Egypt's representative at the UN lodged a complaint at the 40th session of the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva regarding a report issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, Leilani Farha.
Cairo's Permanent Delegate to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) Ambassador Alaa Youssef said the report was inaccurate, as quoted by the state-owned newspaper “al-Ahram”.
He indicated that Rapporteur Farha based her report on “politicized sources” and cooperated with biased and non-professional media platforms.
Youssef concluded that the report was “inaccurate in its content, ignoring the Egyptian efforts to protect the right to housing.”
In December, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing its “deep disapproval and condemnation” of a previous report, saying it contains “false and fabricated facts and baseless allegations” that has nothing to do with the country’s policies for housing.
The Foreign Ministry was responding to the report which Farha published in October after a week-long visit to Egypt. In her report, she indicated that some Coptic citizens are unable to return to their homes due to lack of security.
The ministry explained Egypt invited the official to visit the country to get acquainted with the challenges the government is facing to provide appropriate housing to citizens.
“However, since the beginning of her visit, the UN official started to fabricate stories and make-up lies during her talks and meetings with the state officials,” the statement read.
This also showed clearly, according to the statement, that the Special Rapporteur had “other motives” and that she is taking human rights and fundamental freedoms as a “cover,” especially as she deliberately ignored talking about any positive side in the country's housing policies.
The Ministry linked between the report and Farha’s contacts with Qatari-owned channel, al-Jazeera.
The statement also warned that Farha failed to provide any evidence to support her claims and turned a blind eye to the government's unprecedented accomplishments in providing appropriate housing units to citizens.
