Coptic Foundation for Human Rights

The Coptic Foundation for Human Rights in Zurich is a foundation established under Swiss Law. The foundation's goal is to protect the Christian minorities in Egypt and other victims of persecution and human rights violations in the whole world, to strengthen their rights and to improve their living conditions through publications, material help and other initiatives.
It is generally known that there are a lot of human rights violations in Egypt. Even though Egypt signed the UN-Charter and thus is obliged to respect the preservation of human rights, reality looks different. Although Egypt is officially a secular democracy, Article 2 of the Egyptian constitution declares Islam as the official state religion and the Sharia as the main source of legislation. This contradiction predetermines the discrimination of those of a different faith. A change of faith is only permitted from other religions to Islam.
Journalists working for the Coptic Foundation for Human Rights report for the electronic daily newspaper Copts United www.copts-united.com on the problems and difficulties Copts are facing in Egypt.
The foundation publishes two times a week own videos (reports or interviews) which shall reach people with lower education as well.
The disclosure and publication of discriminations and human rights violations shall raise the awareness of the world regarding the problems of the Christian minorities in Egypt. In addition, it shall arouse the Egyptian government and give the Copts in Egypt a voice.
Furthermore, Copts United reports on the problems of other religious minorities, on the difficulties and discriminations of women in Egypt and on problems, affecting all Egyptians, regardless of their religion or gender.
The Coptic Foundation for Human Rights is in permanent contact with human rights organizations, which attend to selective cases.
The Coptic Foundation for Human Rights supports primarily:
• Christian families whose daughters have been forced to convert to Islam.
• Christian mothers who have been deprived from their rights of custody in order that their children are brought up with the father having converted to Islam after the divorce.
• to Christianity converted Muslims and re-converted Christians, who had previously converted to Islam.
The foundation is a nonprofit organization. The foundation is exempted from the Swiss cantonal and communal taxes as well as from the direct federal tax according to the decree 08/10 068 of the 30th of January 2008 of the Cantonal tax office of Zurich. Donations are welcome.