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STORY: GENEVA / EGYPT STATE OF EMERGENCY
TRT: 1.37
SOURCE: CH UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 29 JANUARY 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
FILE - RECENT, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior, Palais des Nations
29 JANUARY 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Wide shot, press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The bottom line with the state of emergency is that it should be governed by the rule of law, in line with international standards. And that means there should be judicial oversight, to make sure that it has been lawfully declared in the first place, and that human rights are protected during the period of emergency.”
4. Med shot, table of journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The bottom line of international law, even in times of emergency, is that no one should be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life, or be subjected to torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and everyone deprived of their liberty must be treated humanely and afforded all the judicial guarantees under international law. In other words, fundamental laws, fundamental freedoms, still apply during an emergency situation.”
6. Close up, journalist
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“So you've got really two extremes. You've got security forces using extreme force on the one hand, and in other situations where protesters need protecting where they're being attacked by gangs essentially, there seems to be no protection, and this is particularly affecting women in Tahrir Square, where there are just shocking events
taking place.”
8. Wide shot, journalists
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed alarm today (29 January) at the spreading violence and increasing number of deaths in Egypt, and urged all parties to conduct a serious dialogue in order to halt the "exasperation and dangerous polarization" underlying the current protests.
Pillay called on the Egyptian government “to urgently rethink its responses to the unrest which have ranged from excessive use of force on the one hand, to complete failure to protect people, especially women, on the other.”
On 27 January, President Morsi declared a state of emergency and a curfew in Ismailia, Suez and Port Said districts for 30 days.
Rupert Colville, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights told reporters in Geneva today that “The bottom line with the state of emergency is that it should be governed by the rule of law, in line with international standards. And that means there should be judicial oversight, to make sure that it has been lawfully declared in the first place, and that human rights are protected during the period of emergency.”
Colville noted that "fundamental laws, fundamental freedoms, still apply during an emergency situation.”
He said “You've got security forces using extreme force on the one hand, and in other situations where protesters need protecting where they're being attacked by gangs essentially, there seems to be no protection, and this is particularly affecting women in Tahrir Square, where there are just shocking events taking place”.
The situation in Egypt deteriorated dramatically on 24 January, when thousands of Egyptians took to the streets to commemorate the second anniversary of the revolution. According to official sources, at least ten people were killed, and hundreds injured in Cairo.
Two days later, controversy surrounding a court decision led to violence erupting in the three towns of Port Said, Suez and Ismailia, resulting in another 38 deaths. Four more people were killed in Port Said on Sunday and at least one more person was killed on Monday in Cairo, taking the total to at least 53.
While at least two policemen are among those killed, preliminary unconfirmed reports suggest that most of the casualties have been caused by live fire and excessive use of tear gas by the authorities.
25 female demonstrators are also reported to have been sexually assaulted in Cairo’s Tahrir square over the past few days, in some cases with extraordinary violence.
