The Assyrian Democratic Organization
Cairo- DPA — Egypt on Wednesday protested an International Labour Organization (ILO) report accusing the Muslim-dominated state of discriminating against the Coptic Christian labour force, newspaper reports said.
The ILO is a tripartite United Nations agency which promotes social justice, labour rights and equal opportunities at the work place regardless of race, religion or sex. ‘One of the most resilient forms of discrimination is that targeting Copts in Egypt, who are denied equal access to education and equal opportunities in recruitment and promotion,’ read the ILO General Director’s report entitled Equality at Work: Tackling the Challenges.
Aisha Abdel-Hady, Minister of Manpower and Immigration, responded on Wednesday by telling the national Al-Ahram daily that the Egyptian constitution guaranteed citizenship rights and ‘does not discriminate between its sons, Muslims and Christians.’ Abdel-Hady claimed that Copts possessed around one third of Egypt’s national wealth in addition to controlling the biggest companies in the country. She said that Forbes Magazine included three Egyptian Copts in its recent World’s Richest People list, while it did not include any Muslims.
The ILO, however, also accused Egypt of excluding Copts from sensitive and powerful positions in its 2007 global report. ‘Very few are appointed to key positions in the government or are candidates for parliament. Enrolment of Copts in police academies and military schools is restricted, and very few are teachers and professors,’ the report added.
Despite the constant denial of the Egyptian government, Coptic Christians are indeed protesting living conditions in Egypt saying that they face problems of unemployment because of their religion in addition to having their freedom of belief challenged. They also say they have little representation in government bodies.
Only on Tuesday, newspaper reports had said that Pope Shenouda, the patriarch of Alexandria, and spiritual leaders of the Coptic Christians had sent a letter to President Honsy Mubarak asking him to end the injustice Egyptian Christians were facing. The pope’s memo highlighted what he deemed the ‘suffering’ of Copts, who were often targeted by Muslim extremists.
Shenouda said the security system failed to take appropriate measures to contain recent Christian-Muslim conflicts. Meanwhile, the ILO general conference, which brings together over 3,000 government, worker and employer leaders, will begin its sessions in Geneva on Wednesday.
