Joint Report on the Repression of Human Rights Defenders
​in Israel, the Occupied Territories of Palestine and the Golan to UN Special Rapporteurs

On 31 January 2022, several Palestinian and global institutions submitted a joint report on the Repression of Human Rights Defenders in Israel, the Occupied Territories of Palestine and the Golan to the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territory, the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, the Freedom of Opinion and Expression, and Contemporary Forms of Racism.
.........
As outlined in the report, all human rights organizations surveyed reported that recent Israeli laws and policies had undermined their work and half of them rated its negative impact as high. The report summarizes the findings of those interviews and survey responses, revealing that Israel’s laws, policies, practices and the broader imposed political climate have caused human rights defenders to:
  •  Engage in self-censorship to avoid legal repercussions;
  • Defend themselves against harassment and attacks on their reputation by private and parastatal organizations operating with the support of the Israeli government;
  • Witness the erosion of support for their activities from the Israeli public and the international community;
  • Endure restrictions on their movement and;
  • Expend scarce resources and time to justify and defend their activities before donors and others.
In light of the above facts, we recommend that the United Nations Special Procedures, the international community, the Government of the United States, and civil society call on Israel to:
  • Restore and protect the rights of all human rights defenders operating in territories Israel controls, regardless of their viewpoints, as required under Articles 2, 19 and 22 of the ICCPR.
  • Repeal the following laws, and any other laws that violate Articles 2, 19 and 22 of the ICCPR: the Mandatory Disclosure of Foreign Entity Funding Law; the Law for Prevention of Damage to the State of Israel through Boycott; Amendment No. 28 to the Entry to Israel Law; Israel—the Nation-State of the Jewish People Law; Nakba Law; and the Breaking the Silence Law.
  • Cease to enact new laws that violate Articles 2, 19 and 22 of the ICCPR and stifle the voices of human rights defenders.
  • Regulate the activities of pro-government private organizations to ensure they do not infringe on the rights of other groups and individuals.
  • Comply with United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, which requires that Israel withdraw from all territories it occupies. 16
  • Ensure that Israeli courts provide fair trials under the law.
  • Curtail the government’s active attacks on civil society through entities like the Ministry of Strategic Affairs.
All of the entities listed above should continually engage with and listen to civil society challenging the Israeli occupation to understand their ongoing struggles.
​
Read the news release here.

For full report please see here