UN experts condemn Israel’s designation of Palestine rights defenders as terrorist organisations 

In a joint statement, the experts called the decision “a frontal onslaught connected the Palestinian human rights movement, and connected quality rights everywhere.” 

“Silencing their voices is not what a ideology adhering to well-accepted quality rights and humanitarian standards would do”, they add. 

Calling upon the planetary assemblage to act, they argue that anti-terrorism authorities must never be utilized to unjustifiably undermine civilian liberties.  

According to them, the UN Security Council, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council person all “been clear” about this issue.   

“The misuse of counter-terrorism measures successful this mode by the authorities of Israel undermines the information of all,” the group of 17 experts said. 

Civil society 

The six Palestinian organizations being redesignated are Addameer, Al-Haq, Defense for Children International – Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, the Bisan Center for Research and Development, and the Union of Palestinian Women Committees. 

Among those groups they work with are women and girls, children, peasant families, prisoners and civilian nine activists, each of whom look accrued levels of favoritism and adjacent violence, the experts said. 

According to the UN experts, “these organisations talk the connection of cosmopolitan quality rights.” 

“They usage a rights-based attack to their work, including a gendered analysis, to papers quality rights abuses of each kinds successful Palestine, including business-related quality rights abuses”, they said.   

Practical ban

The redesignation as violent organisations, successful effect, bans the enactment of these quality rights defenders, and allows the Israeli subject to apprehension their staff, shutter their offices, confiscate assets and prohibit their activities. 

In at least one case, according to the experts, the decision whitethorn person been taken arsenic a signifier of reprisal for practice with UN entities. 

“The Israeli subject has often targeted quality rights defenders successful caller years, arsenic its concern has deepened, its defiance of planetary instrumentality has continued and its grounds of quality rights violations has worsened,” the experts say. 

They enactment that most international and Israeli quality rights organisations face challenges, but also argue that Palestinian human rights defenders “have ever encountered the severest constraints.” 

Finally, the experts telephone upon the planetary assemblage to usage its afloat scope of tools to petition that Israel reverses this decision. 

“These civilian nine organisations are the canaries successful the quality rights coalmine, alerting america to the patterns of violations, reminding the planetary assemblage of its obligations to guarantee accountability, and providing voices for those who person none,” they conclude. 

Special rapporteurs and different autarkic UN rights experts are appointed by the Human Rights Council. They are neither paid for their work, nor UN staff, and are autarkic of immoderate authorities oregon organisation, and service successful their idiosyncratic capacity. 

West Bank settlements 

On Sunday, Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said that helium was deeply concerned by the continued Israeli colony enlargement successful the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. 

His statement follows the announcement by the Israeli authorities of tenders for the operation of much than 1,300 lodging units successful the occupied West Bank.  

Mr. Wennesland reiterated that each settlements are amerciable nether planetary law, stay a important obstacle to peace, and indispensable cease immediately.