On December 12, 2023, Paris-based international NGO, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), published and promoted a resolution headlined, “Israel’s unfolding crime of genocide and other crimes in Gaza and against the Palestinian People.” It was adopted by FIDH’s international board in November 2023, making FIDH the first major international NGOs to accuse Israel of genocide in Gaza.

Under the facade of human rights, the resolution includes several false accusations (“Israel’s use of starvation as a tool of warfare” and “forced displacement”), and repeats recurrent demonizing themes (“apartheid,” “systematic domination and oppression over the Palestinian people for over 75 years”), to support the conclusion that “Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people constitute an unfolding genocide.”

This FIDH statement is part of a campaign marked by atrocity inversion, aimed at portraying Israel as the world’s worst violator of human rights. When this NGO network accuses the Jewish State of genocide, it is also seeking to distract attention from the  October 7 Hamas atrocities (see NGO Monitor’s report: “NGO Atrocity Inversion: False Accusations of Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing to Distract from Hamas Massacre”). 

FIDH’s Palestinian NGO members – Al-Haq (represented on FIDH’s international board), Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), and Al Mezan – clearly influenced the resolution. The three are closely linked to the PFLP terror group, and promoted the genocide canard from the first days of the war. On October 11, Al-Haq tweeted, “For the fifth day, the occupation forces continue to launch their attacks on the #Gaza Strip… in such a way that amounts to acts of genocide” (translated from the original Arabic). On October 15, Al-Haq, Al Mezan, and PCHR published a statement on twitter claiming that “Palestinians are facing an impending genocide.” Similarly, from October 9, 2023, Al-Haq, PCHR, and Al Mezan accused Israel of “employing Starvation as a Weapon.” These and many similar posts and statements are reflected in FIDH’s statements.

The NGO campaign extended to the South African case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The directors of the three Palestinian FIDH partner NGOs – Shawan Jabarin (Al-Haq), Raji Sourani (PCHR), and Issam Younis (Al-Mezan) – served as advisers for the South African delegation to the ICJ.

In parallel, in November 2023, FIDH together with Al-Haq, PCHR, and Al Mezan demanded that the ICC “issue arrest warrants” against Israelis “for war crimes and crimes of genocide.”

FIDH’s Response to October 7 Contextualizes the Hamas Massacre

On October 11, 2023, FIDH issued its first press release following the October 7th massacre, headlined, “FIDH condemns the escalation of violence and double standards.” This propaganda statement repeatedly appropriates the language of human rights: 

“The cycle of violence is a predictable result of Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid regime that has lasted too long despite calls and warnings issued by human rights organizations and United Nations mechanisms. In a time marked by extreme tension, the radicalization of discourse and unconditional support to Israel, it is important to call for de-escalation and an immediate ceasefire to protect the civilian populations, who are the main victims.

FIDH recalls that as long as the international community refuses to address the root causes of the ongoing hostilities, no just and lasting peace will ever be achieved. The blockade and closure of Gaza has been going on for 16 years, caging two million Palestinians in an open-air prison …The closure of Gaza is not an isolated issue, but an integral part of Israel’s apartheid against the Palestinian people. Israel’s apartheid regime, established and maintained through maintaining a system of inherently discriminatory laws, policies and practices, is premised on the perpetual denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination and return.”

FIDH’s Governmental Funders

According to its 2022 annual report (latest published), FIDH had received €19.8 million in grants, mainly from government bodies, including €6.17 million from France, €6.01 million euros from the European Commission, €3.3 million from Sweden, and €650,367 from Ireland, as well as €396,765 from Bread for the World (Germany) and €1 million from Open Society Foundations.

In this context, it is important to note that, after October 7th, the governments of Germany and Switzerland ended funding for Al Haq and PCHR, based on the links between these NGOs and the PFLP terror organization. On November 22, 2023, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported that Al-Haq “will no longer receive funds from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.” According to DW, “a spokesperson for the ministry recently said that organizations that supported armed resistance to Israel were not appropriate partners.” 

In November 2023, Switzerland (FDFA) announced that it ended its funding to PCHR over breach of FDFA’s Code of Conduct. Swiss media, citing FDFA’s Head of communications, revealed that the reason for the end of the contractual relationship between FDFA and PCHR was the latter’s problematic attitudes towards  violence.

FIDH Partners Al-Haq & PCHR Justify October 7 Atrocities 

Following the October 7th Hamas-orchestrated massacre, NGO Monitor compiled statements from NGOs and their leaders and/or employees. Some of these statements justify, celebrate or contextualize the Hamas invasion and terrorist attack (see NGO Monitor report, “EU-Supported Palestinian NGOs and the October 7th Hamas Massacre”). For example:

• On October 10, Al-Haq Head of the Training and Capacity Building Unit Ziad Hmaidan wrote on Facebook, “It is written in the Hadith: ‘You must wage jihad. The best jihad is preparing for war, and it is best to prepare for war in Ashkelon’.”
• On October 7, 2023, PCHR Fundraising and Program Officer Feda’a Murjan posted on Facebook, “We will truly step in our land. Allah, you are our protector and supporter.”

Previously, during the May 2023 Gaza conflict, PCHR published a statement in which it “affirms the Palestinian people to resist the occupation by all available means, including armed struggle….” After criticism, and under pressure from donors – including the EU – this text was amended.

In March 2024, Al-Haq published a report in which the NGO declared that Palestinian terrorism does not exist: “Even if individual acts of struggle [terrorism] breach provisions of international humanitarian law in bello, never should the Israeli colonial power or the international community categorise the collective resistance of the Palestinian people in pursuit of their inalienable jus cogens right to self-determination as ‘terrorism’, and justify its policy of suppression accordingly.”

In this regard, in  July 2023, NGO Monitor published “Al-Haq Staff: Justifying Violence and glorifying terrorists,” showing that several Al-Haq board members and officials had made highly disturbing comments regarding violence against Israeli civilians and Palestinian terrorists – including under the slogans of “a right of resistance” or using any means to “oppose the occupation.”  

FIDH Partner Al-Haq –  Terror-Linked and Promoting the Elimination of Israel 

Al-Haq, is an influential NGO member of FIDH, sitting on its international board.

As a member of FIDH’s international board, Al-Haq officials have served as Vice-President or Secretary General of FIDH since 2013 (see next section). 

Al-Haq, an Israeli-designated PFLP-linked NGO

In October 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Defense designated Al-Haq (and another five Palestinian NGOs) a “terror organization” claiming it is part of “a network of organizations” that operates “on behalf of the ‘Popular Front’”. The MoD accused Al-Haq and the other NGOs of diverting humanitarian funds from European donors to the PFLP and recruiting members for the terror group.

Shawan Jabarin, Al-Haq’s General Director and former FIDH Vice-President and Secretary General, and his Links to the PFLP

Shawan Jabari has served as Al-Haq’s General Director since 2006. He has multiple ties to the PFLP terrorist organization:

• In 2007, in rejecting Jabarin’s appeal against a travel ban, the Israeli Supreme Court concluded that “the current petitioner is apparently acting as a manner of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde, acting some of the time as the CEO of a human rights organization, and at other times as an activist in a terror organization which has not shied away from murder and attempted murder, which have nothing to do with rights…”
• In 2008, the Israeli Supreme Court noted that Jabarin is “among the senior activists of the Popular Front terrorist organization.”
• In May 2019, Shawan Jabarin attended a memorial event organized by the PFLP. It centered on PFLP political bureau member Rabah Muhanna, who, according to information posted by the PFLP, “contributed to the establishment” of several PFLP-affiliated NGOs. The hall was decorated with PFLP paraphernalia.¹

Despite his multiple public and verifiable ties to the PFLP, Shawan Jabarin concurrently served from 2013 to 2022 as Vice-President and Secretary General of FIDH. In his senior position within FIDH, he met with French President Emmanuel Macron in 2022 and with France’s representative to the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) in 2015; during the latter event, he lobbied against a governmental directive opposing a  boycott of Israel.

As General Director of Al-Haq, Jabarin met several times with then ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and delivered submissions alleging Israeli crimes.

Al-Haq, a “Human Rights”  NGO seeking the elimination of the Jewish State

Al-Haq is a leader in the apartheid libel campaign against Israel and championed this antisemitic claim in its 2022 report. For more information, see NGO Monitor’s report “Does Europe Support This? Al-Haq Tells the World to Dismantle Israel.”

On May 31, 2022,  Al-Haq, along with 90 co-signatories, submitted a flagrantly antisemitic report to the UN Human Rights Council UNHRC’s permanent “Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel” (COI). The submission presents a blatantly false historical account, denying Israel’s right to exist and denying the Jewish people their right to sovereign equality. For detailed information, see NGO Monitor’s report “Al-Haq’s Antisemitic Submission to the UN’s Permanent COI.”

French Government Funding (AFD) for  Al-Haq

• In February 2024, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) authorized a €8.3 million grant to FIDH. According to the description of the four year program (“Strengthening the intervention of the FIDH network to increase the power to act of local human rights defenders and CSOs [Civil Society Organizations]”), FIDH will provide funding to 22 NGO partners, including Al-Haq (amount not transparent).

The program’s expected results include:

• “The voice of HRDs [Human Rights Defenders] and local CSOs defending human rights is amplified among inter-governmental, diplomatic and economic institutions and the visibility of FIDH’s fights in matters of HR is reinforced.”
• “Local CSOs defending HR, members and partners, have access to supportive, flexible and adapted support, allowing them to strengthen their power of action in the face of the shrinking space for Civil Society (110 local CSOs (58 % of FIDH MOs) are supported via flexible grants, missions, training).”

FIDH Partner Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) – A PFLP-linked NGO

PCHR has numerous links to the PFLP, and its general director, Raji Sourani, has been publicly honored by the terrorist organization.  Notably, PCHR board member Jaber Wishah is a former commander of the PFLP’s Gaza operations.

(For more information, read NGO Monitor’s “Palestinian Centre for Human Right’s Links to the PFLP Terror Group”.)

In 2021, Raji Sourani was conferred the rank of Knight (Chevalier) of France’s National Order of Merit. In a letter to Sourani, France General Consul in Jerusalem declared: “As the Director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, you contributed to Palestine’s accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court” (emphasis added). 

Similarly to Al-Haq, PCHR has been active for years in lawfare campaigns against Israel, notably at the ICC.

FIDH Partner Al Mezan – Regularly Organizing and Appearing at Events Featuring Terrorists 

Al Mezan, is a terror-linked NGO that regularly organizes and appears at “lawfare” events featuring members of terror groups, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and PFLP.

Al Mezan has submitted various documents to the ICC and has lobbied the ICC Prosecutor to “Investigate and Deter Israel’s Apartheid Regime.” It has also hosted and participated in multiple events encouraging the weaponizing of the ICC against Israel.²

In 2017, Al Mezan director Issam Younis participated in a panel discussion on “The requirement for supporting and the success of the national [Palestinian internal] reconciliation.” The panels included multiple representatives of Palestinian terror groups, such as PFLP Political Bureau member Kayed Al- Ghoul, PIJ Political Bureau member Khaled Al-Batsh, and Hamas Political Bureau head in Gaza Yehya Al-Sinwar. Issam Younis addressed the panel together with Yehya Al-Sinwar.³

Additional FIDH Anti-Israel Activity

• In 2016, FIDH published a statement, “FIDH supports the right to participate in and call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions.” Under French law, discriminatory boycotts are illegal. 
• In 2021, FIDH and other NGOs co-signed a letter addressed to European Commission Vice-President and Commissioner Margaritis Schinas, responsible for leading the Commission’s fight against antisemitism. The letter endorses the NGO campaign against the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, and criticizes an EC document that recommends the use of this consensus document.