UN rights experts denounce Israel’s growing constraints on human rights defenders
GENEVA (3 March 2017) – Two United Nations Independent Experts are calling on the Israeli Government to fully respect
the fundamental rights and freedoms of human rights defenders and organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Michael
Lynk, and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Michel Forst, say human rights defenders in the region
have been facing escalating restrictions by Israel on their activities.
“We are deeply concerned by the latest constraints on the invaluable work being done by human rights activists –
Palestinian, Israeli and international – who investigate, research, advocate and peacefully mobilize with respect to
human rights concerns in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” they said.
“Israel has an obligation under international law to protect human rights defenders and promote their work,” said the
two Special Rapporteurs. “The activities of such people are crucial to ensuring meaningful protection of those
individuals and communities whose fundamental rights are threatened. However, it appears that Israel’s latest actions
are instead targeting these activists and undermining their efforts to defend others.”
The Special Rapporteurs were concerned about three developments in recent days; firstly, the dispersal of a protest on
24 February by the Israeli military using tear gas, sound bombs and rubber bullets; the peaceful protest, organized
annually by a number of human rights organizations, brings together Palestinians and Israelis. The demonstrators call
for the re-opening of Shuhada Street, the former commercial center of Hebron, which has been closed to Palestinians
since an Israeli settler carried out a shooting at the Ibrahimi Mosque in 1994, killing 29 Palestinian worshippers.
The Rapporteurs also expressed concern about a bill introduced in the Israeli Knesset which, if passed, would require
all Israeli non-governmental organizations receiving more than half of their funding from foreign public sources to pay
fees associated with requests filed under the country’s Freedom of Information Act. The bill, which would primarily
affect human rights organizations, is the latest legislation debated or enacted by the Knesset that specifically targets
Israeli human rights defenders and is designed to obstruct advocacy and activism.
A new law passed in July 2016 requires organizations that receive more than half of their funding from foreign public
sources, a large majority of which are human rights groups, to indicate this on all publications. The Rapporteurs noted
that this has a chilling effect on human rights work and skews public perception of human rights organizations.
Lastly, the Rapporteurs criticized the Israeli Government’s decision to deny a work visa application submitted by one of
the investigators of Human Rights Watch, an organization which has worked in Israel for almost three decades.
“We urge the Israeli Government to fully respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of human rights defenders and
organizations,” the Special Rapporteurs said. “In particular, we call upon the Government to respect and permit peaceful
assembly, to withdraw and rescind all restrictive legislation that targets human rights defenders, and to allow
international rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch to freely operate in Israel and OPT.”
The Special Rapporteurs will continue to monitor the human rights situation in the OPT, and they reiterate their
respective requests to visit at the earliest opportunity.
ENDS