[Opinion] UN Committee Against Torture review: NGOs' influential role
Anne Herzberg argues that proper due diligence regarding submissions by highly politicized NGOs to the United Nations Committee Against Torture review of Israel is essential.
Publications: | Reports, Books, Academic Publications, Submissions, Resource Pages |
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Other Content Types: | Press Releases, In The Media, Presentations, Posts, , Key Issues |
NGOs: | Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I) |
Start date: | 1 Jan 1988 |
End date: | 18 Mar 2018 |
Anne Herzberg argues that proper due diligence regarding submissions by highly politicized NGOs to the United Nations Committee Against Torture review of Israel is essential.
During the 30th session of the UN Human Rights Council, a number of highly biased and politicized NGOs, which receive extensive funding from foreign governments, made false, distorted and unsubstantiated allegations, contributing to the international demonization of Israel.
In response to the recent wave of terror, government officials, repeating claims made by highly politicized NGOs, have accused Israel of using "excessive force" when responding to attacks against Israeli civilians, criminalizing Israels right to defend itself.
NGOs with stated human rights agendas, who are generally extremely vocal regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, have avoided condemning the recent terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens, instead focusing only on the Israeli response to such attacks.
Gerald Steinberg claims that a number of highly biased and politicized Israeli and Palestinian NGOs, funded by foreign governments, played a central role in advocating on behalf of Mohammed Allen, a long-time operative in Islamic Jihad.
As in previous years, NGO Monitor has analyzed the 2014 financial reports of the New Israel Fund, detailing grants provided to a wide variety of Israeli NGOs active in political campaigns against Israel, including BDS, lawfare and demonization.
The 2014 Annual Report of the IHL Secretariat brings to light the fundamental problems with its funding mechanism, including support for political warfare against Israel and very limited focus on alleged violations by Palestinians.
Yona Schiffmiller maintains that the fact that the UN Commission of Inquiry found Physicians for Human Rights- Israel (PHR-I) to be a reliable source speaks volumes about the abject failure of that body to accurately report on the 2014 Gaza conflict.
The report of the Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza War extensively quotes biased and unreliable political advocacy NGOs, many of which receive funding from the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat, a joint funding mechanism of Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.