Declaration against the criminalisation of Palestinian human rights organisations

The Municipal Council for International Cooperation publishes a declaration against Israel’s criminalisation of Palestinian human rights organisations in the occupied territories.

24/11/2021 13:29 h

Ajuntament de Barcelona

The declaration comes in response to the decision adopted by Israel’s Ministry of Defence on 21 October, classing the six main Palestinian human rights NGOs as “terrorists”. The declaration points to the measure by Israel as a de facto threat to the work of theses NGOs, essentially now “illegalised”.

In this respect, the Municipal Council for International Cooperation expresses “total rejection and condemnation of the campaign to defame, criminalise and judicialize Palestinian civil society organisations, and in turn, international cooperation and humanitarian action in occupied Palestinian territory by the occupying power”.

These organisations and others which are also being pursued denounce “the Israeli practices of occupation and apartheid, repeatedly demonstrated in turn by international organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch”.

Cooperation with Palestine

An agreement has been made to set up a working group on cooperation with Palestine, the goal being to analyse the changing situation in the region and provide support for cooperation on the ground. The group will be made up of the organisations and municipal groups on the Municipal Council for International Cooperation and other cooperation organisations providing support for the Palestinian people.

Also worth noting is the commitment to work on guaranteeing the safety of staff with Catalan NGOs operating in occupied Palestinian territories, and to enable them to carry out their work on cooperation and humanitarian action.

 

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