2021-07-27

West Bank

West Bank / Core Program / position paper

Let The Decision of The Council of Ministers Denying Public Servants the Right to Express Their Opinion Be Retracted

MUSAWA - The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession expresses its astonishment and strong dissatisfaction with Council of Ministers’ Decision No. 3 of 2021 to cancel Article 22 of the Code of Conduct and Ethics for Public Service approved by Council of Ministers’ Decision No. 4 of 2020 and published in Issue 176 of the Palestinian Gazette on 25- 2-2021. The aforementioned Council of Ministers’ decision has been published today 27-7-2021 in issue 181 of the Palestinian Gazette, to be taking retroactively from the date of its issuance on 25-7-2021.

The text of Article 22, which was canceled by a decision of the Council of Ministers, which was contained in the Code of Conduct under the title Expression of Opinion states:

 “1. The employee has the right to express their opinion and publish it verbally, in writing or by any other means of expression, subject to the legislation in force.

2. When expressing an opinion, commenting or posting on social media, the employee must make it clear that it represents their personal opinion only and does not reflect the opinion of the government agency in which he works.

We, MUSAWA - The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, see in this Council of Ministers’ decision published today a waste of a constitutional right guaranteed by Article 19 of the Basic Law, which clearly states that “there is no prejudice to freedom of opinion, and every person has the right to express their opinion and publish it verbally, in writing, or by any other means of expression or art while taking into account the provisions of the law.” We also see it as a violation of the provisions of Article 26 of the Basic Law, which clearly states: “The Palestinians have the right to participate in political life, both individuals and groups....” It is a right for a Palestinian, wherever he/she is, to enjoy equal rights with citizens on the homeland without discrimination, not to mention that it is a flagrant violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the State of Palestine is bound and bound by its provisions, especially what is stated in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas by any media and regardless of frontiers.” Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, and this right includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, whether in written or printed form, in the form of art, or by any other means or method he chooses.”

The decision of the Council of Ministers to abolish Article 22 of the aforementioned code of conduct would turn the employees into mere silent workers, deprived of any right to express their opinion, as this deprivation undermines their human dignity and their right to think, express, participate and criticize. This decision also provides a suitable environment for tampering with the employees’ rights and their job and psychological stability, and opens the door to restrictions on their occupational performance in a way that reaches the point of dismissing them from their jobs by claiming that they have violated or deviated from the code of conduct, especially since the code itself states in Article 23 thereof that the employee’s violation of the provisions this Code entails disciplinary accountability, in accordance with the Civil Service Law, or penally in accordance with the legislation in force.

We, as we see the violation of the employee’s basic constitutional right as a citizen, which the Basic Law considers binding and worthy of respect, as explicitly stipulated in the first paragraph of Article 10 thereof, see in this a grave violation of human rights that may reach the point of considering it a crime requiring accountability and compensation pursuant to the provisions of Article 32 of the Basic Law. We also see that our society and our national future refuse to deal with citizens as abstract tools, which requires the Council of Ministers to cancel its decision that contradicts the constitution and international covenants and treaties, because its continued enforcement would harm the State of Palestine locally and internationally.

Issued on: 27-07-2021

MUSAWA