2021-05-09

West Bank and Gaza

West Bank / Announcement / Core Program / position paper

No to Undermining the Basic Law and the System of Rights and Freedoms

The monopoly of power through the hijacking of the legislative and judicial authorities and concentrating them in the hands of the executive authority and the disruption of all aspects and manifestations of democratic governance that derives its legitimacy from the people began to escalate in the year 2021 more than in previous years.

We, the undersigned NGOs and CSOs, after we are fed up with the narrative of procrastination to cancel the Decree-Law No. 7 of 2021, we express our rejection of the continuation of this tampering and monopoly in re-tailoring the legal system according to the size of the government and for the benefit of influential individuals in it, the shrinking of civil work spaces and the confiscation of freedom Opinion, organization, assembly and expression in grave breach of the provisions of the Palestinian Basic Law and a coup against the provisions of the Independence Document, which constitute a social contract between the components of the Palestinian people until the constitution of the State of Palestine is drawn up.

In light of the dangers facing the national issue, and the violations that the city of Jerusalem is facing against the Palestinian people in the holy city, and in light of the threats Palestinian institutions face from the Israeli occupation for their role in defending/advocating the interests of our people and supporting their steadfastness in facing the practices of ethnic cleansing and forced displacement, and adopting projects that support the steadfastness of Palestinian citizens in the face of annexation and despotism plans and the aggression of the occupation authorities. This requires the concerting of all official and civil efforts to support the steadfastness of our people in all places of their presence in the face of the grave threats to which they are exposed daily, including killing, displacement, and arrest, which also requires supporting the work of institutions and expanding the areas of freedom for them and their activities.

The issuance of the Decree-Law No. 7 of 2021 comes to besiege COSs, tighten the screws on their work and undermine their role, preceded by a number of Decree-Laws that limit the independence and freedom of association work and the domination of the executive authority over the judiciary.

In CSOs, having exhausted all means of dialogue with the government over the past four months to retreat the aforementioned Decree-Laws, without receiving a clear response from them, therefore we affirm the following:

1. The formation of a crisis cell from the components of civil society and NGO actors in the face of government and executive authority measures regarding the tightening of the screws on associations, which comes at a time of increasing attack of the Israeli occupation on Palestinian institutions to eliminate their presence and the struggle they represent in the face of the occupation and its violations of the right of the Palestinian people in all fields.
2. Holding an urgent national conference for all CSOs in order to study the next steps to deal with the current government and the executive authority, and to take all appropriate measures in the face of restrictions on associations, including a comprehensive boycotting of the government and the executive authority.
3. Calling on the government and the executive authority to cancel the Decree-Law amending the law of charitable societies and civil organizations (Association Law) and to stop all forms of exclusivity and tampering in the legislative and legal system, and to respect the principles of the Basic Law and the obligations of the government and the executive authority under the accession to international human rights treaties. 
4. We affirm the necessity of effective participation in all activities, including the peaceful gathering that the various national forces called for on Sunday 9/5/2021 in the Ramallah's center at 9:30 pm, in opposition to the violations of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people, especially in the city of Jerusalem, to affirm the necessity of respecting the Palestinian Basic Law, the realization of the right to political participation, and an end to the monopoly of Palestinian national decisions.
5. Work diligently and urgently to escalate the peaceful movement in all its forms in the face of violations of rights and freedoms by the current government and the executive authority, especially with regard to Decree-Laws that affect many rights and freedoms and the principle of the rule of law and the separation of powers.

Accordingly, we sign:

1. PNGO Net,
2. Palestinian NGOs Against Domestic Violence Against Women,
3. Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council,
4. AMAN-Coalition for Integrity and Accountability (Transparency Palestine),
5. Palestinian Performing Arts Network,
6. The Civic Coalition for Reforming and Safeguarding the Judiciary