In particular, Ban shared with Ashton his concern about the continued detentions in the country, where the military earlier this month removed Morsy from the presidency amid widespread protests in which dozens of people were killed and wounded. The Constitution was then suspended and an interim Government set up.

Noting that it was welcome and important that Ashton had seen Morsy, the Secretary-Genera reiterated his call to release the former president and senior Muslim Brotherhood officials, according to a read-out of the conversation issued by Ban’s spokesperson.

They stressed the importance of an inclusive political process which would take into account views and aspirations of all parts of Egypt’s political spectrum, it added.

Egypt has been undergoing a democratic transition following the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak two years ago in the wake of mass protests similar to those seen in other parts of the Middle East and North Africa as part of the “Arab Spring.”

Ban and the High Representative also discussed the Middle East peace process, with the Secretary-General expressing his hope for the success of the current efforts to bring the Israelis and Palestinians together at the negotiating table, and the UN’s readiness to work with the EU and other partners in the diplomatic Quartet to support the process.

In the clash near Cairo University, the dead included both local residents and Morsy supporters. Based on visits to hospitals and a morgue and interviews with 15 witnesses, Human Rights Watch identified 11 of the dead, including at least 4 residents of the area and at least 3 participants in a rally and march to support Morsy.

“The deaths on the streets of Egypt over the past several days cry out for an impartial investigation,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The available information indicates that both supporters and opponents of Morsy – and possibly security forces as well – were responsible for needless loss of life.”

Human Rights Watch spoke with six of the people injured in the clashes as well as other witnesses. Supporters of Morsy said that civilians – whom they could not identify but described as “thugs”, or baltagiya – and security forces were responsible for some killings. Residents of the area said that Brotherhood supporters attacked them, and shot and injured a police officer.

Witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch agreed that police were at the scene briefly but did not intervene to stop the bloodshed. Residents of Bein al-Sarayat, the area where the clashes took place, said they called the police and the army, but, as one put it, “No one came.”

The newspaper Al Masry al Youm reported that Health Minister Mohamed Mostafa Hamed said on July 3 that 18 people had died in the violence near the university during the previous night, and that violence across Egypt since June 30 had left 32 people dead.

On the afternoon of July 2, thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters gathered in Nahda Square near Cairo University, in the Giza district of Cairo, for a rally on behalf of Morsy’s presidency. Several Morsy supporters told Human Rights Watch they had come under attack by unidentified “thugs” while walking toward the university from the northeast to attend the rally. The Morsy supporters began marching with others on Ahmed Zewail Street, along the university’s northern edge, toward Tharwat Bridge.

At around 5 p.m., fighting broke out between marchers and people in the buildings on the north side of the street. Several local residents told Human Rights Watch that scuffles began when marchers attacked university students holding up anti-Morsy posters. Violence escalated when residents ran to help the students and were attacked by Morsy supporters, the witnesses said. Two residents showed Human Rights Watch large, fresh wounds on their heads that they said were caused by Morsy supporters wielding clubs and wooden and metal sticks.

Both pro- and anti-Morsy witnesses said they heard gunfire beginning at about 6 p.m. Residents who participated in the clashes acknowledged they armed themselves with stones, rocks, and knives, and Morsy supporters acknowledged that some of them carried guns. Morsy supporters said they came under gunfire from people in buildings on the northern side of Ahmed Zewail street, before reaching Tharwat Bridge, and residents of the area said that gunmen on the roof of a university building on the south side of the street as well as Morsy supporters fired on them. Morsy supporters acknowledged detaining, questioning, and severely beating some men they identified as paid “thugs” who had attacked the march on Ahmed Zewail street.

Exchanges of gunfire intensified at around 10 or 10:30 p.m., witnesses said. Human Rights Watch observed repeated bursts of automatic fire, in addition to other gunfire, at around 11:40 p.m., near the intersection of Cairo University Road and Ahmed Zewail Street. An emergency intake doctor at Um al-Masriyeen hospital in Giza told Human Rights Watch that the majority of gunshot victims who arrived there were injured in the upper body. In cases in which the victims had been shot with live ammunition, the angle of the wound indicated that the shooting had come from above – the tops or upper stories of buildings, the doctor said.

Residents who opposed the pro-Morsy demonstration told Human Rights Watch that they phoned repeatedly for police assistance, but that security forces only arrived after midnight. Videos taken by local journalists that Human Rights Watch viewed show armored vehicles in the area at nighttime, but a resident interviewed in one of the videos said she was not aware of a stabilizing police presence until the following morning at 8 a.m. Residents said that Morsy supporters shot a police officer in the face. One Morsy supporter said he saw members of the Central Security Forces arrive and begin firing automatic weapons at around 11:30 p.m., killing a Morsy supporter.

A July 4 statement from the Interior Ministry said it had formed teams to investigate various events over recent days, arrest all suspects regardless of their affiliations or alignments, and enforce the law on all without discrimination.

On several occasions in the past, including the killing of 42 civilians in Port Said, Human Rights Watch has determined that police used greater lethal force than necessary to protect themselves or others from violence, killing civilians. Both the past excessive use of lethal force, and police failure to minimize casualties during the latest round of violence, indicate the continued and pressing need for security sector reform.

Under international human rights standards applicable to Egypt at all times, law enforcement officials need to take all reasonable steps to protect lives, especially when aware of specific threats. But they can only use intentional lethal force when strictly necessary to protect life.

“Accountability for serious crimes by all parties is key if the transitional government is serious about moving toward an inclusive and democratic Egypt,” Stork said. “Investigations into the awful events at Cairo University, in which Morsy supporters apparently were both attackers and victims, will be a crucial test.”

“Long decades have passed since the Palestinian people expressed their longing for restoring their full rights and for building their independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital,” President Morsy told the Assembly’s General Debate, which began on Tuesday at UN Headquarters in New York.

“Despite their continued struggle, through all legitimate means to attain their rights, and despite the acceptance by their representatives of the resolutions adopted by the international community as a basis for resolving its problems, this international legitimacy remains unable until now to realize the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people,” he added. “The resolutions remain far from being implemented.”

The Middle East peace process is currently at a standstill, with Israeli-Palestinian talks stalled, following Israel’s refusal to extend a 10-month freeze on settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Noting that the Arab world has presented a comprehensive peace initiative for resolving the conflict, President Morsy assured the delegates in the General Assembly Hall of Egypt’s full support for any course of action that Palestine decides to follow at the United Nations.

“I call upon all of you, just as you have supported the revolutions of the Arab peoples, to lend your support to the Palestinians in their endeavours to regain the full and legitimate rights of a people struggling to gain its freedom and establish its independent state,” he said.

While Palestine is not a member of the UN General Assembly, in 2011 the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) became the first UN agency to admit it as a full member following a vote by UNESCO’s General Conference, the agency’s highest ruling body.

The Egyptian leader also noted that his country remains committed to the international agreements and conventions that it has previously adhered to, while also noting that Egyptians support “the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and are determined to pursue all efforts side by side with them until they regain their rights.”

The crisis in Syria also figured prominently in President Morsy’s statement to the General Debate. Noting an Egyptian initiative on Syria, put forward in August and involving three other countries, the President said they would continue to work to end the suffering in Syria, where more than 18,000 people, mostly civilians, have died since the uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad began 18 months ago. A further 2.5 million Syrians urgently need humanitarian aid, according to UN estimates.

“I would like to emphasize that the initiative is open to all those who wish to positively contribute in resolving the Syrian crisis,” President Morsy said, adding that Egypt is also committed to supporting the mission of the Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on the Syrian crisis, Lakhdar Brahimi, as well as efforts aimed at unifying Syrian opposition groups.

President Morsy also flagged Egypt’s commitment to working with other Arab nations to reclaim its “rightful position” in the world. “This Arab nation is an integral component of Egypt’s vision of its national security, which extends from the Arab Gulf to the Atlantic Ocean, and is thriving with opportunities of cooperation and constructive engagement with the entire world,” he said.

The Egyptian leader came to office in an election process that ended in June this year. The polls were the first presidential election since the toppling of the long-standing regime of Hosni Mubarak amid popular protests in January 2011, and widely seen as a key element of the country’s transition to greater democracy.

“We have taken several steps on the road towards establishing the modern state the Egyptians aspire for,” President Morsy said. “The vision of the new Egypt that we strive to realize for our nation also constitutes the frame of action we present to the world, and which should guide our cooperation with the international community, in a spirit of equality and mutual respect, entailing non-intervention in the affairs of other states as well as the implementation of the international principles, agreements and conventions.”

He added, “Today we reiterate our commitment to them, particularly the United Nations Charter, which Egypt took part in drafting.”

Referring to an anti-Islamic video produced in the state of California by a US citizen, as well as cartoons published in a French magazine, which have led to cities in North Africa and the Middle East recently experiencing violent protests in response, President Morsy said that Egypt respects freedom of expression – “one that is not used to incite hatred against anyone” – and stands firmly against the use of violence in expressing objection to such items.

Other topics covered in his statement to the General Debate included relations between Sudan and South Sudan, the outlook for Somalia following the end of its transitional governing arrangements, nuclear disarmament, relations with Africa, reform of the international financial system and UN reform. He also emphasized the need for the United Nations to give special attention to supporting women and youth issues.

The Egyptian leader is one of scores of heads of State and government and other high-level officials who are presenting their views and comments on issues of individual national and international relevance at the Assembly’s General Debate, which ends on 1 October.

According to the latest statistics given to committee members by the military, 2,165 civilians remain imprisoned after trials before military tribunals since January 28, 2011. In 2011, military courts tried over 12,000civilians, convicting at least 9,000, including hundreds of political activists, but most of the cases related to ordinary criminal activity. Military prosecutors have interrogated and detained at least 54 children from March 2011 to date, and have sentenced children with up to 15 years, Human Rights Watch research has found.

“International law is crystal clear on this – no civilian, regardless of the crime, should be tried by a military court. It doesn’t take a committee to confirm that,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “President Morsy should take the principled human rights stance and pardon all civilians convicted by military tribunals.”

Military trials and arrests of civilians by the military have continued despite the June 30 “handover to civilian authority.” On July 12, plainclothes men arrested three political activists who are members of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party at a peaceful protest in Nasr City, outside the home of General Hamdy Badeen, the head of the military police, and military officers took them before a military prosecutor who ordered their detention for four days. As recently as July 9, a Suez military court sentenced eight protesters, one of them 16 years old, to prison terms ranging from six months to three years for using fireworks that could be considered explosives at a protest. The military has not yet ratified the verdicts. Morsy should order the military justice authority to quash the verdict and order a retrial before a civilian court, Human Rights Watch said.

Military courts are also trying 66 men and 16 women in connection with protests that later turned violent near the ministry of defense in Abbasiya in May. Human Rights Watch hasdocumentedthe military’s frequent arbitrary arrest of peaceful protesters during the dispersal of demonstrations. The committee will not have the mandate to look at these more recent cases because it will only look at convictions up until June 30, 2012.

In a July 11 press release, the committee said that the military justice system had informed them that there had been 11,879 civilians tried before military courts, 9,714 sentenced, and 2,165 who remained detained. The total number 11,879 does not appear to be accurate, because this was the same number the military publicized at the end of August 2011 and, since then, they have brought hundreds more civilians before military courts, Human Rights Watch said. Morsy should use his presidential powers under Article 56 of the Constitutional Declaration and Article 112 of the Code of Military Justice to issue a general pardon for all those convicted by military tribunals, Human Rights Watch said. A presidential pardon is the only way to overturn unfair trials by military courts.

Morsy established the committee to review military verdicts with Presidential Decree No. 5 of 2012. Its members will be the assistant public prosecutor; the district state security prosecutor; the assistant to the interior minister for public security; the deputy interior minister for prison authority; the assistant head of the military justice system; two civil society representatives – Ahmed Seif al-Islam Hamad, founder of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, and Mohamed Zari’, head of the Human Rights Center for the Assistance of Prisoners – and two youth activists – Islam Lotfy, former member of the Revolutionary Youth Coalition, and Ali Mostafa.

The inclusion of long-term independent human rights and youth activists is a precedent worth noting, Human Rights Watch said. While the powers of the committee remain unclear, it can play an important role in obtaining and making public information about arbitrary detentions and unsound convictions.

The committee is tasked with reviewing “all cases of civilians sentenced by military tribunals since January 2011 until June 30, 2012 and producing a report on each of them with respect to the kind of crime they were convicted of and the sentence issued.” Its purview also includes “all administrative detainees held by the minister of interior or others” and “cases of revolutionaries sentenced by regular courts from January 2011 until June 30, 2012.” The decree grants the committee the right to visit places of detention and orders governmental authorities to cooperate with it.

Human Rights Watch strongly opposes any trials of civilians before military courts, where the proceedings do not satisfy the requirements of independence and impartiality of courts of law and are therefore inherently unfair. International human rights bodies over the last 15 years have determined that trials of civilians before military tribunals violate the due process guarantees in article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which affirms that everyone has the right to be tried by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal.

Over the past year, Human Rights Watch has recommended that the Code of Military Justice be amended to limit military trials to military personnel and to state explicitly that the public prosecutor should investigate complaints regarding abuse of civilians by the military and to allow members of the military to be tried before civilian courts in cases of abuse and ill-treatment. Otherwise, Human Rights Watch said, there will never be full accountability for serious human rights abuses committed by the military over the past year, including torture, virginity tests, and the killing of protesters at Maspero.

Amendments to the 1966 Code of Military Justice approved on May 6 with the support of the major parties in parliament, the Muslim Brotherhood’s freedom and Justice Party and the Salafi Noor Party, limited the right of the president to refer civilians to military tribunals but retained the broad discretion for the military in Articles 5 and 7 to try civilians, as well as the right to try juveniles in Article 8 (bis).

“The Muslim Brotherhood’s position on ending military trials of civilians is already in doubt after their failure to any way limit the military’s right to continue referring civilians to military courts,” Whitson said. “Now is the time for President Morsy to carry out his promises to end military encroachment on civilian decision-making and uphold human rights by ending military trials of civilians once and for all.”