ABSTRACT
For several decades, various private and state-financed international donors have considered Egyptian human rights organizations, with their commitment to democracy and international conventions, as the ideal partners for supporting civil society and promoting democracy. By the mid-1990s, the UN and the EU considered human rights organizations as the most qualified non-governmental organizations (NGOs) within the framework of international economic and structural adjustment programmes (ESAP). While the majority of NGOs today rely entirely on external funding, they nevertheless regard moral backing as much more important than financial aid, given the hard line taken by the government towards any kind of non-conformity.
