NGOs capitalize on ideological and political antagonism within the UN to bring their anti-Israel campaigns to the international stage. The devastating impact of NGOs is compounded by the institutional bias of UN bodies, such as the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on Palestinian issues, and biased “fact-finding” missions.
On July 22, 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed the members of a “Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel." The chosen panel members’ have conflicts of interest and prejudicial backgrounds, including long histories of anti-Israel activism and highly inflammatory rhetoric.
In March 2022, the Human Rights Council will appoint a new Special Rapporteur on the “situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967.” In keeping with past practices, at least five of the six candidates have records of anti-Israel partisanship, and do not appear to fulfill the requirements of impartiality and objectivity as required by HRC resolution 5/1.
On December 16, 2021, the UN OCHA-oPt released its Humanitarian Response Plan exploiting the humanitarian label to advance legal attacks against Israel (“lawfare”) and to channel funds to NGOs with links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group.
On May 27, 2021, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) convened a special session on Israel to discuss “violations” allegedly committed by Israel since April 13, 2021 relating to Sheikh Jarrah, Gaza, Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque, and mixed Israeli cities.
The Israel, West Bank, and Gaza branch of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA-oPt) executes the UN’s regional humanitarian response plan, facilitating and providing donations to dozens of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). As opposed to other OCHA branches around the world, OCHA-oPt prioritizes one-sided political advocacy in place of traditional humanitarian assistance.
Save the Children and Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict again published reports as part of the ongoing political campaigns to demonize Israel and have Israel included on a UN blacklist of “grave” violators of children’s rights. In the process, neither NGO applies the accepted UN definitions of what constitutes such violations, and the reports reflect major methodological shortcomings.
According to the report the “response plan” from UN-OCHA includes projects with terror-linked NGOs, as well as for non-emergency advocacy.
On January 28-29, 2020, for the first time, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) undertook a review of the “State of Palestine.” The Concluding Observations highlight a number of such significant failures by the Palestinians to adhere to the Convention and the overall politicization of the CRC.
HRW has played a central role in lobbying UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet and providing information to her office for use in compiling the list.
Since 2016, NGOs, including a number of groups with ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), have been actively lobbying the UN by signing multiple letters and statements calling for the database to be implemented without further delay.
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