Brussels, 08/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - In an open letter to High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and the heads of mission of EU member states in Tel Aviv on Tuesday 7 June, the leaders of EuroMed Rights, the International Federation for Human Rights and the World Organisation against Torture called on the European Union to “call on Israel to withdraw the 'NGO Transparency Bill' and cease the further introduction and enactment of legislation aimed at limiting the space of civil society”.
The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is preparing to vote on this draft legislation which, according the heads of these NGOs, would oblige NGOs that receive over 50% of their funding from foreign public sources (including the EU and its member states, and the UN) to register as “foreign agents” and to indicate their sources of funding in all their publications and announcements, at every meeting and in their correspondence with public representatives?
Underlining the unprecedented smear campaigns and other forms of harassment that have targeted human rights defenders over recent months, the NGOs call on the Europeans to condemn all threats and attacks against human rights defenders. They also call on them to urge Israeli officials “to refrain from issuing, inciting or supporting threats and/or attacks against human rights defenders and call for the prompt and thorough investigation of all such cases backed by criminal charges where appropriate”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)