International Advocacy 2010
UN Advocacy | EU Advocacy | Inter-Parliamentary Union
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights released its List of Issues on Israel in December 2010. Of the 39 issues raised by the Committee, approximately half relate to the rights of the Arab citizens of Israel - relying in large part on Adalah's NGO report submitted in October 2010.
Press Release (10 January 2011): UN Committee Poses Tough Questions to Israel on: Rights of Arab Bedouin in the Naqab, Iqrit and Bir'im, the JNF and the Use of Military Service to Exclude Arab Citizens from Employment
Press Release (28 October 2010): Adalah submits NGO Report to UN on Israel's lack of implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; UN Committee to hold preliminary review of Israel in November 2010
Press Release (8 November 2010) Adalah requests urgent action from the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing to address housing challenges of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel
In July 2010, the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) issued its Concluding Observations on Israel, which raised and adopted a large number of issues and arguments brought before the HRC in Adalah's NGO Reports (submitted in June 2010 with PHR-I and Al-Mezan, and in August 2009) on Israel's violations of the civil and political rights of the Arab minority in Israel and on the subject of torture and ill-treatment of Palestinians in the OPT.
Press Release (4 August 2010): UN Human Rights Committee urges Israel to ensure detainees immediate access to counsel, repeal Unlawful Combatants Law, reinstate family visits to Gaza prisoners, lift blockade on Gaza, launch independent investigations into Operation Cast Lead, end assassinations and cease collective home demolitions
Press Release (4 August 2010): UN Human Rights Committee Urges Israel to Revoke Ban on Family Unification Law; Ensure Access to non-Jewish Holy Sites; Make Public Administration Fully Accessible in Arabic; Guarantee Cultural Contact for the Arab Minority; Respect Bedouin Rights to Ancestral Land and Basic Services in the Unrecognized Villages
Press Release (28 June 2010): Adalah Submits Report to UN Human Rights Committee on Arab Citizens of Israel
Press Release (28 June 2010): UN Human Rights Committee to Review Israel on 13-14 July in Geneva; Joint Report by Adalah, Al Mezan and PHR-Israel to UN on Torture, Prisoners, the Lack of Investigations into Cast Lead and the Siege on Gaza including the Denial of Health Rights
Adalah submitted information to the UN Human Rights Council-mandated Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in September 2010 on the illegality of the blockade on Gaza, the treatment of the GFF detainees, and the arrests of Arab citizens of Israel on the flotilla (see Adalah's Special Report: Gaza Freedom Flotilla). The FFM released its conclusions in September 2010 and included information that Adalah provided.
Adalah submitted briefing papers and testimonies in January and July 2010 to the UN and to the Independent Legal Expert Group (ILEG), which was established by the UN to assess the status of domestic investigations in following-up on the recommendations made in the Goldstone Mission's Report. On Adalah's request, the OSI Justice Initiative prepared a memorandum in August 2010 for the ILEG, which analyzes the Israeli military's investigation system into alleged violations of the laws of war, and provides a comparative review of the legal standards in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
While the conclusions of the ILEG report are in general weaker than expected, there are strong findings regarding the dual-role and partiality of the Military Advocate General and the lack of investigations into the actions of senior commanders. ILEG Report - 2011
Adalah conducted most of its EU Advocacy initiatives in conjunction with the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN). Adalah is active in EMHRN's Working Group on Palestine/Israel and the Working Group on Women's Rights and Gender.
Adalah sent key concerns regarding the rights of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel to the EU towards the drafting of its annual European Neighbourhood (ENP) Progress Report. Adalah also submitted an additional list of key concens with PHR-I and Al-Mezan regarding Israel and Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT): Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment in December 2010.
Adalah also raised concerns in a letter sent in August 2010 to EU High Representative Ashton in view of the upcoming meeting of the EU-Israel Informal Human Rights Working Group.
In June 2010, Adalah submitted a briefing paper entitled "Restrictions on human rights organizations and the legitimate activities of Arab political leaders in Israel" to the EU Parliament's Sub-Committee on Human Rights in advance of its hearing on "The Situation of NGOs and civil society in Israel." This paper was widely distributed and was used extensively as a reference.
Press Release (26 May 2010) - Adalah briefed a joint delegation of 15 members of the European Parliament from the foreign affairs, development and budgets committees, together with chairs of the Working Group on the Middle East and the Inter-Parliamentary Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council at a meeting held in East Jerusalem in May 2010. Adalah discussed the recent attacks against human rights NGOs and the deterioration in the human rights situation of Arab citizens in the state.
In April 2010, Adalah submitted a briefing note on Palestinian prisoners' rights to the EU Parliament's Sub-Committee on Human Rights in advance of its meeting in May 2010 on the question of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Adalah, together with the EMHRN, B'Tselem and Al Haq undertook an EU advocacy mission in February 2010 to discuss the status of the Palestinians' and Israel's domestic investigations into Operation Cast Lead. As a result of the visit, a resolution was passed in the EU Parliament requiring EU Representative Ashton to present an assessment report on the status of domestic investigations.
EU Parliament Resolution (10 March 2010): Implementation of Goldstone recommendations on Israel/Palestine
Ha'aretz (10 March 2010): European Parliament endorses Goldstone Gaza Report
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Advocacy
In 2010, Adalah worked closely with the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a multilateral organization that brings together 155 national parliaments, including Israel's Knesset and the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Adalah raised three cases with the IPU on behalf of Arab political leaders in Israel, MK Mohammed Barakeh and MK Haneen Zoabi, and the members of the PLC, whose Jerusalem residency status was revoked by the Israeli Interior Ministry for "breach of loyalty to the state". As a result, the cases were taken up by the IPU, and the IPU issued strong statements of support.
