NGO Action News – 06 June 2024

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This newsletter informs about recent and upcoming activities of Civil Society Organizations working on the question of Palestine. 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. Translations of the NGO Action News in other languages will be available in due course.

You may find previous issues of the NGO Action News in Spanish here.

You may find issues of the NGO Action News in French here.

You may find issues of the NGO Action News in Arabic here.

United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

NGO Action News

06 June 2024

Middle East

• On 4 June, Al Shabaka published the article “The Enduring and Racist Trope of Palestinian Rejectionism”. The NGO argues that Palestinian resistance has been portrayed as irrational and at odds with progress and modernity. The article further details how this trope has been weaponized to deny Palestinians their fundamental rights and their collective aspirations for sovereignty.
• On 31 May, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights published a report highlighting the increased risk of death faced by women with cancer in Gaza. The NGO informed that Israeli measures impeded women with cancer from enjoying their health rights through several facets, including deliberately targeting the Gaza health system, forcing hospitals in Gaza to cease operations, and hindering patients’ travel for treatment abroad.
• On 30 May, 7amleh published an article informing that human rights groups have demanded that the social media company Meta ends its censorship of and discrimination against Palestinian users. Rights groups have documented a significant rise in Meta’s censorship of content advocating for Palestinian rights over the past seven months, and failed to adequately remove hate speech and content targeting Palestinians across all its platforms.

Asia and Europe

• On 2 June, Law for Palestine published highlights of its webinar “ICC Role in Addressing Gaza Genocide and the Consequences of Arrest Warrants”. The event aimed to underscore the Court’s crucial role in upholding international justice in Palestine amid external pressures, to advocate for prioritizing investigations into Gaza crimes, and to discuss the issuance of arrest warrants by the ICC.
• On 31 May, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) published an update on the situation in Gaza. The NGO highlighted the difficulties to provide much needed humanitarian assistance to the population, adding that the humanitarian situation in Rafah was on the verge of collapse. Around half of Gaza’s population had been displaced in May following Israel’s expansion of operations in Rafah and calls for people residing in certain areas to evacuate. Agence Média Palestine published an article on the same issue.
• On 29 May, the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) published a press release condemning the recent bombardment, allegedly conducted by Israeli forces, of a tent camp in Rafah, previously designated by Israel as a safe zone for displaced civilians, which resulted in the tragic loss of 50 innocent lives. Many of the victims were women and children. The NGO called for an immediate and impartial investigation into the incident to ensure justice for the victims and to prevent such events from recurring. In relation to this tragic event, Diakonia published a report on the legality of Israel’s continued military offensive in Rafah and of the attack on the tent camp in light of the ICJ’s order on provisional measures and international humanitarian law.

North America

• On 4 June, Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) published “The Gaza Catastrophe: 2024 Congressional Briefing Series”, an educational program conducted annually by the Middle East Institute’s Palestinian Affairs Program and FMEP to brief members of Congress and their staff on the most pressing issues facing Israel and Palestine.
• On 30 May, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published an article stressing the urgent need to bolster medical assistance inside Gaza, and for more countries to agree to evacuate patients to hospitals in their own countries. The NGO stated that one of the most meaningful ways to mitigate avoidable deaths in Gaza would be to offer medical care to Palestinians, ensuring their family members can accompany and stay abroad with them and that none are forcibly returned to Gaza to face the risk of further harm.

United Nations

• On 3 June, several UN experts, including Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, called on all States to follow the example of 146 United Nations Member States and recognise the State
  of Palestine as well as to use all political and diplomatic resources at their disposal to bring about an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The experts welcomed the latest recognitions of Palestine by several European countries, after the General Assembly had on 10 May overwhelmingly voted – with 143 votes in favour to 9 votes against – to back Palestine’s bid to become a full member of the United Nations.
• On 31 May, OCHA published a reported impact snapshot for the Gaza Strip. According to its sources, since the beginning of hostilities 1.7 million persons have been internally displaced in the enclave, with over 36,000 reported fatalities and 82,000 injuries.
• On 30 May, WFP called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the protection of humanitarian spaces. The organisation informed that more aid had to enter through the south of Gaza as people needed dietary diversity, access to healthcare, and water, and added that the situation required a full multi-sector and strategically balanced response from all partners, as humanitarian organizations need full, safe and unhindered access to reach all civilians in need across Gaza.