HTML clipboard

Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Call For LAW To Continue its Activities in the field of Human Rights We the undersigned Palestinian organizations express our grave concerns regarding recent developments with the investigations of LAW’s financial affairs and the alleged misconduct of management by LAW. We condemn any misuse of funds or other resources where this has been proven, and we demand that any individual found responsible for such activities be held accountable according to the rule of law, including, where appropriate, criminal proceedings.

We understand that the adminsatration of law is being investigated with serious matters of misallocation of funds. While we highly encourage transparency and believe that the investigation should take its due process, we also believe that committed staff of LAW and the role that the organization undertakes in the field of human rights should not be jeopardized by the actions of person/s responsible for such acts.

We believe that LAW has played a significant and an invaluable role in the protection and promotion of human rights for many years. We express our support for the fundamental principles upon which LAW was founded, and express our great respect for the work of LAW in defending victims of human rights violations. We therefore strongly believe that LAW should be allowed to continue its work to protect its many clients and the larger Palestinian community.

We demand full transparency and accountability amongst the NGO community throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories and we condemn any misuse of NGO resources or finances as entirely contrary to the meaning and spirit of the NGO community in Palestine. The recent reports of misuse of resources at LAW by individuals should serve as a lesson to the wider NGO community to make stringent efforts to ensure that all NGOs adhere to the principles of transparency and accountability.

We strongly believe that LAW should be allowed to evaluate its managerial structures and its decision-making procedures, and should be encouraged to correct itself by taking measures that would regain management credibility of the organization.

We thus call upon the international donor community to continue its support of LAW, as a human rights organisation, and call upon them to take any necessary measures, including, where appropriate, criminal or civil proceedings, to ensure that those individuals responsible for any misuse of funds are held individually accountable. However, we express our concerns that the acts of individuals in one organisation must not be allowed to interfere with the ongoing work of the wider Palestinian NGO and civil society community who continue to conduct their work in accordance with the law, and in full transparency.

• Al Haq

• Al Dameer Association for Human Rights

• The Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizen’s Rights

• Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

Public Document

**************************************

For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 7 2824776 – 2825893

PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. Web:http://www.pchrgaza.org