NGO Action News – 7 December 2015 – 13 January 2016

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
15 January 2016

Americas

• The Palestine Centre of the Jerusalem Fund held a book talk on “Uncivil Rites: Palestine and the Limits of Academic Freedom” with Dr. Steven Salaita, Author and Professor, at the Palestine Centre in Washington D.C. on 8 January. The video of the event is available here.

Europe

• Doctors Without Borders is organising an exhibition ‘In Between Wars’ dedicated to the daily life in the State of Palestine at the Maison des Metallos cultural centre in Paris until 17 January.

• Le Comité pour une paix juste au Proche Orient based in Luxemburg published an agenda of events for January.

• To commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Israeli “Operation Cast Lead” in Gaza, and to highlight Israeli’s illegal siege of Gaza, the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) organised a New Year’s Eve vigil for the people of Gaza.

• Several dozen prominent legal experts have written to the EU and its Member States urging them to comply with their fundamental legal obligations resulting from the duty of non-recognition and non-assistance to Israeli settlements and their economic activity and therefore to impose an import ban on settlement products. These legal experts warn that the -policy of labelling is a wholly inadequate measure as it fails to recognise the obligations of third states under international law.

Middle East

• On 22 December 2015, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights raised concern over the two death sentences issued in Gaza in one week and over continuing application of the death penalty.

• The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights published its weekly report on Israeli violations of human rights (10-16 December 2015).

• On Human Rights Day, Adalah –The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel published a summary of 10 discriminatory decisions made by the Israeli Supreme Court this year, on petitions filed by Adalah and other partner organizations.

• On Human Rights Day, Addameer released a statement recalling that in 2015 Israeli occupation continued to carry out mass arrests of Palestinians and subject them to abuse. 118 Palestinians including 25 children had been killed by IDF in the past two months, Addameer said.

• On 9 December, the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights published a statement condemning “in the strongest terms the Israeli trial of Khalidah Jarrar, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and one of the most prominent defenders of human rights and political prisoners. PCHR calls upon the international community and organizations to pressure the Israeli authorities to immediately release Khalidah Jarrar and allow her to perform her parliamentary and political duties.

• In light of the mass detention of Palestinians taking place and the significant arrest campaign which began in October 2015, Addameer published on 20 December 2015 a special edition monthly newsletter, covering the events of November 2015. Collective punishment of Palestinians continues, with mass arrests taking place, and ill treatment in the hands of prison guards within the prisons’ walls, Addameer wrote. Additionally, the practice of administrative detention of Palestinians without charge or trial continues to escalate.

• The Applied Research Institute Jerusalem published a video on the cost of the Israeli occupation on the Palestinian Economy 2015.

United Nations

• On 4 January, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, Makarim Wibisono resigned. He “expressed deep regret that, throughout his mandate, Israel failed to grant him access to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” The Independent expert will present his last report to the 31st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in March 2016.

• On 31 December, OCHA OPT published its bimonthly report on protection of civilians, highlighting that between 14 Palestinians, including two children and one woman (15, 17, and 40 years old), and two Israeli men were killed in the context of 11 Palestinian attacks and alleged attacks, including seven stabbings or attempted stabbings, and five ramming incidents.

• Preliminary analysis of data collected by OCHA indicates that 170 Palestinians and 26 Israelis were killed during 2015 (as of 28 December) in attacks and clashes in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel, according to a press release published by OCHA.

• UNRWA published the 2015 Gaza Situation Report saying that “the year 2015 remained overshadowed by the aftermath of the devastating 2014 conflict, an initially slow reconstruction process and the related ongoing displacement crisis.”

• On 16 December, the Security Council held a meeting on the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question. Record of the meeting can be found here.

• On 14-15 December 2015, the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation organised an International Conference on Jerusalem in Jakarta. It was followed by a UN Civil Society Forum on the Question of Palestine on 16 December, with the participation of Palestinian, Indonesian international and regional civil society organizations. Additional information can be found here.

• On 9 December 2015, the General Assembly adopted 8 resolutions on Israeli-Palestinian issues, on:
  • Assistance to Palestine refugees
  • Persons displaced as a result of the 1967 hostilities
  • Operations of UNRWA
  • Palestine refugees’ properties 
  • Applicability of the 4th Geneva Convention 
  • Israeli settlements 
  • Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people
  • Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices