Appeal to UN experts: Protect human rights in the Golan

Statement

9 September 2019

The Arab Human Rights Centre in Golan Heights, Al-Marsad(opens in new window) , in coalition with 15 other organisations, including human rights groups, an academic institution, and a trade union, has submitted an emergency appeal to various United Nations experts demanding they intervene immediately to protect international human rights principles in the occupied Syrian Golan.

The appeal follows the filing of a legal complaint by Energix Renewable Energies Ltd.(opens in new window) (“Energix”) against Al-Marsad. This lawsuit marks the first time an Israeli entity has sought to suppress the speech and actions of a human rights organisation under Israel’s anti-boycott law, setting an extraordinarily dangerous precedent. It follows a series(opens in new window) of Israeli government actions calculated to limit human rights defenders’ ability to operate in areas under its control.