Circumventing Sanctions? Al-Haq Europe’s Name Change
Al-Haq Human Rights Organisation Europe (Al-Haq Europe) – a spinoff of Al-Haq based in Ramallah, which is sanctioned by the US and terror designated by Israel – is changing its name to Rights Matter. In addition, board members with the most visible ties to Al-Haq (Ramallah), and the NGO’s objectives have changed to remove references to Palestinian-specific activities.
Still, the Al-Haq Europe brand is not disappearing, and is instead being adopted by a newly-registered group. It is headed by Pierre Galand, a radical anti-Israel activist.
The exact relationship between Rights Matter, Al Haq, and Al Haq Europe is unclear and requires careful attention, especially given the murkiness and overlap of the relationship between Al Haq (Ramallah) and the previous iteration of Al Haq Europe. Moreover, Rights Matter Board President Nadia El-Farkh (also Al-Haq Europe’s president from its founding in 2022 until its name change) also serves as President of the Association Belgo-Palestinienne (ABP) – a position for which she was preceded by Galand.
Background
Palestinian NGO Al-Haq has documented ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist group, and was designated a terrorist entity by Israel in 2021 citing its role in “a network of organizations” that operates “on behalf of the ‘Popular Front.’” On September 4, 2025, the U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on Al-Haq for “directly engag[ing] in efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent.” In 2018, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express ceased processing credit card donations to the NGO, over concerns regarding the NGO’s ties to the PFLP.
In 2022 (as later documented by NGO Monitor), Al-Haq established a European entity, Al-Haq Europe, registered in Belgium, with the potential for circumventing the terror finance regulations resulting from Israel’s designation.
Rebrand from Al Haq Europe to Rights Matter
According to a submission filed with the Belgian Non-Profit registrar on September 24, 2025, in June 2025 the Al-Haq Human Rights Organisation Europe (Al-Haq Europe) modified its name to “Rights Matter.” The NGO moved its head office from Schaerbeek, Belgium to Brussels, and several board members left the organization. Additionally, the entity that had been known as Al-Haq Europe updated its name in the EU transparency register in December 2025.
Rights Matter’s official objectives were also changed and no longer make specific reference to Palestinians. Instead, the NGO states generically that it “works to uphold and promote international law within the institutions of the European Union and its Member States, in collaboration with Belgian, European, and international civil society.” Likewise, the NGO’s stated “areas of work” remain similar, but do not mention Palestinians:
| Al-Haq Europe’s “Means” | Rights Matter’s “Areas of Work” |
|---|---|
| “Conducting legal research within the framework of international, European, and Belgian laws relevant to the Palestinian people. | “Legal research in Belgian, European, and international contexts. |
| Undertaking legal actions within the framework of international, European, and Belgian laws relevant to the Palestinian people. | Advocacy with the relevant Belgian, European, and international institutions. |
| Carrying out advocacy actions before relevant parties and Belgian, European, and international institutions, including, but not limited to, parliamentarians, governments, and other political decision-makers. | Raising awareness of human rights issues. |
| Raising public awareness about the human rights situation in Palestine and concerning the Palestinian people. | Fighting impunity, including implementing all relevant instruments and mechanisms, whether judicial or otherwise. |
| Using relevant instruments and mechanisms to combat impunity, including courts and national, regional, and international mechanisms, and promoting their use. | Networking and mobilising civil society in Belgium and Europe.” |
| Working with Belgian and European civil society, mobilizing it, and coordinating activities with it according to the organization’s vision and mission. | |
| Promoting an inclusive approach by representing and advocating for Palestine and for the protection and realization of Palestinian human rights, including by giving voice to women, youth, and persons with special needs.” |
As of June 7, 2026, nearly one year after its creation, Rights Matter’s website does not feature any discernable activity – publications, research, or statements. According to the European Parliament, in February 2026, Rights Matter participated in a “roundtable on the Israeli draft legislation on death penalty,” organized by MEP Cecilia Strada (Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament).
Meanwhile, a different registration number was issued in October 2025 to a “new” organization, also called Al-Haq Europe and situated at the Schaerbeek address. The “new” entity also maintained the unchanged Al-Haq Europe website and email contact address.1 The President of the “new” Al-Haq Europe in Schaerbeek is Pierre Galand, a radical anti-Israel activist, who also served as President of the Belgian NGO Association Belgo-Palestinienne (ABP) at least until October 2025. Further highlighting the interconnectedness of the various entities, Rights Matter President Nadia El-Farkh (see below) served as secretary general of ABP, and according to a March 2026 ABP publication, is currently the President of ABP.
In addition,Rights Matter did not erase all mentions of its former constitution on the EU’s transparency register; for example, the “goals” section still refers to Rights Matter as Al-Haq Europe. Furthermore, in April 2026, the European Parliament and its Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) hosted Tahseen Alayan [Elayyan], who was identified as the “deputy director of Al Haq – Rights Matter.” A 2024 Al-Haq publication describes Elayyan as “a Legal Researcher of the Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq.”
Board and Staff: Who Left, Who Stayed
When Al-Haq Europe was reconstituted as Rights Matter and moved to Brussels, four of its seven board members – those with the strongest documented ties to the US- and Israel- sanctioned Al-Haq – left the board: Asem Khalil,2 Ghassan Abdullah,3 Maha Abdallah,4 and Alexis Deswaef.5
The other three Al-Haq Europe board members – Nadia El-Farkh, Nathalie Janne D’Othée,6 and Willem Staes7 – continue as board members of Rights Matter. On the European Union’s transparency register, Rights Matter lists Nadia El-Farkh as President of the Board and Dima Issa as the office coordinator.
- Nadia El-Farkh served as Al-Haq Europe’s president from its founding in 2022 until its name change. She also serves as President of Association Belgo-Palestinienne (ABP) and as Administrator for the European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP).
- Dima Issa was featured as a “a campaigner at Palestinian group Al Haq” in a May 2025 EUobserver article and as an Al-Haq Europe “coordinator” in multiple sources.
Footnotes
- The address of Rights Matter is 115 Rue Stévin, 1000 Bruxelles. Al-Haq Europe’s address remains 154 Rue des palais, 1030 Schaerbeek.
- According to a February 2020 CV, Khalil has served as a member of Al-Haq’s general assembly since 2015.
- Ghassan Abdulah was described as an Al-Haq “board member” in an October 2023 article, and identified as “Deputy Chairman of the Al-Haq board” in a November 2019 Al-Haq Facebook post. Several sources show that Abdullah was Al-Haq’s treasurer until 2014 if not later.
- According to her Linkedin account, Abdallah worked as Al-Haq Senior Legal Researcher and Advocacy Officer from 2014 until 2020.
- Deswaef served as an Administrator of Al-Haq Europe, and has been serving as the President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) since 2025. He has held the position of FIDH vice president since 2019. Al-Haq is a prominent member of FIDH. Deswaef considers PFLP-linked Al-Haq Director Shawan Jabarin as a “brother” and refers to him as the “lion of Ramallah.”
- Nathalie Janne D’Othée serves as Al-Haq Europe’s treasurer. Since 2012, she has worked as CNCD-11.11.11’s Research and Advocacy Officer. Previously she was ABP’s Communications Officer (2010-2015).
- Willem Staes serves as Al-Haq Europe’s vice president. He also has served since 2016 as 11.11.11’s Policy and Partnership Adviser Middle East. He previously served (2015-2019) as Pax Christi Vlaanderen’s Policy Officer for Security and Disarmament, and Broederljik Delen’s Policy Officer for the Middle East (ad interim – January 2015).