Ref: 47/2020
Date: 03 December 2020
On Thursday, 03 December 2020, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) held an online panel discussion on: “The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and state of emergency on the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of opinion and expression,” via Zoom. The panel discussion was attended by 17 CSO representatives and journalists from the Gaza Strip.
The panel discussion was the 2nd of its kind within a series of online meetings held by PCHR to discuss the current situation and the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on all aspects of life. The purpose of these discussions is to open a channel for communication among CSOs, and allow for a meaningful exchange of experiences and lessons learned; and to enhance joint understanding and cooperation to confront policies and practices that contradict with human rights, especially those that undermine civil society’s role in promoting rights and freedoms.
The panel discussion aimed to stimulate discussion on the extent to which measures taken by the authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are compatible with human rights during the state of emergency imposed due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic since last March, including the right to access to information, the right to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly; as well as the impact of emergency conditions on the freedom of press work.
Hamdi Shaqqura, PCHR’s Deputy Director for Program Affairs, opened the discussion as he stressed that the status of the right to peaceful assembly and the right to freedom of opinion in the oPt was very poor even before the outbreak of Covid-19; the evidence for this is application of the Press and Publication Law, the Public Meetings Law, cybercrime law that restricts the right to opinion, expression, and peaceful assembly, as well as the absence of a law that guarantees the right of access to information.
Shaqqura pointed out that restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and opinion and the right to peaceful assembly in the light of the declared state of emergency should be within the stated purpose of combating the pandemic and maintaining public health without exploiting this status to impose additional restrictions. Shaqqura added that standards relevant to the right to peaceful assembly should be unified without any discrimination and the state of emergency should not be used to restrict this right. For example, if gatherings are permitted in halls or funeral processions, peaceful assemblies ought to be allowed, taking into consideration the health protocols and social distancing. Also, if peaceful assemblies organized against the Israeli occupation are allowed; then, other peaceful assemblies should be allowed as well.
For his part, Zakaria al-Talmas, a journalistic writer, pointed out that the freedom of expression is related to the culture in general, as the oppressive regimes repress the freedom of opinion and expression. Al-Talmas considered that preserving freedom of opinion and expression would be possible if the officials were convinced of its importance. He also stressed that Covid-19 implications exceed the Gaza Strip’s capabilities, so combined efforts must be exerted to confront it.
Mohsen Abu Ramadan, Director of Dr. Haider Abdel Shafi’s Center for Culture and Development, emphasized that totalitarian states take advantage of these conditions to restrict public space and freedoms, including the freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly. The most prominent example is what happened in Iraq, where the authorities used the pandemic to thwart peaceful protesters’ demands.
Bilal Jadallah, Director of the Press House, said that the Gaza Strip in particular suffers from the impacts of the division and Israeli-imposed closure ongoing for 14 years, and with the pandemic the situation got worse. He added that Covid-19 has a great impact on the media, as in many countries media workers have been laid off as well as in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Jadallah pointed out that freedoms are no longer on the authorities’ priorities, as focus was primarily on citizens’ economic and health needs. Jadallah calls for exerting combined efforts by the government, CSOs and private sector to encounter this great challenge and to end this crisis.
Rami al-Sharafi, Head of the Democratic Press Association, confirmed that there have been violations against journalists in the West bank and the Gaza Strip and there was a lack of valid information form official authorities in light of the absence of a law that ensures the right to access information.
Mona Khader, Gaza Coordinator at Filastiniyat organization, pointed out that the focus should be on the effect of Covid-19 crisis on media and freedom of access to information. She stressed that official authorities should provide transparent information in the proper time with no discrimination in access to information. She also emphasized that absence of information would allow rumors to appear. Khader also highlighted that the Covid-19 pandemic affected a number of journalists in the Gaza strip and the West Bank as many of them were arbitrarily dismissed of their work.
Dr. Yasser Abu Jamei, Director General of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, called for the civil society organizations to have an effective role in combating Covid-19 pandemic as official authorities should not invoke policies exclusively. He added that: “as civil society organizations, we look forward to be part of the Higher Committee to combat the coronavirus crisis and to have consensus on decisions. Official authorities should not restrict its response to the coronavirus crisis solely to economic considerations.”
Nadia Abu Nahla, Director of the Women’s Affairs Center, affirmed: “that decisions taken by the government in the state of emergency excluded the civil society organizations and our calls went unheard.” Abu Nahla stressed that it is necessary to hear all voices, especially by authorities responsible for civilians’ needs.” She added that media organizations did not have active or effective role as they only report official news to the public and they remain distant from the voice of the public and their burdens. Abu Nahla called upon media organization to monitor the government’s performance.
Alaa Skafi Acting General Director of Addameer Association, highlighted that the authorities established new bodies without a legal basis, such as the Public Prosecution – Coronavirus Services, and the Ministry of National Economy plays the role of an executive authority launching arrest campaigns against citizens and attacking private properties, in order to collect fines. Skafi emphasized that civil society organizations should exert efforts to abolish resolutions that disturb human rights principles.
Sherine Khalifa, a journalist for Nawa Media, said there have been harassments on the freedom of press work in addition to imposed restrictions on female journalists’ work regarding quarantine at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis last March and official authorities bullied them. Khalifa also said that quarantine measures did not take into consideration women’s privacy, despite the proclaimed preparedness before the outbreak of the pandemic. Khalifa emphasized that absence of accurate information by official authorities led to conflicted news and bred rumors.
Mr. Younis al-Tahrawi, Head of the Legal Unit at the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, confirmed that the Palestinian political division is the basis to legislative and political problems facing Palestinians, which affected government practices. Subsequently, allowing for violations of public freedoms. Tahrawi also said it is unacceptable that authorities exploit the state of emergency to undermine the freedom of opinion and expression and called for documenting the cases of violations against the freedom of opinion and expression. Tahrawi also recommended exerting efforts to end these breaches so that attacks on the rule law do not continue under the pretext of crisis management and emergency.
The panel discussion concluded with the following recommendations:
