The Partners for Transparency Foundation organized a side event on the sidelines of the 85th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights held in Banjul, Gambia, titled "Economic and Social Rights in Egypt from the Perspective of Civil Society," as an interactive dialog space that allows civil society to present its vision on the reality of economic, social, and cultural rights in Egypt.

Commissioner "Muford Zakaria," Head of the Working Group on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights of the African Commission, affirmed that economic, social, and cultural rights are a fundamental pillar for ensuring human dignity and promoting social justice, as they include the right to decent work, education, health, housing, social protection, and participation in cultural life. Egypt has committed to these rights thru the Egyptian constitution, and he emphasized the importance of the relationship between the African Commission and Egyptian civil society organizations in promoting and monitoring the implementation of these rights.

Meanwhile, Elisha Mutabunga, a human rights defender and advocacy officer at SOS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reviewed the initiatives implemented to improve the economic and social conditions in Egypt, and recommended the necessity of increasing government spending on social and economic rights.

While Wangetshi Grace, the Executive Director of the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) in Kenya, provided recommendations for Egyptian civil society organizations to work on improving the status of economic and social rights, she emphasized the importance of the role of civil society in monitoring and overseeing government actions to offer recommendations.

This side even was moderated by Merna Shalash, President of the Partners for Transparency Foundation, who emphasized the role of the foundation in raising awareness about combating corruption as a means to improve the economic and social conditions in Egypt.

This side event comes on the sidelines of the Egyptian government's review of its human rights report before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, with the presence of Commissioner Litha Musimi Oguana, the Special Rapporteur on Egypt.