NGO Action News – 16 March 2018

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
16 March 2018

Middle East

• On 14 March, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights demanded the release of 11 Palestinian fishermen, including one minor, arrested by Israeli naval forces operating off Gaza’s coast. The organization called on the international community to ensure the protection of civilians in the OPT, in accordance with their obligations under international law.

• On 12 March, Adalah-The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel reported that a new bill passed in the Israeli parliament allowed the Israeli police to withhold the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in Israel and East Jerusalem until families agreed to pre-conditions for funeral arrangements. Further legal analysis was provided by Al-Haq, calling for the law to be repealed.

• On 12 March, the World Bank reported that the long-awaited construction of the new North Gaza Wastewater Treatment Plant is now complete and the facility ready for operation. It will provide a long-term, sustainable wastewater management solution for over 400,000 Gazans.

• From 11 to 15 March, The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) organized a training in Family Law for young lawyers to help strengthen their capacity to defend women’s rights in sharia courts.

• On 8 March, Al-Haq issued an urgent appeal for Israel to suspend and repeal recent legislation allowing for the revocation of permanent residency status from Palestinians in Jerusalem for “breach of allegiance”.

North America

• On 24 March, UNRWA USA is hosting in Brooklyn, New York the 5K UNRWA walk/run fundraiser to help Palestine refugee children and families in the Gaza Strip impacted by psychological trauma.

• On 22 March, the Foundation for Middle East Peace is inviting to a “Conversation with Journalists: Covering the Facts (And the Fiction) of Israel’s West Bank Policies”. The speakers are Jacob Magid from The Times of Israel and Ron Kampeas from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

• From 16 to 22 March, the Socially Relevant Film Fest New York, will include screenings of movies related to the question of Palestine such as “Hotel Everest” on 20 March, directed by Claudia Sobral.

• On 12 March, The Jerusalem Fund hosted author, professor and activist Norman Finkelstein for a talk on his new book “Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom”.

• On 14 March, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) expressed concern that the Knesset vote to strip Palestinians in East Jerusalem of their permanent residency status for “breaching loyalty to the State of Israel” imposed undue restrictions on Palestinians’ political freedoms and threatened to accelerate the displacement of the Palestinian community from Jerusalem.

Latin America

• On 24 March, the Unión General de Estudiantes Palestinos (UGEP) will organize the “Yal’la Kuddam” Congress in Santiago de Chile, mobilizing diaspora youth for Palestinian rights.

• On the occasion of International Women’s Day, on 8 March, students marched in Santiago de Chile, highlighting the role of women in the struggle for indigenous rights, Palestinian self-determination and the environment, the Federación Palestina de Chile reported on 10 March.

Europe

• On 27 March, Amnesty International UK and Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) will host Professor Michael Lynk, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, for a talk on his latest report concerning health under occupation.

United Nations

• On 17 and 18 May, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will convene the two-day United Nations Forum on the Question of Palestine “70 Years after 1948 – Lessons to Achieve a Sustainable Peace” at UN Headquarters in New York. To register for the event, please click here.

• On 20 March, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) will host the side event “Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory: Health, gender and economic impacts of prolonged occupation” at the 37th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

• On 15 March, in Rome, powerful political support was expressed for UNRWA, its mandate and critical services to Palestine refugees at the ministerial conference “Preserving Dignity and Sharing Responsibility: Mobilizing Collection Action for UNRWA”. The conference was co-chaired by Jordan, Sweden and Egypt and attended by more than seventy countries. As part of an international effort to address the Agency’s funding shortfall, additional pledges by numerous donors reached approximately USD 100 million.

• On 26-28 February, a Delegation of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People visited Uganda, The purpose of the visit was to (i) enhance the support by Uganda for the two-State solution to the Question of Palestine; (ii) inform about the conditions of life for the Palestinian people under fifty years of Israeli occupation; (iii) share information about the Committee’s mandate and its programme of work and activities, both at the United Nations headquarters in New York and abroad; and (iv) understand the evolving position of the African countries on the Question of Palestine as well as the regional dynamics in order to promote a united and principled regional position in support of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. The delegation met with the President of the Republic, Mr. Yoweri Museveni; the Prime Minister, Mr. Ruhakana Rugunda, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Henry Oryem Okello; the Speaker of Parliament, Ms. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga; and the Chairperson of the Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rose Mutonyi Masaba. It also organized a public meeting on the Question of Palestine at the United Nations and work of the Committee at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of Makerere University as well as a focus-group meeting with representatives of civil society organisations. The Chair of the Committee hosted a reception for the diplomatic corps in Kampala. Following the Delegation Visit, the Chair issued a Press Statement.