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Establishing the first state of the art Human rights library in Egypt

Establishing the first state of the art Human rights library in Egypt. A cooperation project between the National Institutions for Human Rights in Egypt and Norway (NCHR-E and NCHR-N). Presentation at the 72nd Norwegian Library Conference, March 19, 2010

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Establishing the first state of the art Human rights library in Egypt

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  1. Establishing the first state of the artHuman rights library in Egypt A cooperationproject between the National Institutions for Human Rights in Egypt and Norway (NCHR-E and NCHR-N) Presentation at the 72nd Norwegian Library Conference, March 19, 2010 “International projects of cooperation” arr. 51 Kristine Mesgrahl, Librarian kristine.mesgrahl@gmail.com

  2. Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (est. 1987) Part of the University of Oslo from 1995 An academic institution with focus on research, teaching and international projects Role as National Institution for Human Rights in Norway (UN network) Well established library (part of the University library) http://www.jus.uio.no/smr/english/ Cooperation between the two institutions started as part of international HR network and dialogue Followed by several meetings, visits and reports evaluating cooperation possibilities Established the ground for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) December 2005 Prolonged for three years in connection with the opening of the library in December 2009 1. Partners and background • The National Council for Human Rights in Egypt (est. 2003) • Much bigger than NCHR-N • Independent institution • Less focus on research more on practical HR situation in Egypt • Handles direct complaints on HR violations from Egyptian citizens • Role as National Institution for Human Rights in Egypt (UN network) • No formal library (a book collection) • http://www.nchregypt.org/en/

  3. NHRI established based on The UN “Paris Principles” Recommends that States establish an independent national institution for human rights, with the primary objective of assisting with consultancy, studies and information related to implementation of the internationally agreed human rights. UN Human Rights Commission Resolution 1992/54 and General Assembly Resolution 48/134,1993 As National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI), the NCHR-N and NCHR-E are part of a regional and international network of national institutions. The network is managed by an international coordination committee (International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights – ICC), which works closely with the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. 2. National Institutions (NHRI) • For more information see: • National Human Rights Institutions Forum: http://www.nhri.net/ • OHCHR: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/NHRI/Pages/NHRIMain.aspx • Paris Principles – http://snurl.com/27c33

  4. MoU Objective: To facilitate joint projects to enhance respect forhuman rights in either country 3. The MoU and the library project • Project goals: • Contribute to the fulfillment of the National Council for Human Rights in Egypt’s goals and functions as a National Human Rights Institution • Collect, organize and disseminate human rights information • Serve as a national gateway to human rights information • Establish good network connections on a national, regional and international level

  5. 4. Target groups for the Library • The general public • Students • Researchers (Masters and PhD students etc.), journalists • Human rights institutions (both government, NGOs and CSOs) • NCHR-E researchers and staff • Interested parties who wish to be informed about the human rights situation in Egypt • Lawyers • Law drafters (some of whom are represented in the membership of the Council)

  6. Two visits and several meetings between the two institutions held in May 2007 In Cairo at the NCHR-E In Oslo at the NCHR-N and at the MfA Goal: a joint application In effect an application from the NCHR-N with appendixes from NCHR-E Application sent to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MfA) July 2007 Including two project proposals total of 1,9 million NOK Election observation unit Support for library set up Approved October 2007 Based on NCHR-E’s own prioritizing the MfA decided to support the library project Total budget NOK 1,2 million “The Ministry’s grants are lump-sum payments, and the Ministry is not obliged to provide further support for the project.” 5. Application procedure

  7. 6. Project timeline Visits to Cairo and Oslo 2006 2007 Dec 28 May 3 -5 July 4 May 16 2005 MoU Project application Visit to Cairo One week training in Oslo 2007 2008 Nov 29 April May MfA funding Setting up the library Visit to Cairo Opening 2009 2008 Oct Dec 3 May Setting up the library Prolongation of MoU Final report to MfA

  8. 7. Main activities • Setting up the library • Purchase Library equipment (shelves and technical equipment) • Convert to the ALIS, member of Egyptian Libraries Network • Recruit and train staff • Prepare list of core human rights literature • Build up a core human rights collection • Organize human rights information physically and virtually • Carry out training and cooperation visits • Establish networks

  9. 8. Reporting procedures & tools of cooperation • Spreadsheet instead of big project planning tool • Report to NCHR-N from Egypt every three months, mail • Standardization on reports • NCHR-N final report to MfA max ½ year after finalization • Web page with information on the project • E-mail and Facebook

  10. 9. Lessons learned • Remember • “Things take time” … on both sides • National holidays, weekends on different days (Muslim vs. Christian vs. Jewish) • Possible illness and other obligations • Travel • Pay close attention to and evaluate need for and length of visits • You might need visas – could be time consuming, expensive and complicated procedures • Budget • make room for unforeseen costs • pay and airfare rise • variable exchange rates • Success factors • Standard contracts and reporting tools • Good contact between the involved parties • Correlation between different documents, actors and stages in the project • Cost control • Report along the way • Small project + few people and good overview - vulnerable when people move, get sick, get transferred • Tips: • Use your connections - Dawson deal with UiO also for NCHR-E • Talk to your network • Learn from others’ experience

  11. 10. Conclusion From NCHR-N: • Two different types of organizations • Cooperation on “equal level” difficult • No new projects will start under the MoU at present • Might support election observation training in future • Further cooperation will continue through the participation of both institutions in the Arab-European Human Rights Dialogue conferences • The Dialogue is an result of an initiative made by the Danish HR institute after the incident of the Mohammad drawings • Important for Norway to participate in international projects to enhance cooperation and goodwill in both international and internal relations • The direct value of this project to the common Egyptian is limited • Part of the bigger picture – better access to information for the researchers in the council • Will facilitate their work when they receive complaints from the citizens My views: More on the Dialogue: http://snurl.com/uu7hc

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