NGO Action News – 7 March 2024

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• On 7 March, Addameer- Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association issued a press release on the occasion of International Women’s Day, calling 2024 the deadliest year for Palestinian women throughout the years of occupation, in light of the ongoing aggression against the people of Gaza. The Palestinian Prisoner organisations highlighted in a report the main issues reflected in the post-7 October period during the wide-scale arrest campaigns by the Israeli forces, among them the targeting of women through massive arrest campaigns and using them as hostages; sexual assaults and violence, including against female prisoners; and harsh detention conditions.
• On 7 March, Physicians for Human Rights issued a statement, “This Women’s Day is Marked by the Unfathomable Current Reality”, lamenting that the occasion arrives against the backdrop of the tragic circumstances in Gaza. Over the past five months, tens of thousands of Gazans have faced the devastating consequences of Israel’s relentless military offensive, resulting in widespread harm and casualties, with women and children disproportionately affected.
• On 5 March, BADIL Resource Centre delivered an oral statement under Item 3 of the Human Rights Council regular session 55 within the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing. The statement highlighted that the deliberate destruction of Palestinian villages, towns and cities, during the 1948 Nakba and the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip, fit the Special Rapporteur’s elaboration of the concept of “domicide”, which the Rapporteur considers to be a unique international crime.
• On 5 March, B’Tselem issued a report about Israel’s restriction of movements in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, disrupting the lives of 2 million Palestinians. Reportedly, Israel has tightened the restrictions with its network of checkpoints to block access from dozens of villages to main roads and revoked all permits for Palestinians to enter Israel for work or other reasons.
• On 5 March, Al-Haq reported on a lawsuit filed by a group of Canadian and Palestinian applicants in the Federal Court against the Canadian government to stop arms exports to Israel. The applicants are seeking a court order that the Government of Canada cease issuing export permits for all military goods and technology destined for Israel, and that the issuing of these permits be declared unlawful under Canadian and international law.

• On 4 March, members of the Palestine’s Children Council in the Gaza Strip, supervised by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), along with their counterparts in the West Bank, met with Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967. The Rapporteur expressed her full solidarity with the children of Gaza as the whole world calls for a ceasefire and for ending the war.

• On 3 March, Al-Haq reported on a joint oral intervention under Item 2 of the Human Rights Council (HRC), during the interactive dialogue on the report of the High Commissioner on the “human rights situation in the OPT, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice.” The statement called on States to uphold their legal obligations to prevent and end Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, including by urgently enacting a ceasefire, imposing arms embargoes and implementing diplomatic and economic sanctions on Israel.

• On 1 March, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Al Mezan and Al-Haq issued a joint statement to condemn in the strongest terms the “flour massacre” committed by the Israeli forces against thousands of Palestinians seeking aid to feed their starving families in the northern Gaza Strip, which according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health resulted in killing of at least 112 Palestinians and the wounding of 760 others.

• On 29 February, Al Mezan called on the Human Rights Council to recognize the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and to employ all tools and powers available to its mandate to ensure the international community’s compliance with its legal and moral obligations under the Genocide Convention. Additionally, the NGO expressed deep concerns regarding the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ omission of the term “genocide” in its annual report, despite the International Court of Justice having established that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza.

• On 29 February, Yesh Din denounced the Israeli forces’ deadly use of “Ruger-type” weapons against Palestinians in the West Bank. The NGO called on the Israeli security establishment to immediately stop using live fire during demonstrations and attempts to cross the fence. It further stated that “Israel’s obfuscation for the distinction between warfare and criminal incidents, and correspondingly, between civilians and combatants, defies the law and inevitably leads to the killing of innocents.”

Asia and Europe

• On 3 March, Palestinian Return Centre addressed the Human Rights Council over Israel’s violations of international law. It delivered an oral statement as part of Item 2 of the HRC regular session in Geneva, in which it raised an alarm over Israel’s consistent and deliberate violations of international law for over 75 years, and especially the last 140 days, and called on members of the Council to condemn Israel’s consistent disregard and violations of international law.

• On 1 March, Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR) issued a statement denouncing the killing of more than 110 starving Palestinian civilians on 29 February while seeking food for their survival. LPHR called on the UK government to “do better than stubbornly maintaining its convoluted phrasing around seeking an immediate pause, rather than an immediate ceasefire.” It called for the UK to act in full adherence with its legal obligation to ensure respect for international humanitarian law.

North America

• On 5 March, The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development issued a Ramadan appeal “to save Gaza from starvation,” amplifying its efforts to support the crucial work or organisations like UNRWA, the Middle East Children’s Alliance and other vital partners on the ground and to provide immediate relief to those enduring the harsh realities of starvation in the Gaza Strip.

• On 29 February, Americans for Peace Now warned against an Israeli invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza as it will exacerbate the ongoing humanitarian crisis, raising concerns about potential civilian casualties and the ability of humanitarian organisations to deliver aid under desperate conditions. Rafah has served as the least dangerous place of refuge in Gaza for the over one million displaced Palestinians seeking a modicum of safety. 

• On 29 February, J Street issued a press release to express its horror over reports that dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed and wounded as they desperately tried to reach food supplies from a humanitarian convoy. The NGO called on the US administration to reject the Israeli government’s continued obstruction of humanitarian aid and to continue to press for success in the negotiations to urgently bring at least a temporary halt to the fighting.

United Nations

• On 3 and 4 April in Geneva, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) will hold a conference of civil society organizations working on the question of Palestine titled “Building bridges with international civil society to address the ongoing Nakba.” Further details of the conference as well as information on how to register are available here.

• On 11 March from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (New York time), the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will hold its 416th meeting. in Trusteeship Council Chamber. The Agenda includes the election of Vice-Chairs of the Committee and a briefing by Mr. Paul Reichler, a renowned legal expert, on the request for an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, currently underway at The Hague. The meeting will be livestreamed on UN WebTV.

• On 13 March, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (New York time) the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) will hold a virtual event titled “War on Gaza: Impact on Palestinian Women and Children” on the margin of the annual meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68). Speakers include senior representatives from Palestine, UNRWA, UNFPA and an American-Palestinian physician from Gaza. The event will be mainstreamed live on UN WebTV. Audience can send their questions to dpr-meeting@un.org.

• On 7 March, UN human rights experts urged the international community to increase pressure on the parties to the conflict to end grave crimes and fully comply with international law, including the immediate, unconditional and safe release of all hostages and the full implementation of the provisional measures ordered by the ICJ on 26 January. They urged States to use all available legal means under international law, including the jurisdiction of national courts over international crimes, to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, reported since 7 October.

• On 4 March, UNRWA Commissioner-General Lazzarini delivered a statement to the UN General Assembly, calling for urgent action to facilitate a political solution that will bring peace to Palestinians and Israelis and allow the Agency to transition. In the meantime, the financial crisis confronting UNRWA must be resolved so it can continue its lifesaving operations. He asked that Member States commit to facilitating a long-overdue political process culminating in a solution that can bring peace to Palestinians and Israelis, to ensure that the Agency receives the support it needs to operate and to seek alternatives to fulfil its mandate in a way that does not compromise Palestine refugees’ rights to self-determination.