Mary Robinson

U.N. human rights chief Mary Robinson has urged Egypt to scrap 21-year-old emergency legislation and allow outlawed Islamic organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood to have a bigger say in public life.

Ms. Robinson, ending a two-day visit to Cairo, said she had been encouraged by the openness of Egyptian officials in addressing human rights issues. But, she said it is not helpful for a country to have constant extensions of emergency legislation, and she expressed hope that the laws will be allowed to expire when they comes up for renewal in 2003.

The emergency laws were declared in 1981 after Muslim militants assassinated President Anwar Sadat. Egypt's government has used emergency law to refer civilians suspected of belonging to Islamist organizations to military trials.

On another subject, Ms. Robinson condemned Israeli incursions into Palestinian refugee camps in Nablus and Jenin. She described the situation in the Palestinian territories as intolerable, saying it distorts the whole human rights situation in the region. She also expressed concern about civilian deaths and insecurity in Israel.

Ms. Robinson is on a tour that also will take her to Bahrain, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

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