The Durban Strategy, NGOs and Human Rights

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The Durban Strategy, NGOs and Human Rights Gerald
Steinberg Conference on Ethical Norms in a
Political World NGOs, Human Rights NGO
Monitor www.ngo-monitor.org
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THE POLITICAL POWER OF NGOs
www.ngo-monitor.org

• Non-Governmental Organizations are powerful
  political actors

• NGOs define human rights, war crimes,
  violations of international law, etc.

• NGOs are not subject to accountability or
  checks and balances

• NGOs have no systematic basis for determining
  the boundary between legitimate criticism and
  demonization

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www.ngo-monitor.org
NGO SUPERPOWERS Annual budgets
Human Rights Watch                             
56 million  Amnesty International (23.7
million)  43 million   Christian Aid   
(58.5 million)  90 million Oxfam  
368 million  MSF/ Doctors Without (366
million) 468 million Borders
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NGO POWER ON DISPLAY DURBAN SEPTEMBER 2001
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DURBAN CONFERENCE NGO DECLARATION

• We declare Israel as a racist, apartheid state
  in which Israels brand of apartheid as a crime
  against humanity
• we declare and call for an immediate end to
  the Israeli systematic perpetration of racist
  crimes including war crimes, acts of genocide and
  ethnic cleansing
• "Call upon the international community to
  impose a policy of complete and total isolation
  of Israel as an apartheid state"

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NGOs
Durban
Media
Jenin
UNHCR
UN and Diplomats
UNGA and ICJ
Boycott and Divestment
Academia
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NGOs and the Jenin Massacre Myths April 2002

• Derrick Pounder (Amnesty) on the BBC the
  signs pointed to a massacre
• Roth (HRW) and Kahn (Amnesty) spoke about
  Israeli war crimes, erasing the context of
  terror
• Christian Aid film Peace under Siege dedicated
  to Palestinian victims of Jenin

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NGOs, ACADEMIC BOYCOTTS AND DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGNS

• SABEEL Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, in
  cooperation with Jeff Halper (ICAHD)
• Mennonite Central Committee (CIDA)
• al Mezan (SDC, Sweden, Netherlands Representative
  Office,)
• Miftah (European governments)

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RESEARCHING NGO AGENDAS HRW IN THE MIDDLE EAST
2004
Data based on the number and relative weight of
documents produced in 2004, compared to other
countries in the Middle East, and excluding
Iraq-related documents, of which actually
pertained to US policy.
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www.ngo-monitor.org
CAPITAL RESEARCH CENTER STUDY OF AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL

• AI has adopted double standards on human
  rightsand propaganda against America and
  Israel. 
• http//www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pubs.asp?ID5
  11

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HRWs use of Durban Rhetoric- 2005.

• In HRW Middle East publications, Israel was the
  only country charged with "collective punishment"
  and "war crimes".
• Israel charged with "grave" and /or "serious"
  human rights "violations" and/or "abuses" 32
  times Egypt 22 all other countries fewer than
  10.

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WHO SETS THE AGENDA? REPORTS ON ISRAEL/PA AND
SUDAN SEPTEMBER 2000- 2004
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QUESTIONSPOLITICS, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ROLE OF
NGOs
www.ngo-monitor.org

• What is the status of NGOs in international
  diplomacy? What is the basis for their role in
  the UN?

• Where is the line between legitimate criticism
  and demonization rhetoric -- war crimes,
  violation of international law, collective
  punishment, excessive /disproportionate
  force, etc.

• How can NGO officials and funders be held
  accountable?

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www.ngo-monitor.org
QUESTIONS NGOs and Ideology

• To what degree do NGO officials use universal
  norms to pursue their own particular objectives?

• To what degree do NGO officials promote
  post-colonial and post-nationalist ideologies,
  assigning virtue to victims, and guilt to
  others?

• To what degree to NGOs provide informed criticism
  vs. becoming parties to the conflict?

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Human Rights NGOs and the Media Is there a Halo
Effect?
www.ngo-monitor.org

• Do what degree do journalists examine the
  credibility of NGO reports and claims?

• Are NGO claims credible? What are their
  research capabilities?

• To what degree do their political and
  ideological biases determine NGO reports and
  allegations?

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Who Funds Political NGOs?
www.ngo-monitor.org

• NGO participation in Durban was funded by the
  Ford Foundation, other private funds, European
  governments, Canada, and others

• Despite pledges by Ford, funding for most Durban
  NGOs continues

• EU, Canada, Swiss, Japanese, etc funding for NGO
  under Partnership for Peace, Human Rights and
  Palestinian civil society

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EUPFP "PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE PROGRAMME" AWARDED
IN JULY 2005 - Israeli NGOs -- 3.6 Million Euros
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EUPFP "PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE PROGRAMME" AWARDED
IN JULY 2005 - Israeli NGOs -- 3.6 Million Euros
CONTINUED
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EIDHR (HUMAN RIGHTS) GRANTS -- AUGUST 2005
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Examining NGO Credibility
www.ngo-monitor.org

• Most global NGOs (Amnesty, HRW) have essentially
  no independent research capability.

• They rely on Palestinian eyewitness testimony
  and journalists who use the same sources.

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NGO Credibility
Amnesty International has reported that Israeli
soldiers deliberately aim at Palestinian
children. When asked to document that they
couldn't come up with a single case. Human
Rights Watch has made up stories that have had no
corroboration whatsoever. .. I spoke with
Donatella Rovera, who is AI's researcher and
asked her to provide the data Rovera
acknowledged that the report was based on
anecdotal information, from Palestinian NGOs.
It is impossible for any outside researcher to
replicate AI's study and to confirm or disconfirm
its conclusions. - Prof. Alan Dershowitz
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HRWs Credibility In Gaza
www.ngo-monitor.org

• On June 13, HRWs Mark Garlasco held a press
  conference in Gaza claimed evidence pointing to
  Israeli responsibility for the Friday beach
  incident

• Garlasco was also the author of HRWs Razing
  Rafah report (11/2004), which was highly
  political and contained numerous inaccuracies.
• How does the press verify Garlascos allegations?

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NGO Anti-Semitism
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Addressing NGO Political Agendas
www.ngo-monitor.org

• Code of Conduct/Ethics for NGOs.
• Application of a single universal human rights
  standard equally to all countries, including
  Israel
• Accountability
• Transparency
• Education

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Watching The Watchers NGO MONITOR