NGO Action News – 6 August 2020

Civil Society and the Question of Palestine

6 August 2020

Middle East

  • On 6 August, Adalah – The Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, in cooperation with The Arab Centre for Alternative Planning, filed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court against Israeli government policy discriminating against Arab communities in the “northern triangle” region in the distribution of housing, construction, and land development benefits.
  • On 6 August, Al-Haq and Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR) announced they are seeking to intervene in the Kattenburg v. Canada (Attorney General) case on the labelling of products from illegal Israeli settlements. The NGOs argue that a Canadian decision-maker, when determining whether product labels on commercial goods can refer to illegal settlements as Israeli territory, must consider international human rights agreements and make a decision that is consistent with Canada’s obligations under international law.
  • On 6 August, the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) issued a statement to condemn the arrest of human rights defender and coordinator of the Palestinian National Committee of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Mahmoud Nawajaa by the Israeli forces. PHROC recalled the decision of the European Court for Human Rights, which considered that the criminal conviction of activists on account of their participation in the BDS campaign violating their right to freedom of expression and called on the international community to take prompt action and to ensure his immediate release.
  • On 5 August, Gisha – Legal Centre for Freedom of Movement informed that the Israeli Jerusalem District Court had ruled in favour of its petition, by ordering Israel to facilitate the return of three Gaza residents, who had been stranded abroad, to the Strip via the Allenby Bridge Crossing, even in the absence of coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Gisha demanded that Israel immediately enable all Gaza residents stranded abroad to return home, as a matter of basic morality and in keeping with Israel’s obligations according to international law and Israeli law.
  • On 3 August, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) issued a press release on its work along with its partners to ensure that restrictions imposed on the United Nations Human Rights Council in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic did not unduly restrict civil society participation and advocacy for Palestinian rights.
  • On 3 August, HaMoked – Centre for the Defence of the Individual informed that Israel’s Appeals Tribunal accepted its petition against the Minister of Interior’s decision to revoke the stay permits granted for four Palestinians as part of family unification processes.

Europe

  • On 6 August, the European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP) addressed an open letter to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs,
    Josep Borrell, and the Head of the EU Delegation to West Bank and Gaza Strip,
    Mr. Tomas Niklasson to demand that the EU acts to secure the release of Palestinian human rights defender and BDS activist Mahmoud Nawajaa. ECCP reminded that the EU stood firm in protecting freedom of expression and freedom of association in line with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, including with regard to BDS actions. ECCP also stated that it was time for concrete measures by the EU, including the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and exclusion from participation in EU Framework Programmes funded by European taxpayers’ money.

North America

  • On 5 August, Americans for Peace Now (APN) addressed a letter to the US House Democratic Caucus urging the principles of diplomacy-first, a US-Israel partnership based on shared security and democratic interests, and the defence of Palestinian rights – including for statehood, as priorities in selecting the new Foreign Affairs Committee Chair.

United Nations

  • On 29 July, the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding  Affairs issued the report “Palestinian and Israeli Civil Society Peacebuilders Continue Dialogue, Despite Official Impasse” on the discussion of Israeli and Palestinian civil society organizations with the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, as the first in a series of workshops and “an important milestone in the process of increasing cooperation and information flow between the UNSCO political team and civil society actors on both sides of the divide as they work to advance the goal of peace.”

 

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.

 

2020-08-06T18:59:16-04:00

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