UC Berkeley: Resolution on Human Rights in Egypt

The ground breaking legal blog "Seeking Justice" has just published a post entitled "UC Berkeley Graduate Assembly Passes Resolution About Human Rights in Egypt."

The post reads, In May of 2007, the UC Berkeley Graduate Assembly passed a resolution expressing serious concern regarding the denial of basic human rights to religious minorities in Egypt. In a letter to the Ambassador of Egypt to the UN, the president of the Graduate Assembly, Mr. Joshua R. Daniels, writing on behalf of the graduate students, expressed its hope that “the government of Egypt, a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, will afford all its citizenry the basic civil rights all people deserve, including the right to education, irrespective of religion.” The text of the letter is included below:



Dear Mr. Ambassador:

I write to inform you that the Graduate Assembly at the University of California, Berkeley recently passed a resolution expressing its deep concern regarding the situation facing religious minorities in Egypt.

It has come to our attention that religious minorities in Egypt, due to their inability to obtain state ID cards, are denied access to rights of basic citizenship, including the right to education. Since Egypt requires all citizens to list their religious affiliation on state ID cards only offers three officially recognized religions—Islam, Christianity or Judaism—as options, members of religious minorities, including members of the Bahá’í community, are effectively forced to go without ID cards. These ID cards are the key to accessing most rights of citizenship such as education.

The Graduate Assembly, in support of all graduate students in Egypt, extends its hopes that the government of Egypt, a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, will afford all its citizenry the basic civil rights all people deserve, including the right to education, irrespective of religion.

Sincerely,

Joshua R. Daniels, President of the Graduate Assembly

This is indeed a righteous and courageous call for justice issued by the graduate assembly of the University of California Berkeley, a preeminent educational institution that is known for its tradition of academic superiority and activism in favour of free and just society.