Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories - Getting the Dutch Government and European Union to Provide More Support and Protection to Human Rights Defenders

A section of the wall, still under construction, at Qalandiya, between Ramallah and Jerusalem in the West Bank. This wall will divide East Jerusalem from Ramallah, although both lie in the Occupied PalestinianTerritories. At this location, a “terminal” is being constructed that will strictly regulate the passage of people and vehicles. Photo credit: Chris Collier, April 2006

Since 2006, I have been a researcher and lobbyist in the area of human rights defenders in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) for the Dutch organizations ICCO, Oxfam Novib and Cordaid. The main components of this work are:

Researching and documenting violations of the rights of human rights defenders.
Lobbying the Dutch Government and European Union (EU) to take action on violations against human rights defenders, in close collaboration with local partners. This includes trying to influence Dutch bilateral policy and practice, as well as the political dialogue between the EU and Israel.
Raising the awareness of local partner organizations of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and promoting their contact with EU diplomatic missions.

During 2006 and the early part of 2007, the project focused on lobbying in relation to three human rights defenders in administrative detention in Israel. Under this practice, the detainees are held without charge or trial, and their detention can be extended indefinitely on the basis of "secret evidence" that neither they nor even their lawyers have access to. The objective of the lobbying was to ensure that the detainees were either charged and given a fair and open trial or released. The project probably contributed to the release of all three human rights defenders by May 2007, including by persuading the EU to raise the cases in its "political dialogue" with the Israeli Government.

During 2007, the work focused mainly on the issue of freedom of movement of human rights defenders. Again, I lobbied the EU successfully. On 22 October 2007, during the EU-Israel Sub-Committee on Political Dialogue meeting, it raised the cases of five human rights defenders, mainly from Gaza, facing restrictions on their freedom of movement. During 2008, activities will focus on monitoring and documenting violations of the rights of HRDs including restrictions on freedom of movement, administrative detention, and attacks by Israeli settlers in occupied territory. Through correspondence and meetings with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague, EU institutions (European Commission, EU Presidency) in Brussels, and EU missions in Tel Aviv and Ramallah, the project will continue to lobby the Dutch Government and European Union to take action to implement the EU Guidelines on HRDs in Israel and the OPT, thereby supporting and protecting the work of local HRDs. Two trips to the region, one in March and one in October, are planned.

Ramallah, May 2007: At a meeting I organized, Ziyad Hmeidan (centre), fieldworker of Al Haq, discusses his experience of administrative detention with diplomats shortly after his release.

Ramallah, May 2007: From left to right: Laurens den Dulk, Cordaid; Ziyad Hmeidan; myself; Sahar Francis, Ziyad's lawyer and Director of the Prisoners Support Association ADDAMEER; Hamdi Shaqqura, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Gaza.

Links:

Press release on Ziyad Hmeidan

Al-Haq Fieldworker Released from Administrative Detention

Alternative Information Center - "Your Solidarity Helped Me Through the Tough Times"