The statement of the Executive Director of the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, during his participation in the United Nations Annual Forum on Minorities.

Thanks Mme Chair,  My name is Ahmed Salem and I am speaking on behalf of the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights 

I want to raise attention to the issue of representation of minorities in education in Egypt, particularly, the Bedouin and how this impacts inclusion and equitable access to quality education for this marginalized group.

The Sinai Peninsula has witnessed a non-international armed conflict in the last ten years between Egyptian armed forces and ISIS, which was marked by gross human rights violations by both sides that brutalized residents, including attacks on schools, demolishing of 15,550 houses, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and the forced eviction of 150,000 residents.

We documented that Egyptian armed forces used 48 schools during this period for military purposes, some are still serving as military outposts, as well as destroying 73 schools, compromising the right to education of Bedouin children.

These violations came on top of decades of marginalization, which impacted access to education especially in rural areas where schools lack resources and qualified teachers and in which a National curricula that prioritizes a singular national identity, that sidelines minorities.

Representation in education affects many ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and refugees. 

The record of Egypt when it comes to the rights of minorities is a well documented catalogue of discrimination, marginalization and negligence. Addressing these issues is crucial for fostering social cohesion and enabling all members of Egyptian society to contribute meaningfully to the nation's development. 

Recommendations:

• introduce affirmative action measures and inclusive policies to ensure equitable access to education for minorities, including curricula that incorporates minority histories, cultures, and languages

• Implement the recommendations by the Committee on the Rights of the Child to ensure that schools in North Sinai are not used as military bases.

• Uphold the rights of children in North Sinai, including the right to education, by repairing and rebuilding schools damaged or destroyed during the armed violence and

to consider endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration;”

Above all, the government must acknowledge and apologize for the legacy of the horrors and war crimes that were committed during the last decade against the indigenous people in Sinai Peninsula.