Update from Al-Haq

Jonathan Kuttab, international human rights lawyer — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 21:45:02 +0000

#JourneyWithJonathan #KuttabInPalestine #Beyond2States #KeepingUpWithKuttab

Update from Al Haq: Today, I visited Al Haq in Ramallah and spoke with its executive director, Sha’wan Jabbarin. (Full disclosure: I was one of the founders of Al Haq and am still a member of its General Assembly.

As you may recall, Al Haq is one of the six human rights organizations recently declared by Israel to be terrorist organizations. This declaration was roundly condemned by many, including FOSNA (see our statement here: https://www.fosna.org/the-fosna-blog/statement).

I informed Sha’wan of steps we are taking to protest this designation and of the ongoing advocacy in the US on behalf of “The Six.” And, I asked him for an update on the situation.

Sha’wan is certain that the loud international outcry is the only reason Israel is slowing down its attack on Al Haq as well as the other fife. He believes that Israel has a list of over one hundred civil society organizations that it plans to eventually ban and declare as terrorist organizations, so long as there is not a determined international protest.

Sha’wan, picture by Jonathan Kuttab

Already some of the six are feeling the heavy hand of the state, with their funding drying out and at least one so far asked by the banks to close its accounts. Sha’wan is taking specific steps to deal with such an eventuality and has declared that he will continue the work of Al Haq, even if not paid, and even if the Israelis raid and close down their premises. Al Haq is in a better position than other organizations because it has a solid international reputation, having won more than 40 international prizes for its work. It has in the past successfully countered Israeli efforts to turn its donors against it and to urge others, particularly European countries, to stop funding them. Nonetheless, there are no guarantees, and Israel’s declaration continues to remain on the books.

Sha’wan asked me to thank all those who have spoken out against this designation and hopes we will keep up the pressure. He would like us to write to our elected representatives and the US State Department to demand that Israel either openly declare what “evidence” it has that a particular organization is involved in terrorism or to provide an open public procedure before “decapitating” an organization without due process by declaring it illegal and a terrorist organization. Sha’wan is convinced that a serious protest or challenge from the US as “a clear friend of Israel” would have great impact on Israel to cease its attack on the six and on other human rights and civil society organizations.

FOSNA has been cooperating with Rebuilding Alliance to meet with 90 elected officials, or their staff, on this issue. I myself have had nine briefings to congressional offices on this issue. FOSNA is also cooperating with PCAP in requesting a meeting with Hady Amer or Secretary Blinken on this issue. Al Haq and other organizations in Palestine are counting on us.

Human Rights as Terror: Authoritarianism as Democracy

Jonathan Kuttab, international human rights lawyer — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 03:16:44 +0000

Webinar

A critical examination of state crackdowns on civil society in Kashmir and Palestine, and the role of the international community in defending against authoritarianism and promoting respect for human rights in those regions. This event was organized in response to the recent escalated crackdowns in the subject regions, the launching of the US-led “Summit for Democracy” (December 9-10) and Human Rights Day (December 10).

With: Carolyn Nash (Asia Advocacy Director, Amnesty International USA), Jonathan Kuttab (Co-Founder, Al-Haq) and Iver Ørstavik (Senior Advisor, Rafto Foundation for Human Rights)

Sponsors: Al-Haq, Kashmir Law and Justice Project, Kashmir Scholars Consultative and Action Network, Stand With Kashmir, Just Peace Advocates.

Article post-webinar

Al-Haq Co-Founder on Israel’s Designation of Group as “Terrorist Organization”

: ELAINE PASQUINI; WAGING PEACE; POSTED ON DECEMBER 23, 2021

Waging Peace

IN OCTOBER, the Israeli government designated six Palestinian human rights groups in the occupied West Bank as “terrorist organizations.”

Jonathan Kuttab, co-founder of Al-Haq, one of the newly outlawed organizations, participated in a Dec. 10 Human Rights Day online discussion sponsored by Al-Haq, the Kashmir Law and Justice Project, the Kashmir Scholars Consultative and Action Network, Stand With Kashmir and Just Peace Advocates.

Kuttab, an international human rights attorney, said Human Rights Day is important because “many people think international law means nothing or it is irrelevant or impotent.” But, he pointed out, “It is what all countries at least verbally commit to and which all countries must be forced to abide by.”

Some governments, including Israel, try to use their power to flaunt international laws by constructing self-serving narratives around issues such as “terrorism,” Kuttab noted. “Those who are in power grant themselves the right to define who is a terrorist and who isn’t,” he said. “But the purported definition has nothing to do with the reality on the ground.” Israel’s laws are not always “in defense of the weak and oppressed, but in defense of the regime, in defense of the oppressors,” he said.

Kuttab pointed to the BDS movement, used by ordinary citizens to put pressure on Israel, as a logical and vital response to the country’s defiant commitment to violating human rights. “This is where the tactics of BDS come in,” he explained. “‘B’ is for boycotting such a country until it respects human rights. ‘D’ is for divesting from a country or a corporation which supports behavior that is oppressive of human rights and violates human rights. ‘S’ is calling for sanctions, which international law does provide for.”

Although some influential countries, especially the U.S., veto United Nations sanction resolutions, “civil society can apply those sanctions through boycotts and divestments,” Kuttab argued. “This is very non-violent, but it is essential and necessary.”

The attorney also warned about the Israeli government using secret evidence and administrative measures. “The term ‘secret evidence’ should shoot up red flags…that somebody is trying…to get away with illegality, sometimes even get away with murder under the guise and cloak of legality,” Kuttab warned. The designation of Al-Haq and five other human rights groups as terrorist organizations is based on “secret evidence which nobody knows,” he noted.

Kuttab pointed out the steep difference between the way Al-Haq and the Israeli government operates. While Israel hides its “evidence,” Al-Haq collects “courtroom-quality evidence to support the statements that we make because we care about truth and we care about facts and we care about being objective in describing the reality on the ground,” he said. “We get evidence and we present this evidence in a transparent manner to the world.”

Kuttab concluded by extoling the vital role civil society plays in holding governments accountable. When governments don’t abide by or enforce international law, “civil society has to step up in a non-violent but public manner to try and bring pressure on those who violate human rights,” he said. “Human rights organizations don’t have guns, tanks, airplanes. They have truth on their side.”

—Elaine Pasquini

Read original.

https://www.wrmea.org/waging-peace/al-haq-co-founder-on-israels-designation-of-group-as-terrorist-organization.html