The rights organization said that although it was pleased to see the move entrenched in official papers, the move was “overdue”.
It said in a press statement that the decree, which allows Egyptian Baha’is to leave the religion segment on their IDs blank “ends an official policy of coercing Egyptian Baha’is into misidentifying themselves as Muslims or Christians.”
Interior Minister Habib Al Adly signed the decree on 19 March and was only made public on Tuesday and went into effect Wednesday.
He issued the decree after a Supreme Administrative Court ruling upheld the right of Baha’is to obtain official documentation, including identity cards and birt h certificates without being forced to reveal their faith.
Without such official papers, Egyptians are unable to enter university or guarantee the rights of their children.
“With this decree, the interior minister resolved a serious problem, albeit one that the ministry itself created,” said Hossam Bahgat, executive director of a local NGO, in Cairo.
“We will monitor how officials implement the new regulations over the coming weeks to ensure their swift and smooth enforcement,” he said.
Cairo - 15/04/2009
Pana
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