NGO Action News – 09 December 2014

This newsletter informs about recent and upcoming activities of Civil Society Organizations affiliated with the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. The Committee and the Division for Palestinian Rights of the UN Secretariat provide the information “as is” without warranty of any kind, and do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, or reliability of the information contained in the websites linked in the newsletter.

NGO Action News
09 December 2014

ASIA

• Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) Thailand will hold its next meeting on 11 December 2014 in Bangkok. Please contact palestinesolidaritythailand@gmail.com for more information.

EUROPE

• L’Association Belgo-Palestinienne (ABP) is inviting its supporters to sign a petition calling for the recognition of the State of Palestine.

• The European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP) issued a position paper on 10 November 2014 on the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

• The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) is hosting its Christmas fundraiser lunch in Dublin on 14 December 2014. Click here for more information.

• Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) issued an appeal on 25 November 2014 to address the winter crisis currently hitting the Gaza Strip.

• Palestinagruppen i Stockholm is organizing on 21 December 2014 a panel discussion entitled What is happening in Palestine? with Catrin Ormestad, journalist and author of the reportage Gaza: a love story; Pierre Schori, former UN ambassador and author of the book Memory and fire, Pål Wrange, Professor of International Law at Stockholm University. The discussion will be moderated by Lotta Schüllerqvist, journalist and author of the book Marnäs secret. The event will be followed by a concert with the Palestinian hip-hop bandDAM.

ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

• Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel issued a press release on 30 November 2014 entitled Is Torture a Crime in Israel?

• B’Tselem published a virtual tour of the Tzurim Valley National Park in East Jerusalem to show the “judaization” of the city and the deterioration of the living conditions of its Palestinian residents.

• Defence for Children International-Palestine issued its latest detention bulletin on 5 December 2014.

• Gisha –Legal Centre for Freedom of Movement published an update on 26 November 2014 on the Gaza reconstruction.

• The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) issued its latest weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the OPT on 4 December 2014 covering the period 27 November – 3 December 2014. PCHR also warmly welcomed on 8 December 2014 in a press release the efforts made by the Swiss Government to convene a conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention.

• The Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC) issued its November bulletin.

NORTH AMERICA

• Church for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is organizing on its 8th Annual Bethlehem Prayer Service on 20 December 2014 in Washington. Click here for more information and streaming.

• The Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) and New America are organizing on 10 December 2014 in Washington the event The U.S., Israel and the Regional Dimensions of an Iran Nuclear Deal featuring Shlomo Brom, Visiting Fellow, Center for American Progress and former IDF Brigadier General; Suzanne DiMaggio, Senior Fellow and Director of the Iran Initiative, New America; and Ilan Goldenberg, Senior Fellow and Middle East Security Program Director, Center for a New American Security, former Chief of Staff to the Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations Martin Indyk. Click here to RSVP.

• The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) published on 3 December 2014 a new video entitled Floods Add to Gaza’s Many Troubles.

• The Israel-Palestine NGO Working Group at the UN hosted Omar Barghouti (BDS Movement) on 3 December 2014 to discuss the recent achievements of the BDS movement. The video is available here.

• Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) invites its supporters to the book launch of Palestine – the Legitimacy of Hope (Just World Books) with Richard Falk, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The event will take place on 11 December 2014 in Berkeley.

GLOBAL

• Amnesty International issued on 9 December 2014 the report “Nothing is immune”: Israel’s destruction of landmark buildings in Gaza.

• BDS Movement is calling on the UN to adopt a procurement policy that excludes from tenders for the Gaza reconstruction companies profiting from the Israeli occupation.

• Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a press release on 22 November 2014 calling on Israel to impose an immediate moratorium on its policy of demolishing the family homes of Palestinians suspected of carrying out attacks on Israelis.

• The International Conference of Governments and Civil Society Organizations in Support of Palestinian Rights took place in Seville on 2-3 December 2014. The event was jointly organized by the Andalusian Fund of Municipalities for International Solidarity (FAMSI), the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People(CEIRPP), United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and the Junta of Andalusia, with the collaboration of the Parliament of Andalusia. The representatives of city and local governments, as well as of civil society organizations issued the Olive Declaration at the end of the conference.

UNITED NATIONS

• OCHA OPT issued its most recent Protection of Civilians Weekly Report covering the period 20 November – 1 December.

• UNRWA launched on 9 December 2014 an emergency appeal for US$ 414 million to support some of the most disadvantaged Palestinians in the Middle East – Palestine refugees living in the occupied Palestinian territory.