NGO Statements to the 30th Session of the UNHRC

Table of Contents

Excerpts from NGO statements to the 30th session of the UNHRC

Written Statements

BADIL (on behalf of Adalah, Addameer, and Physicians for Human Rights- Israel)

[BADIL’s funding is entirely non-transparent. Research reveals that BADIL received a core funding grant from the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat (joint funding from Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark and the Netherlands). BADIL has also received funding from DanChurchAid (Denmark) and Trócaire (Ireland).

Adalah’s donors include: Broederlijk Delen (Belgium), Bread for the World-EED (Germany), Switzerland, Oxfam-Novib (Netherlands), Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat, Christian Aid (UK), European Union, UNDP, New Israel Fund, and others.

Addameer’s 2010 annual report (latest available) “acknowledge[s] the support and advocacy” of Christian Aid (UK), ICCO (Netherlands), Ireland, Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat, Paz con Dignidad (Spain), Solidaridad Internacional (Spain), Solidarity for Development and Peace (Sodepaz), The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and others.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I)’s donors include the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat, Diakonia (Sweden), Medico International (Germany), Bread for the World (Germany), European Union, HEKS-EPER (Switzerland), Germany, Norway, Switzerland, UNHCR, New Israel Fund, and others.]

• Israel continues to systematically and arbitrarily use administrative detention against Palestinians based on secret evidence undisclosed to detainees and their attorneys.
• Israel has further legislated the controversial force-feeding bill which allows the force-feeding of Palestinian prisoners and detainees who resort to hunger strike to peacefully protest administrative detention but also other human rights violations they face in Israeli prisons and detention centers.
• We urge the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the respectable Human Rights Council and the distinguished delegates to take all action possible to end the use of administrative detention of Palestinian political prisoners and pressure Israeli authorities to revoke the force-feeding legislation.
• We further renew our call for the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to hold a country visit to the occupied Palestinian territory to better  monitor the poor detention conditions and the flagrant human rights violations that Palestinian detainees face n [sic] Israeli prisons and detention centers.

Joint statement submitted by BADIL and Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (also on behalf of Addameer and Al Mezan)¹

• The more  than  eight-year, ongoing closure  of the Gaza Strip has created a protracted humanitarian crisis resulting in grave and systematic violations of human rights committed against the protected population under occupation.
• The  Israeli  military  directly  targeted,  destroyed  and  damaged  civilian  and  public infrastructure en masse, including medical, sanitation, education, and electricity facilities. There were no safe havens in the entirety of  the Gaza  strip  and  civilians and their proprieties where [sic] directly targeted.
• In this same period, Israel… subjected the population to a campaign of collective punishment and forced displacement.
• Israeli courts have  systemically failed to uphold human rights protection of Palestinians  under occupation in the  Gaza Strip and the West Bank alike. In failing to do so, they have also encouraged a system of impunity that is acquiescing to the lack of political will to ensure accountability and justice. Palestinians continue to be deprived of any effective means to seek remedies for the systematic and widespread violation of their rights. In the absence of any effective deterrence factor, Israel can maintain the prolonged occupation and its associated regime indefinitely, in total disregard of the legal and moral obligations emanating from core international law principles and standards.
• The initiatives currently underway to secure justice and accountability internationally, notably through the preliminary examination that is being  conducted  by  the  International  Criminal  Court (ICC)  are  being  repeatedly  undermined, obstructed, and  delayed. These actions  therefore  require the full support and backing of the Council and the international community in line with UN principles of justice and international law.
• Our organizations call upon the UNHRC to take a firm stance to pressure Israel, the occupying power, to immediately and fully lift the closure  of  the  Gaza  Strip,  and  to  unconditionally  facilitate  and  assist  the  necessary  reconstruction efforts.

BADIL

• These [settler] attacks are the direct and natural result of two strands of Israeli government policy; those of continued implantation of Jewish settlers inside the oPt –in clear and direct contravention of international law -and of almost complete impunity for crimes subsequently committed by those settlers.
• This systematic failure to punish perpetrators of hate crimes offers no deterrent to those planning such acts, and also may be viewed as, at a minimum, tacit acceptance of these crimes by the Israeli establishment.
• Israel’s construction and expansion of settlements is necessarily preceded by unlawful land acquisition and the forcible transfer of Palestinians.
• In addition to creating an intolerable living environment for Palestinian residents of Area C – characterized by a host of severe violations of fundamental human rights – the inherently systematic nature of these plans give rise to credible claims of crimes against humanity.
• Were the Israeli government sincere in its denunciation of settler violence, it would immediately begin to dismantle the systems and structures which make this violence possible. Yet, to the contrary, it continues to pursue settlement construction apace. For as long as this is allowed to continue, so too will the murder of Palestinian civilians.
• BADIL… Calls for member states, UN bodies and regional actors to recognize and condemn the role played by Israel’s twin policies of settlement construction/ expansion and inadequate investigation of settler-perpetrated crimes against Palestinians, in the commission of violent attacks by settlers on Palestinian individuals and communities; Calls for member states, UN bodies and regional actors to highlight Israel’s unlawful application of separate legal systems for Palestinians and Jewish settlers inside the oPt, specifically, how such an application achieves a clear separation of these communities along racial lines.

Khaim Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture

[Does not publish financial reports, reflecting a lack of transparency and accountability. However, according to available information, has received funding from the European Commission.]

• Israeli occupation attempted to decept [sic] the international public opinion, the Israeli and international  rights groups, and medical association, trying to promote force feeding bill as a way to save lives of  hunger striking Palestinian prisoners, showing a humanistic motivation and covering security and political motivations.
• …force feeding bill is a grave violation  to multi-international covenants, human rights principles, and medical ethics standards.

Organization for Defending Victims of Violence

[Does not publish financial reports, reflecting a lack of transparency and accountability].

• It is unfortunate  to say that even after 2009 Goldstone  Report… which concluded that the three principals of jus in bello or the laws in wars (distinction, proportionality and military necessity), were at many times infringed by Israeli military group; we have seen no change in Israelis approach in the time of conflict.
• The same conclusion was reached after the recent 183- page report of the United Nation Human Rights Council on the 50-day Gaza war. The report suggested that Israel’s overall military policy during the conflict may have “violate[d] the laws of war.” In particular, it bemoaned the lack of accountability on the part of Israeli officials conducting the war and expressed dismay that Israel did not alter its strategy  of  airstrikes  even  after  it  became  clear  that  many  civilians were dying.
• Moreover, an organization of Israeli soldiers known as “Breaking the Silence” released a report containing testimonies from  more  than 60 officers  and  soldiers  from  the  Israel  Defense  Forces  who  served  during  the  50-day  war  against Hamas  militants  last  summer in the  Gaza  Strip.  Testimonies  suggested  a  lax  attitude  toward protecting  Palestinian civilian  life  as  well  as  the  admission  that,  in some  instances, Israeli  forces  fired  “purposelessly”  and  used  “ridiculous amounts of fire.”
• Thereby, Organization for Defending Victims of Violence (ODVV) calls on the UN and the international community to take coercive measures in order to stop the heinous acts of Israel in the occupied territory of Palestine. We believe that a violation of one principle will lead to the infringement of another. Thus, taking action is required now.

Oral Statements

Al Haq

[According to its website, “2014’s Partners” include: Bread for the World (Germany), Irish Aid (Ireland), Christian Aid (UK), Norway, Diakonia (Sweden), Belgium, Heinrich Boll Stiftung (Germany), ICCO (Netherlands), AECID (Spain), Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat, UNDP, and Open Society Institute (US).]

• … the unlawful practice of excessive use of force has been institutionalized by Israeli law, permitting Israeli soldiers greater latitude in opening fire against Palestinians.
• The recent attacks and provocations at Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound and tensions in Occupied East Jerusalem are also emblematic of this excessive use of force – particularly in Israeli attacks against women and journalists. The holy site has also been the target of violent Israeli settlers who enjoy impunity granted by the Israeli government.
• … approximately four million Palestinians are prohibited from entering Occupied East Jerusalem due to Israel’s apartheid-like system of checkpoints and the Annexation Wall.
• Al-Haq calls on member states to undertake more systematic reviews of their aid, support and recognition of Israeli unlawful acts including Israel’s legally unfounded need to maintain military control over Palestinian territory resulting in grave violations of international law, including the flagrant denial of the Palestinians right to self-determination.
• A stronger set of restrictive measures needs to be adopted by third party states and actors vis-à-vis Israeli wrongdoing; economic, legal and political demands for compliance including an immediate halt of all settlement activity.
• We again call on the European Union and all member States of the Council to fully and effectively participate in agenda item 7. As long as Israeli officials and citizens continue to enjoy impunity, Israel’s prolonged occupation – and its colonial objectives – will persist unabated opening the floodgates for increased escalation in violence.

BADIL

• BADIL would like to highlight the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Israel denied access to water to the Palestinians living in the OPT through different measures. Israel has extensively and unlawfully appropriated Palestinian water resources in the OPT for the sole benefit of those living in Israel and Israeli settlements. Furthermore, Israel also practiced numerous destruction of Palestinian water infrastructure. As such, Israel is violating article 43, 46 and 53 of the Hague Regulations and articles 49 and 53 of the 4th Geneva Convention.
• The limited access to water increases the dependency of the OPT’s population on Israel. Israel’s recurring denial to provide permits to build water and sanitation infrastructures further this dependency. The consequences of such policies are a limited amount of water per person and a high cost for the supply of water, both in terms of time and financing.
• Furthermore, as the land remains an important source of income for most people in the OPT, limited access to water affects and threaten people’s livelihood. This is a serious violation to the right of development of the population in the OPT. Another outcome of this denied access to water is the forced displacement of Palestinian people from their land.
• We urge the Special Rapporteur, the respectable Human Rights Council and the distinguished delegates to condemn the underlying rot [sic] causes pf these violations, namely the unlawful occupation of the OPT and the unlawful blockade of t [sic].

BADIL

• BADIL on behalf of the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council, condemns in the strongest possible terms Israel’s continued demolition of Palestinian structures inside Area C, and highlights that these demolitions represent material acts upon which a finding of forcible transfer can be based.
• … Accordingly, this process of forcible transferring the resident Palestinian population, followed by the implantation of Israeli settlers, represents a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention under Article 147, as well as constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity under International Criminal Law.
• BADIL and the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council therefore call upon all relevant actors to apply appropriate legal terminology to the present day reality in the oPt; particularly, identifying that Israel’s continued demolition of Palestinian structures in Area C and the resulting forced displacement constitute forcible transfer of Palestinians inside the occupied Palestinian territory.

Defence for Children – Palestine Section

[According to its 2014 annual report, acknowledges the support  and contributions of: Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat, ICCO and Kerk in Actie (Netherlands), Bread for the World (Germany), Broederlijk Delen (Belgium), French Consulate, Swiss Interchurch Aid- HEKS, Stichting Kinderpostzegeks Nederlands (Netherlands), ARCI Cultura e Sviluppo (Italy), Mundubat (Spain), Save the Children International, World Vision, UNDP, UNICEF, The United Methodist Church, The United Church of Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Open Society Institute, and others.]

• … Since 2000, Israeli forces and extremists have killed more than 1,991 Palestinian children, including 551 in 2014 alone. Displacement, access to education and healthcare, and psychological trauma remain significant areas of concern particularly in the wake of Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza.
• In the aftermath of Israel’s summer offensive, 100,000 Palestinians, including many children, remain internally displaced. Most families with destroyed or partially damaged homes have been unable to rebuild their homes because they lack funds and Israel’s siege on Gaza restricts the import of construction materials.
• With massive destruction to civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, many children in Gaza face limits on access to education and healthcare.
• Palestinian children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, continue to endure heightened levels of violence as Israeli soldiers and police increasingly use excessive force to quash protesters. .. The need for justice and accountability is urgent.
• Defence for Children International urges all members of the Human Rights Council: To condemn Israeli forces’ use of excessive force in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, against unarmed Palestinians.

The Palestinian Return Centre

[Does not publish donors or financial information, reflecting a lack of transparency and accountability.]

• The already dire situation concerning Palestinian refugees was further compounded by the bombardment of Gaza last summer which internally displaced 300,000 people.
• The current financial challenges facing UNRWA is because of the lack of a diplomatic solution, not funding, that leaves Palestinian refugees in poor living conditions. This is why that the debate on the right of return is crucial.
• The most appropriate remedy to the Palestinian refugee problem is the implementation of the right of return which should be honoured particularly in of the current suffering of Palestinian refugees, therefore we urge the Council to take immediate action to protect and assist Palestinian refugees who are suffering as a result of the current refugee crisis.
• The resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue is essential to restoring justice to Palestinian refugees and therefore integral to a successful negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

FIDH

[Donors include: European Union, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.]

• … In the context of recurring international crimes committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, ongoing illegal settlements in the West Bank, and deliberate attempts to delay reconstruction in Gaza, the Council showed its determination to hold perpetrators to account and to provide victims with redress. For them, this is truly a ray of hope.
• The hope that is also embodied by Palestine’s acceptance of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the opening of a preliminary examination of the situation by the Office of the ICC, and Palestine’s ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC should be promoted by all states. We reiterate our call upon them to cooperate with the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC and contribute to its preliminary examination  of the situation in Palestine. We also call on states to effectively initiate proceeding against alleged perpetrators on the basis of their extraterritorial jurisdiction.
• We welcome a landmark decision at the ICC, made public on 16 July 2015, requesting the Prosecutor to reconsider opening an investigation into Israel’s 2010 attack on a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza. This decision marks the first time ICC judges have opposed a Prosecutorial decision not to investigate and argues that the attack may have been sufficiently serious to be investigates and tried at the Court. Requesting further analysis of the gravity and impact of Israel’s actions highlights the Court’s system of checks and balances, as well as the different forms of recourse available to victims of international crimes committees in relation to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

World Council of Churches

[Donors include: Norway, Bread for the World (Germany), Christian Aid (UK), DanChurch Aid (Denmark), Finn Church Aid (Finland), Norwegian Church Aid (Norway), ICCO (Netherlands), Kerk in Actie (Netherlands), UNICEF, as well as numerous other churches and church aid organizations.]

• The Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches would like to express its concern about the building of the Israeli wall of separation in the Cremisan valley, near Bethlehem, in occupied Palestine.
• At a time when there is much discussions about the future of Christians in the Middle East region as a whole, it is important to remember the situation of Christians in Palestine, the birthplace of Christianity.
• I’m here to alert the international community to the latest developments in the Cremisan area of Beit Jala, upper Bethlehem, which we consider almost as the last nail in Bethlehem’s coffin.
• We have been praying that the Israeli occupation would not take over this land… [b]ut for over a month, Israeli forces have been uprooting hundreds of olive trees in the area, reducing the Palestinian control on Bethlehem, to merely 13% of the total size of the district. Are you going to allow Bethlehem to die?
• Israel is attempting to change the Palestinian identity of our occupied country. So far, the international community has failed to take any concrete actions to stop this.
• Furthermore, those countries that consider Israel as a “Jewish State”, are complicit in fueling extremism and condemning Palestinian Christians to being out of place in their own country. What we need in our region are democratic states with equal rights for all their citizens and not exclusive Jewish or Muslim states.
• I call upon all of you to take meaningful action in order to stop the Israeli strangulation of Bethlehem.
• We call upon… The Human Rights Council and the international community to take firm steps to make sure the government of Israel and individual perpetrators are held accountable for those violations of international law, including forced displacement of population.

American Association of Jurist

• … In reality, the violation of the right to water and sanitation never goes alone, as a wide range of economic and social rights are usually violated at the same time.
• During the 51-days Gaza bombing by Israel last summer, 11 water wells, two purification plants, and 30 percent of water pipe infrastructure were completely destroyed. The UN agencies working in Gaza have asserted that about 95 per cent of the water in Gaza has been deemed unfit for human consumption.
• Last April, UNICEF office in Jerusalem said that the per capita water consumption in Gaza had fallen to less than half of the 100 liters per day recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Last July, UNRWA declared that more than 70 per cent of households are being supplied with piped water for 6-8 hours only ever 2-4 days. In a report released by UNESCO in 2012, already, the UN system warned that the aquifer could become unusable as early as 2016, with irreversible damage by 2020. We call upon the Special Rapporteur to place this particular situation high in his agenda.

American Association of Jurists

• … the Gaza strip has become the 21st century largest humanitarian disaster where an occupation and colonial regime, modeled after apartheid by Israel, is committing crimes with impunity.
• What the international community and notably, the Western democracies are doing to put an end to impunity and hold the State of Israel accountable? [sic] How can the United States consider increasing their already billionaire military aid to Israel to develop anti-missile systems and tunnel detection technologies?
• What must be addressed is the systematic violations of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, under occupation for 70- years.

International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations (ISMUN)

• … I am extremely alarmed about the provocations caused by the Israeli security forces in East Jerusalem, who are increasingly restricting us from accessing the mosque meanwhile they allow extremist settlers to enter. The erupting violence over the past weeks is a result of this policy and can only end when international law is applied.
• As a Human Rights defender I further urge you to speak out with strength and clarity to finally end and the apartheid policy related to the growing number of illegal settlements. Over the past months settlers have changed the names of our neighborhoods into Hebrew. They have burnt the Dawabsheh family and many other houses with impunity, meanwhile Israeli security forces brutally oppress journalists and human rights defenders and systematically humiliate and kill our people…
• We urgently need an impartial international investigation into her case as well as international protection forces. I also call on this Council not to forget the people in Gaza, who are still waiting for the promise of reconstruction to be fulfilled.
• Finally, I would like to remind this Council that it bears a special responsibility towards the Palestinian people. Over the past years I have been here several times and called on you not to leave us alone in our struggle. Meanwhile our situation is getting worse and worse and a number of countries still remain silent under this item.
• I urge this Council to finally listen to our cries and give more help to end our suffering. I urge all regional and political groups in the Council to actively contribute under the Agenda Item 7.

Joint statement by Union of Arab Jurists and Geneva International Centre for Justice

• This week, the Palestinian flag will be raised at UN headquarters reflecting the support of the majority of member states for Palestine. However, through their non-participation in this debate, a number of those same states fail to acknowledge the real deprivation of the rights of Palestinians, and their solidarity remains symbolic and unconvincing.
• Each day, Palestinians are denied their basic inalienable rights, deprived of housing, food, water, and movement, and increasingly the right to practice their religion.
• Levels of violence and tension at al-Aqsa Mosque are rising as police presence intensifies, checkpoints close and hundreds of Palestinians, some as young as 13 are arrested. Israeli authorities deport Palestinians from the city at will and repeatedly prevent men and women from entering the mosque, forcing them to pray in surrounding streets.
• In Gaza, the suffering is unrelenting. Last year, the Israeli assault on Gaza claimed the lives of over 2000 Palestinians and destroyed over 31,000 homes. Today, Israel worsens the man-made humanitarian crisis in Gaza, inflicting collective punishment and failing to ease restrictions. With access to less than 1% of the materials required to rebuild Gaza – the future is bleak.
• So, as the flag flies this week, Gaza hastens toward the uninhabitable, Israeli settlements continue to be built, and violations against the rights of millions continue to go unpunished. We urge the Council to defend the rights of the Palestinian people in both word and action to finally bring an end to this abuse.

International Lawyers

• We would like to ask the Special Rapporteur to comment on situations that exist in Palestine, where despite being above one of the largest aquifers in the Middle East, Palestinians are forced to buy water from illegal occupying Israeli authorities.

Organization for Defending Victims of Violence

• According to the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza. It is deeply alarming that the international response so clearly falls short of what is needed to end the conflict in Palestine.
• The report suggested that Israel’s overall military policy during the conflict may have “violate[d] the laws of war.” In particular, it bemoaned the lack of accountability on the part of Israeli officials conducting the war and expressed dismay that Israel did not alter its strategy of airstrikes even after it became clear that many civilians were dying.
• It is shameful that even the basic demand for full humanitarian access has not been met. UN resolutions are being ignored and war crimes are being committed on a daily basis.

Global Network for Rights and Development (GRND)

• GRND would like to take this opportunity to denounce the grave situation that citizens of Palestine are going through today.
• The Israeli Defence Forces attack on Gaza in August last year left in its trail widespread destruction.
• … Gaza is already uninhabitable after eight years of economic blockade, three consecutive military operations, an economy in ruins and a stalled reconstruction process resulting from the fear among donors that another conflict will destroy all over again whatever is rebuilt.
• … Gaza’s civilian population is tired of living in a prison without roof, with food insecurity, power shortages, scarce drinking water, lack of medicines, destroyed schools and chronic unemployment, to mention just a few of the pressing problems.
• Mr/Madam President, the Palestinian people are suffering 66 years of exile. How many more years must we wait for the international community to stop looking the other way? How long do the Palestinians have to wait for a life with dignity? We demand immediate action for the reconstruction of Gaza.

Human Rights Now

• … we are deeply concerned about the indiscriminate attacks against the people of Gaza, especially Israel’s attacks that killed 1462 Palestine [sic] civilians, including 551 children. Many of these deaths occurred in a manner which constitutes war crimes.
• The prevailing impunity significantly contributes to a recurrence of human rights violations in Gaza. We call upon the ICC prosecutor to accelerate the preliminary examinations and urge Israeli and Palestinians governments to fully cooperate with the ICC’s criminal investigations.
• Furthermore, Israel targeted critical infrastructure such as medical facilities, schools and electricity delivery, which have severely impacted a wide range of fundamental human rights. At the same time, Israel’s blockade prevents essential construction material from reaching the people in need.
• The blockade constitutes a collective punishment, another war crime committed by Israel under the Forth Geneva Convention.
• We urge Israel to cease all violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and to lift the blockade on Gaza immediately and unconditionally. Also, we call upon the international community to take all effective measures to put an end to impunity over human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory and increase efforts to support the reconstruction of Gaza.
• Moreover, we call upon the UN Human Rights Council to set up effective mechanisms to ensure the implementation of all UN recommendations on the State of Israel in relation to the human rights situation in the occupies Palestine territory.

Peivande Gole Narges Organization

• The conflict in occupied Arab territories looks like an endless struggle which has no regards for civilians specially [sic] children. We are fully aware of the dire humanitarian situation in Palestine, which has even worsened by the latest Israeli military operations.
• Children are the first victims of the occupation. The failure to protect and safeguard their most basic rights, including the right to life and health from the ongoing assaults must be seriously taken into account by the international community in its entirety.
• Our NGO urges the UN to adopt practical measures to make Israel comply with over one hundred UN resolutions adopted against Israel operations and policies in OPT in order to protect children’s and civilians rights.

Side Events

BADIL, together with the Society of St. Yves, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre

[NRC’s donors include: Norway, ECHO (EU), Europe Aid (EU), SIDA (Sweden), DFID (UK), UNHCR, UNICEF, OCHA and others.

Society of St. Yves donors include: Misereor (Germany), Norwegian Refugee Council, Cordaid (Netherlands), and others.]

According to the BADIL website: “[O]n September 28th – and in collaboration with the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Society of St. Yves, and the Norwegian Refugee Council – BADIL held a side event – kindly moderated by Al Haq – which considered displacement and dispossession in the occupied Palestinian territory. BADIL extends its sincere thanks to all who participated and attended, with particular thanks to Selwa Othman who provided an extremely moving account of the issues faced by residents of the Palestinian village of Wadi Fukin in the face of mass land expropriation by Israel and the subsequent growth of illegal settlements.”

BADIL Facebook page:

Palestinian Return Centre – Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Topic: Challenges of UNRWA funding

According to PRC’s Facebook page: “Following obtaining the UN ECOSOC consultative status, the Palestinian Return Centre attend the 30s session of United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. A side event to be held by PRC on the 17th of September.”

According to PRC’s website: “This side event will facilitate discussion on the financial challenges facing UNRWA, the effects of these challenges on UNRWA’s ability to protect and assist the Palestinian refugees. The repercussions on Palestinian refugees and why the right of return remains immensely important as a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem.”

The event was moderated by Guillaume Charron, Monitoring Expert, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). Panelists included: Elena Mancusi-Materi, Senior Liaison Officer at UNRW, Martin Lejeune, Independent Journalist in Germany, and Sameh Habeeb, Head of Media / PR of PRC.

Picture posted on Twitter:

Union of Arab Jurists – Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Topic: Human rights in Palestine

Organization for Defending Victims of Violence – Friday, September 25, 2015

Topic: Human Rights in Israel

Khaim Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture – Friday, September 25, 2015

Topic: Human Rights in Israel

According to its website, “On 20/09/2012 KRC organize also a parallel workshop on the human rights situation in the Middle East and North Africa, speakers at the workshop will be representatives of centers for the rehabilitation of victims of torture and human rights defenders from Palestine, Bahrain, Iraq, Morocco, Kuwait, Tunisia and Sudan. Workshop run by the secretary-general of khiam Center Mohammed Safa and held in Room XXIV of the second to the fourth in the United Nations headquarters.”