NGOs’ and human rights organizations’ representatives called for issuing a presidential decree to appoint a date for holding the legislative and presidential elections while preparing an atmosphere of integrity and transparency in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.
They also demanded the halting of all violations against their right of forming associations and ensuring the independence of their work; besides, they called for finding international, Arab and local funding sources, to bridge the gaps that the vast and witnessed financial decline created. The representatives also condemned the Israeli inflammatory campaigns against Palestinian civil society organizations.
The participants, during the conference "The conditions of the Palestinian Civil Society in 2019", held by the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) in partnership with Norwegian People's Aid (NPA), under the theme of "Towards more resilient civil society in facing challenges," stressed the importance of strengthening the role of civil society organizations in protecting patriotic identity, citizenship, resilience, and facing occupation and challenges.
Furthermore, they asserted the importance of enhancing the values of integrity, transparency, participation, and social accountability, as well as developing the relationship of NGOs with solidarity movements and with the Palestinian people.
Mr. Amjad Al-Shawa, PNGO Gaza director, said in his welcoming speech that the conference is being held for the sixth time in a row, under challenging conditions in which the Palestinian people experience. These distressing conditions are summarized in the repeated Israeli aggression escalations, the ongoing blockade tightening, and the Israeli occupation's attempt to strike all rights and elements of steadfastness.
Al-Shawa stressed that civil society organizations would continue to defend the rights of the Palestinian people and enhance their steadfastness even when they are passing through the worst stage in their history.
Hala Al-Qishawi, PNGO administrative board member, said in her speech that the civil society situation is witnessing an unprecedented deterioration considering a funding shortfall of more than 60%.
Al-Qishawi viewed several challenges facing civil organizations, foremost of which is the Israeli occupation and the 13-year long blockade, the Israeli inflammatory campaigns, and the decline of funding.
Also, there are the political conditions that some parties are trying to impose without succeeding in doing so, the impact of political disasters in the region, governmental split restrictions, and the painful reality of the private sector.
Moreover, Norwegian People's Aid, Program Director Omar Majdalawi praised in his words the partnership with PNGO and pointed out that the NPA works with nine Palestinian NGO partners, mentioning that since the NPA Office began operating in 1996, tens of thousands of marginalized women, men, youth, and others have been reached out to.
The conference guest, UNRWA's Operations Director in Gaza Matthias Schmale, said, "What is most surprising since he started working in the Gaza strip two years ago, is the strength, flexibility, and resilience of the Palestinian people."
The presence of a vibrant and active civil society in Palestine caused his surprise Schmale added, calling for a partnership between UNRWA and civil society organizations.
He also called for coordinating solidarity messages in favor of UNRWA and non-governmental organizations to raise the voices for the benefit of the Palestinian people, noting the challenges facing UNRWA, especially in terms of funding.
During the first session, which was moderated by the director of the National Society of Rehabilitation, Jamal Al-Razi, three papers were presented, the first of which was by Dr. Talib Awad, elections expert, entitled "Elections and the transfer of power."
Awad called for issuing a decree appointing a date for the legislative and presidential elections, emphasizing the full proportional representation system on a one-circuit basis with a rate of not less than 1.5 percent, and ensuring the participation of Jerusalem.
He also called for developing women's participation in the elections with a representation of no less than 30 percent, reducing the age for elections running to 21 years, and ensuring that young people up to the age of 35 are represented in the lists by a minimum of 25 percent.
Awad urged for the formation of the Elections Cases Court, activation of the voter registration process to increase the percentage of registered voters to 85 percent, development of the participation of political parties and national factions, and work to sign a code of conduct between them and civil society institutions concerned with democracy and elections in Palestine. He also stressed the development of local and international media participation in order to enhance participation in the elections, ensuring media neutrality and respect for the code of conduct by media professionals.
In his paper “Towards Promoting the Values of Citizenship and Protection of National Identity,” PNGO coordinator, Tayseer Muhaisen, pointed out that protecting the national identity requires mobilization, influence, and raising awareness of social issues and challenges, advocating for change, and innovation through knowledge and experience to shape policy and strategy, and promote citizenship, civic engagement, and enhance transparency as well as accountability.
Muheisen stressed the importance of providing services to meet social needs, building capabilities through providing education and training, supporting solidarity and promoting fundamental and global values.
In her paper on "The Role of Alliances and Solidarity," the activist in the health and solidarity work Dr. Mona Al-Farra demanded to keep the flame of global solidarity with the Palestinian people ablaze through activities, most prominently BDS movement ones.
She called for continuing to activate the academic, cultural and political boycott, impose sanctions on Israel, resist, invest in political and legal decisions of recent European parliaments, and their precedents in Latin America.
Additionally, Al-Farra stressed the importance of activating and strengthening the relationship with the solidarity movements, which derives its strength from the strength of the Palestinian civil society, which must always take the lead in its connection, and raise the level of awareness of the Palestinian community in return.
After the end of the second session, time was made for discussion and interventions, during which speakers talked about the importance of the role of civil society and its organizations as a complement to the work of the government.
In the second session, which was moderated by the director of Culture and Free Thought Association, Maryam Zaqout, three papers were presented. The first one was presented by the Administration and Development consultant Basil Nasser, entitled "The internal structures of civil society organizations," in which he emphasized on overcoming weakness by reviewing the structures of civil organizations and working to increase its efficiency and clarity of its goals and areas of work so that there would be a focus on a limited number of organizations related to their field of work and specialization.
Nasser stressed the need to work on reformulating the internal regulations, reviewing and developing the conditions for membership, and ensure the active participation of youth, women, and persons with disabilities, and create a new system in senior management so that the position of general manager does not last for more than ten years.
In his paper, “The Right to Form and Independence of Associations in Palestine,” Bakr Al-Turkmani, ICHR lawyer, affirmed that NGOs and civil institutions face a set of obstacles, which represent a group of violations, some of them originate from law or order which are considered to be the most dangerous.
The most prominent obstacles and violations are the laws, legal regulations, and decisions that limit the freedom and independence of activists and leading figures in civil organizations, Al-Turkmani indicated.
Giving the right to the Minister of Interior to cancel the registration papers of any association or organization by law, he said, does not provide safety for private work. Also, it allows the executive authority to cancel the registration papers of some associations. Al-Turkmani demanded that the cancelation decision is in the hands of the judicial authority.
Closing bank accounts or freezing them until the new boards of directors are approved, and renewing the accreditation of boards previously approved by the ministry, he considered, undermines their right to obtain a bank account in accordance with the law, and harms the work of organizations.
Al-Turkmani criticized the associations' commitment to the unified electronic system, which imposes cumbersome, costly, and unfair procedures that burden societies and cost time, effort, and money.
The third paper entitled, "The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Promoting Community Accountability Mechanisms and Tools," was presented by the Project Manager at the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, Abdel Moneim Al-Tahrawi.
To enhance accountability, Al-Tahrawi called for pressure from NGOs to adopt formal policies towards institutionalizing participation and social responsibility tools, organizing public awareness campaigns and in various ways toward generalizing successful experiences of local communities and taking practical measures that work to implement the useful vision toward enhancing participation.
Allocating a budget for institutions and projects is essential, he stressed, to adopt social initiatives that enhance participation and accountability. Furthermore, it helps in building capacities of institutions working in preparing studies and reports for measuring levels of involvement and their relationship to social responsibility.
Al-Tahrawi pointed out the necessity to integrate social accountability as part of the evaluation of service institutions, and the existence of an annual award for the societies that participate most and contribute to influencing their reality.
After the end of the second session, time was made for discussion and interventions, during which speakers emphasized the elimination of violations of the rights of NGOs, not keeping them under threat, and strengthening societal accountability.
At the end of the conference, Al-Shawa read several vital recommendations related to the elections, preserving the national identity, developing civil work, and searching for permanent sources of funding.