Combating Discrimination in Egypt Since The 2014 Constitution

Ahmed Abdalla Elkholy

 

Abstract: Since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the subsequent relevant international legal instruments, the consensus of the international human rights law and its legal instruments has promulgated the right to non-discrimination. However, Islamic Shari’ah explicitly rejected discrimination and called for equity and tolerance more than fourteen centuries ago. This note examines the Egyptian criminal law, which has witnessed major developments in combating discrimination following the issuance of the 2014 Constitution. The Islamic nature of Egyptian legal system, which is based on the Islamic Shari’ah as the principal source of legislation, has positively influenced the development of criminal law in Egypt. Since the values and traditions of Islam are rooted in the principles of equity and non-discrimination, this note argues that the Egyptian legislature is obligated to enact laws prohibiting discrimination. Adherence to this obligation is well reflected in the Egyptian criminal law developments following the adoption of 2014 Constitution which have extended to various fields, including the Penal Code, Sports and Press Law. These developments have criminalised certain types of discriminatory behaviour, such as incitement to hate, racism, and bullying. However, the Egyptian legislature has opted to implement a punitive justice system to tackle discrimination rather than embracing new criminal approaches such as restorative justice, which indicates that the legislature has adopted a firm and serious policy regarding combating discrimination.