Minorities In Egypt Not Protected In Constitution

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20000872396390443982904578044800131492968.html

The advocacy group Human Rights Watch on Monday criticized the latest draft of Egypt's new constitution as offering inadequate protections for minorities and personal freedoms.

The 2,700-word complaint comes one day before a court is expected to rule on the Constituent Assembly's legitimacy. The committee may meet the same fate as the Parliament that nominated it—when a high court ruled in May that it was unconstitutional. 

The assembly has been hobbled by an ideological divide between secular-minded delegates and Islamists.

The New York-based organization urged members of the 100-seat assembly to amend the Sept. 27 draft document that would entrust religious institutions to vet legislation based on Islamic law, condition women's rights on religious interpretation, exclude language meant to criminalize human trafficking and allow only a narrow definition of police torture. Some delegates expect the document to be completed as soon as next week.