Adalah signs joint letter on closing of civil society space in Israel, effect on women human rights defenders

23/07/2017

Women human rights activists have testified to being verbally, sexually, and physically harassed by Israeli soldiers and police during protests, arrests or investigations, as well as being subjected to humiliating treatment based on gender, sexuality and appearance.

On 29 June 2017, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel joined four fellow human rights organizations co-signing a letter calling on the United Nations and the international community to act to protect women human rights activists in Israel.

[CLICK HERE to see the full letter in PDF format]

Adalah, together with Human Rights Defenders Fund, Al Tufula Pedagogical & Multipurpose Women's Center, Coalition of Women for Peace, and The Association: Women Against Violence are committed to democratic values and the maintenance of an empowered civil society that ensures human dignity, freedom of speech and equality to all. We also recognize that these principles, in turn, are essential to the goals of international peace, security, cooperation and stability.

Yet in Israel today, human rights organizations (HROs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) face growing limitations on their freedom of association and expression, and funding. Human rights defenders – men and women alike – work within an increasingly hostile environment in which their work is routinely de-legitimized by the Israeli government, right-wing organizations, and the Israeli public.

The damage to Human Rights Defenders involves different elements that are influenced, among other things, by gender distinctions.

The reality in which Women Human Rights Defenders operate and the ways in which the system works to hurt them are unique, and gender and gender structures are used many times to pressure women specifically. Incrimination, arrests, investigations, incarceration, legal proceedings and trials create a complex reality that is different for women to cope with. Many women human rights activists have testified to being verbally, sexually and/or physically harassed by soldiers/police during protests, arrests or investigations, as well as being subjected to humiliating treatment based on gender, sexuality and appearance.

These trends represent a threat not only to the activities and influence of HROs and CSOs in Israel, but also to their very existence. In line with commitments made in the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, as well as other UN declarations and EU instruments, the undersigned organizations call on the United Nations and the international community to:

Monitor the implementation of Israeli legislation (e.g., the “NGO Transparency Law”; the “Anti-Terror Law”, “Expulsion of Members of Knesset Law”, among others) and their effect on HRDs and WHRDs, and take a strong, public position against proposed bills that violate the rights of freedom of expression, opinion, assembly and association.
Urge the Israeli government to repeal all laws/articles that violate these rights, and to cease the further introduction and enactment of legislation aimed at limiting the space of civil society.
Urge Israeli government officials to actively combat incitement against the work of HRDs and refrain from issuing or supporting threats and/or attacks against HRDs, including WHRDs. Condemn all threats and attacks, including “smear campaigns” by non-state actors, against HRDs and WHRDs, through public statements and demarches, and call for the prompt and thorough investigation of all such cases backed by criminal charges, where appropriate.
Call on the Israeli government to fully honor and implement the rights and obligations contained in the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (1998). Ensure that Israeli and Palestinian Human Rights Defenders are able to carry out their legitimate work in a secure and free environment.
Call on the Israeli government to cooperate with all UN bodies that are committed to human rights protection, including the Special Rapporteurs appointed by the UN. Extend an open invitation to the special procedures of the Human Rights Council and allow them to visit the country.
Urge Israel to fulfill its commitments, step up its implementation, and withdraw its reservations to the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women ahead of the 2017 UN CEDAW review of Israel.
Ensure that funding remains available and is even increased for women’s rights and human rights organizations in Israel, especially those groups fighting against discrimination against Palestinian citizens of Israel (women and men) and the Occupation. Both long-term core support and emergency assistance is needed as these groups and activists increasingly face de-legitimization campaigns, security risks and other obstacles in conducting their human rights work.

SIGNING ORGANIZATIONS: