Statement from Dr. Khalida Bouzar, Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Arab States.

“Today, UNDP’s Bureau for Arab States had a frank and open discussion with Amnesty International, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch to discuss their concerns on human rights considerations in the 2021 National Human Development Report (NHDR) for Egypt.

“Egypt’s NHDR is the first in ten years and its primary objective is to provide an overview of socio-economic development in Egypt and outline several key development challenges facing the country.

“Since its launch in September 2021, it has been instrumental in providing analysis and data to foster dialogue on Egypt’s right to development and has contributed to the development debate by highlighting several key issues that are now open for public discussion in Egypt, such as issues related to governance.

“UNDP applies a human rights-based approach to its programming and maintains its commitment to strengthening and mainstreaming human rights principles across its key areas of work. Globally, our work promotes the right to development with a particular focus on supporting the most vulnerable, including women and youth, and the poorest segments of the population.

“UNDP is open to further discussions with partners on human rights principles in the context of its work in the Arab States region, and we look forward to future dialogue with the parties we met today.”