and bold decisions taken by the government to bring about a qualitative shift in housing policies to ensure adequate living and safe housing for all without distinction, which had international praising voices.

The statement pointed out that despite the facts that the Special Rapporteur came to know during her meetings and various field visits to such governmental housing projects, her report has overshadowed the clear truth and stigmatized the Egyptian government and its people with baseless allegations stemming from her previous intentions to target Egypt.

The Special Rapporteur has overlooked the government's plan to create around 600,000 housing units for the limited income people, 300,000 units have already been completed in record time. The government has  allocated 5% of these units for the disabled.

There are also ongoing effort to develop the advanced and mid-level housing within a strategic vision to horizontally spread the housing areas and in turn lessen the intensiveness of inhabitation.  

In addition, 46 unsafe slums inside and outside Cairo have been developed while providing their inhabitants with temporary houses until the completion of development of the target areas, or proposing alternative options such as receiving financial compensations or moving to a new city, in line with local laws and Egypt's international obligations.

In this regard, the actions of the Rapporteur and her uncredible report raised questions about the ways of independence and ask, in return, the Human Rights Council to take procedures against those who are trying to benefit and trade through their posts. In addition, the  threat included in her report to to stop other UN Special Rapporteurs from dealing with Egypt, is something completely rejected and denounced, but also transcending for her powers and position. Egypt will never ignore following this issue until the Special Rapporteur assumes full responsibility for faults she made, especially as this position presumes qualities of integrity, professionalism and independence.