NGO Action News – 25 April 2024

Middle East

• On 25 April, 7amleh published the report “Position Paper on YouTube’s Impact on Palestinian Digital Rights during the War on Gaza”. The paper addressed YouTube’s policies and discriminatory practices, its compliance with international law, adherence to human rights due diligence, and its impact on Palestinian digital rights following the attacks of
  7 October 2023.
• On 25 April, the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights issued a press release on the lack of accountability for the killing of Palestinian journalists by Israeli security forces, marking the sixth anniversary of the killing of Ahmed Abu Hussein. Al Mezan claimed that the journalist was killed by Israeli security forces, and informed having forwarded documentation and investigative materials to the Israeli military authorities, along with numerous reminders regarding the case that was nonetheless closed without charges in 2020.
• On 22 April, Addameer informed that the total number of arrests in the occupied West Bank, including East-Jerusalem, since 7 October 2023 exceeded 8,425. Approximately 540 of these were children; 66 journalists have also been arrested during this period. Addameer further claims that these numbers do not include any figures regarding the number of arrests in Gaza, as the Israeli authorities do not disclose them.
• On 22 April, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) issued a press release to condemn the death of 14 Palestinians, including 3 children, during an Israeli military operation in Tulkarm on 18 and 19 April. PCHR also published an update on the Israeli military offensive in Gaza.
• On 16 April, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies published an article on the end of the 55th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, titled “Between Palestine and Ukraine: Double-standards and silence in the face of atrocities are eroding the UN rights system”.
• In April 2024, B’Tselem published the position paper “Manufacturing Famine: Israel is Committing the War Crime of Starvation in the Gaza Strip”. The NGO stated that, based on various reports from international bodies about the situation in Gaza and on testimonies gathered by its field researchers, the organization concluded that Israel has for months been committing the crime of starvation under international law.

Asia and Europe

• On 25 April, Association belgo-palestinienne published a memorandum (in French) detailing concrete actions to support the Palestinian people and to address the lack of accountability for the crimes committed by Israeli forces.
• On 24 April, following the discovery of mass graves containing hundreds of bodies at two of Gaza’s hospitals, Amnesty International published statements of its Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas, in which she called for the immediate access for human rights investigators, including forensic experts, to the Gaza Strip to ensure that evidence is preserved.
• On 22 April, the Palestinian Return Centre called on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to immediately issue arrest warrants for the commission of war crimes within the Israeli government and military, to stop Israel’s imminent military operation in Rafah.

North America

• On 25 April, Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) organized the webinar “Dead, Disabled, Displaced, Detained, Orphaned: The Toll of Israel’s War on Palestinian Children”. The event featured Miranda Cleland form Defense for Children International-Palestine and Hamdi Shaqqura from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, in conversation with
  2023 FMEP Fellow Dr. Yara Asi.

United Nations

• On 22 and 23 April, a delegation of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) visited Trinidad and Tobago, where they had a meeting with the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and CARICOM to advocate for Palestinian rights and urged the Government to consider recognizing the State of Palestine. The delegation then continued to Guyana, where they were received by the President and also met with CARICOM representatives. Around the time of the visit, Barbados and Jamaica announced their recognition of the State of Palestine.
• On 25 April, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued the press release “Testimonies from the Occupied Palestinian Territory show new depths of Israel’s atrocities”. The document includes statements made by UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Francesca Albanese, who declared that the situation in Gaza was worse than previously assessed, with serious and multi-layered long-term implications.
• On 24 April, the Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Ms. Sigrid Kaag, made remarks at the Security Council, in which she stated that a paradigm shift was needed to continue to meet the immense needs of the civilian population in a safe and secure manner. She also stressed that UNRWA was pivotal in providing life-saving humanitarian aid and essential social services, particularly in health and education, to Palestine refugees. She added that, as such, UNRWA was irreplaceable and indispensable as a humanitarian lifeline and must be allowed to deliver on its mandate.
• On 18 April, the Security Council declined Palestine’s bid to become a full member of the United Nations. The proposal, submitted by Algeria, received 12 votes in favour, with the United States casting a veto, and Switzerland and the United Kingdom abstaining.
• On 17 April, OCHA published the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) Flash Appeal, calling for US$ 2.822 billion for UN Agencies, INGO, and NGO partners to address the most urgent needs of more than three million people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, covering a 9-month period from April through December 2024. The Flash Appeal outlines the estimated resource requirements to reduce human suffering and prevent further loss of life in Gaza and the West Bank based on the best available information at this time. This request represents only part of the US$ 4.089 billion that the UN and partners estimates is required to meet the needs of the 3.3 million people in need.