Human Rights Organizations and Future Challenges

"Human rights organizations are an integral part of society. They may not isolate themselves from society as they face the same destiny that society faces, whatever the reason might be. Interaction between the affecting factors and the affected structures is necessary. Rather it is a prerequisite for defining the causes of problems in order to handle them."

Based on this vision Al- Haq – Law in the Service of Man- produced a paper entitled "Human Rights Organizations and Future Challenges". This paper was meant to function as a conceptual model that regulates the relationship between human rights organizations and society. And it was presented in the First Conference organized by Addameer in Gaza on 22 December 2002 under the title "Challenges Facing Human Rights Organizations."

This vision was clearly reflected in the strong linkage established by Mr. Sha'wan Jabarin, Al-Haq's human rights officer, between the challenges facing human rights organizations and other societal institutions on the one hand and society on the other. The challenges in Jabarin's view are double folded, external and internal.

The External Challenges

1. Globalization

Globalization stands at the top of these challenges as it is the new global system that changed the shape of international relations. As such, many concepts have vanished and new concepts emerged in order for the superpowers to rule. Sovereignty of power is one of these concepts. Under this new system, the gap between the haves and have nots widened and poverty increased as well. States' right to control their natural resources has become limited and other values like the states' right to development has been ignored. Further, the right to "self determination" as a basic human right has fallen upon deaf ears.

The hierarchy in the socioeconomic structures and the balance in the international powers in the past functioned as a safeguard for human rights. The motive could be political or interests. Under this new system human rights violations would increase. Especially vulnerable to it is the Palestinians' human rights. Therefore, Palestinians human rights organizations in general and the Palestinian human rights organizations will encounter serious challenge.

After presenting this pessimistic view of the future of human rights, Jabarin tries to give a more nourishing and promising picture of this future. In this regard he says that the technological and informational revolution has provided an access to everybody to learn about human rights concepts and monitor human rights violations.

2. Linking resistance to terrorism

After the events of the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 the United States succeeded in establishing linkages between legitimate resistance against occupation and terrorism. She has imposed its own definition of "terrorism" and considered the Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation as a form of terrorism. Such a position by the United States was in the interest of Israel and gave her an opportunity to relate the Palestinians legitimate resistance to terrorism also. Therefore, the Palestinian human rights movement has faced a challenge

Since 1937 the United Nations has failed to define terrorism precisely. Under the influence of the United States the UN Security Council was made to adopt the American definition of terrorism. The Council therefore issued resolution # 1373 on fighting of terrorism. A number of resolutions followed this resolution pushing the states on the international level to adopt the American view also. It is worth mentioning that this resolution contains many general statements that may be interpreted differently. As such, some individuals and organizations have become subject to harassment if so require the political considerations of certain state. Liberties have also been affected and security obsession prevailed.

Jabarin concludes this point saying that the efficiency of the Palestinian human rights organizations would be restricted in the event one of the superpowers is not satisfied with their performance. He also refers to the constant efforts by Israel and the United States to shape the principles of the international law so that they serve their interests. Concepts like "self defense" and "preventive action" have replaced concepts like "aggression". Jabarin warns against the prevalence of such understanding and stresses that human rights groups would be in a direct confrontation with an imperialistic plan that aims at controlling the world to impose new concepts that would lead to another legal challenge.

The Internal Challenges

1. The ongoing Israeli occupation

The Israeli ongoing occupation to the Palestinian territory and its crimes and violations committed against Palestinians is the first challenge. This requires the Palestinian human rights organizations to play an efficient role based on the principles of international law to defend the rights of the Palestinians. At the top of these rights stand the right to resist occupation and the right to self determination after the occupation has ended. These organizations must take the initiative to confront the attempts aiming at restricting peoples' right to resist occupation.

2. The Weakness of the Palestinian Authority

As means to compel the Palestinians Authority make basic concessions with respect to Palestinians' rights the Israeli occupation forces targeted the institutions of this Authority. The concessions made by the Palestinians Authority and the agreements signed with Israel are in clear contradiction with the international law and the respective resolutions of the Security Council. This adds to the challenges being faced by the Palestinian human rights organizations as these organizations have to urge the Palestinian Authority to incorporate human rights principles into the accords singed with the State of Israel. Human rights organizations should have given more attention to this aspect. They have also to exert pressure on the Palestinian decision makers to take the principles of international legitimacy and human rights standards into account when any political move is taken in the future. Furthermore, human rights organizations must not accept any pragmatic view on the expense of the Palestinians' legitimate rights.

Another problem that faces the Palestinian human rights organizations is their inability to balance between defending the Palestinian Authority against the Israeli attempts to get rid of it and their role in monitoring human rights violations committed by the Palestinian Authority itself. Added to this is the Palestinians' perception of human rights as an imported and rejected concept. This requires greater efforts to be made in the field of human rights education to make people feel its concrete advantages.

In the end human rights organizations have to avoid the negative competition on funds and strengthen cooperation and coordination among themselves to be prepared to encounter the challenges. They have also to work to increase the number of supporters locally and encourage public voluntary work in the field of human rights rather than restricting it to organizations only. Therefore they area requested to lobby with the political parties and public organizations in order make human rights a social issue that concerns everybody on the level of grassroots. This would lead to a more effective human rights movement. They have also to stand as an example through enhancing democracy and transparency inside them. Additionally, they should develop policies that ensure and respect accountability within the one organization and in the framework on institutional relations. Further, they must emphasize their independence in order not to be up to the donors' plans and programs.

Recommendations

There is no ready solution to deal with these challenges. To overcome these challenges hard work persistence are necessary. However, some recommendations might be of use:

Human rights must be defended based on the international law away from reconciliation of any kind

Human rights organizations must use media effectively to educate the public with respect to their rights

Local human rights organizations must work jointly to strengthen regional and international cooperation

Local human rights must develop a strategic plan to establish an Arab fund