Several Palestinian and international women’s organizations and activists

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2020-159-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2020
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 31.898043

Longitude: 35.204269

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Palestine
From Region
Type of record
Unnamed individual/group/organization
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Type of rights defended
  • Women’s rights
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

their support for the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and actual or perceived engagement with CEDAW’s Committee, which reviewed the occupied Palestinian territory in July 2018

Engagement with UN body
  • UN Treaty Bodies: CEDAW
Dates of engagement
July 2018
Type of attempted engagement
  • Submission of information to UN
Dates of mentioned reprisals
15 November 2019; 20 November 2019; 21 December 2019
Location of mentioned reprisals
Hebron
Reprisal information

On 15 November 2019, the non-governmental political and religious movement, Hizb ut Tahrir publicly announced the launch of a campaign against CEDAW in the State of Palestine, noting on its website that “CEDAW is the crime of the century against the Muslim woman.” On 20 November 2019, it publicized the organization of a meeting it was holding for women in Hebron as part of that campaign, one of multiple activities in the West Bank.

Following the November 2019 statement, OHCHR received information that many social media posts were shared, for example on Facebook, criticizing and delegitimizing Palestinian and international women’s organizations. On 21 December 2019, some clan leaders in Hebron, South West Bank, made a public statement against CEDAW in the media, calling for the closure of women’s organizations working on the fulfilment of the treaty’s obligations.

Types of reprisals suffered
  • Defamation / Defamation campaign
  • Online harassment
  • Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
Alleged/likely perpetrators
Non-state actor(s)
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
No
Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
No
How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
4
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
2021
Follow up information provided in SG report 0
  1. It was reported to OHCHR that in June 2020, several Palestinian and international women’s organizations and activists in the occupied Palestinian Territory, including some that had engaged with the Committee in the context of the review, were subject to intimidation and threats for their support for CEDAW. In particular, non-State actors, including individuals and religious and conservative groups, targeted women human rights defenders specifically, including for their online and public activities advocating for adoption of the proposed family protection law in line with the obligations of the State of Palestine under the Convention. Some of those targeted had submitted information about the law to the Committee, which included a recommendation to the State of Palestine to expedite the review and adopt the draft family protection law in their concluding observations (CEDAW/C/PSE/CO/1, para. 15c).
  2. For example, in June 2020, four human rights defenders – a male doctor from the Human Rights and Democracy Media Centre, a female presenter at Ma’an News, a member of Women and Media Development and a member of the Women’s Study Centre – received death threats and threats of sexual violence on social media directed at them and their family members after discussing the draft family protection law as part of Palestine’s implementation of its obligations under CEDAW on a Palestine TV programme on violence against women (A/HRC/46/63, para. 54). Names and further details are withheld due to fear of further reprisals. In June 2020, the human rights defenders filed official complaints with the public prosecutor’s office in the occupied West Bank. Two of them reported that there had been no substantive developments in their cases as of May 2021. In one case, a man was charged with allegedly threatening rape and, in another case, the complainant did not pursue the complaint further.
Followup Trends 0
Deterioration/further reprisals
Date of follow up 0
February 2021
Did the government respond? 0
No
Was this case followed up by a UN body? 0
  • OHCHR: OHCHR - General
  • OHCHR: OHCHR Field office
  • UN (Dep.) High Commissioner on Human Rights
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 1
2022
Follow up information provided in SG report 1
  1. The case of several Palestinian and international women’s organizations and activists was included in the 2020 and 2021 reports of the Secretary General concerning allegations of smearing, intimidation and threats against them for their support for the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and their actual or perceived engagement with the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, including for calling for the expedited review and adoption of the draft Family Protection Law with the Committee. (CEDAW/C/PSE/CO/1, para. 15c).
  2. OHCHR has documented that such acts of intimidation and reprisals by non-state actors, including individuals and religious and conservative groups, continued during the reporting period against one of the women who was threatened in June 2020, and other women human rights defenders. In March 2022, posts on social media on a Facebook page entitled “Mass movement against CEDAW” mentioned that the woman “should be afraid” and reportedly labelled these women human rights defenders as “collaborators with the enemy and feminists that must be stopped.” Names and further details are withheld due to fear of further intimidation and reprisals. On 31 March 2022, the woman human rights defender concerned allegedly submitted a complaint to the Palestinian Attorney General. As of 30 of April 2022, the woman human rights defender had not been informed of any investigative or other steps taken regarding her complaint.
  3. OHCHR continued to receive information that some detainees in the custody of Palestinian authorities who had been interviewed by OHCHR staff subsequently faced threats and ill-treatment or torture. In the West Bank, several detainees refused to speak to human rights professionals stating they feared reprisals. In Gaza, arrested individuals alleged ill-treatment or torture further to cooperation with the United Nations. Following a visit by OHCHR one detainee later reported that he had been questioned by detention officers about his communication with OHCHR and subjected to repeated stress positions while handcuffed and blindfolded, as well as beatings on his feet with batons. OHCHR has raised these concerns with the relevant authorities. Names and further details are withheld due to fear of further reprisals.
Followup Trends 1
Deterioration/further reprisals
Did the government respond? 1
No
Was this case followed up by a UN body? 1
  • OHCHR: OHCHR - General
  • OHCHR: OHCHR Field office
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 2
2023
Follow up information provided in SG report 2
  1. The case of several Palestinian and international women’s organizations and human rights defenders has been included in the reports of the Secretary General since 2020186 concerning allegations of online smearing, intimidation and threats against them for their support for the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and for their actual or perceived engagement with the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/PSE/CO/1, para. 15c).
  2. During the reporting period, the so-called “Mass Movement against CEDAW” group regularly posted pictures with intimidating messages and vilifying statements about women human rights defenders and activists, publicly naming them, in connection to their support to women and gender-based violence survivors, as well as for their engagement with United Nations human rights mechanisms and participation in United Nations events. Specifically, in November 2022, this campaign reportedly intensified, following the participation of Palestinian women’s organizations and women human rights defenders in the CEDAW presessional working group held in October 2022, and their engagement in the international 16 Days of Activism campaign against gender-based violence of November–December 2022.
  3. In Gaza, OHCHR documented hate speech against women human rights defenders Ms. Zainab al Ghonaimi, director of the Center for Women’s Legal Research and Consultation (CWLRC) and Hayat Women’s Shelter, and Ms. Amal Syam, director of Women’s Affairs Centre (WAC). In early September 2022, an online smear campaign wasreportedly launched against Ms. Zainab al Ghonaimi. She was accused of “kidnapping”, being “anti-Islam” and there were explicit calls to kill her. On 26 December 2022, an influential sheikh from southern Gaza published messages on social media threatening “CEDAW women”. He allegedly posted a photo of Ms. al Ghonaimi with a red circle over her head, accusing her of being “the head of CEDAW women” and of “damaging family integrity by benefiting from the colonizing power”.
  4. In September 2022, Ms. Amal Syam was explicitly named in a new wave of reported online attacks. On behalf of her organization, she filed a complaint against one of the perpetrators, including for defamation and insult, death threats and misuse of technology. While she was summoned by the Attorney General’s office for additional information, at the end of April 2023, she had not been informed of any investigative or other steps taken regarding her complaint. Threats and stigmatizing posts against her and WAC from the perpetrator Ms. Syam had filed a complaint against reportedly continued during the following months. The Facebook page Mass Movement against CEDAW, with over 33,000 followers, was taken down by the platform in early 2023. As of mid-April 2023, the movement continues to operate through its back-up Facebook account as well as on two other social networks. Across the three current social media platforms, the movement has a combined following of over 8,100 users.
  5. During the reporting period, OHCHR documented the case of a detainee in the custody of Palestinian authorities in the West Bank. The detainee concerned allegedly faced torture and ill-treatment after having shared information with OHCHR about his treatment in detention, in the context of the interviews carried out by OHCHR staff during a visit made by the Office to the detention facility. Names and details of those concerned have been withheld due to fear of further reprisals.
Followup Trends 2
Deterioration/further reprisals
Did the government respond? 2
No
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 3
2024
Follow up information provided in SG report 3
  1. The case of several Palestinian and international women’s organizations and human rights defenders has been included in the reports of the Secretary General since 2020 concerning allegations of online smearing, intimidation and threats, including death threats against them for their support for the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and for their actual or perceived engagement with the UnitedNations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/PSE/CO/1, para. 15c),
  2. During the reporting period, the Facebook page entitled “Mass Movement against CEDAW” issued statements and made posts on social media seeking to stigmatise women’s rights organisations, particularly those cooperating with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the CEDAW Committee. Some of these posts called for these organizations to be treated as “criminal traitors” for receiving foreign funding and alleged that receipt of the funding required condemning Palestinian resistance.
  3. According to information received by OHCHR, on 30 August 2023 the Palestinian Scholars Association in partnership with the de facto Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, the Islamic Sharia College and the Sharia and Law College at the Islamic University, the Council of Islamic Judiciary, and the Liberation Party, organized a conference in Gaza entitled “International schemes to demolish the Muslim family – CEDAW as a model.” Following the conference, the organizers published a list of 28 recommendations, including a call to relevant domestic authorities to refrain from granting new licenses to women’s associations that they allege bear a secular character and promote principles that allegedly contradict Islamic law, such as CEDAW. The conference organizers also called for a complete boycott of feminist organizations, associations, and CEDAW advocates that promote conventions and treaties that, in their view, violate Islam, calling on all institutions, official and unofficial, not to accept invitations from or to host said organizations, nor to meet them in the context of public or private programs, activities, trainings, or workshops.
  4. There are concerns that these recommendations may impact the ability and willingness of women human rights defenders to engage with the United Nations in the field of women’s rights, including on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, and that they aim to punish women’s rights organizations for their work on women’s rights, including in cooperation with the United Nations.
Followup Trends 3
Deterioration/further reprisals
Did the government respond? 3
No