• As of June 1, 2016, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided NOK 5 million ($600,000 – screenshot below) to the Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law Secretariat (Secretariat), managed by the Institute of Law at Birzeit University (IoL-BZU) in Ramallah and NIRAS – a European consulting firm.
  • The Secretariat funds non-governmental organizations (NGOs) active in BDS campaigns (boycott, divestment and sanctions) and other forms of demonization.
  • Some grantees have also promoted antisemitic rhetoric and have apparent links to terror.
  • The donor consortium, including Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, provides 80% of its four year budget ($10.38 million before Norway’s accession) to core NGO funding.
    • 13 out of 24 core fund recipients support BDS;
    • 11 out of 20 project fund recipients support BDS;
    • Core recipients promoting BDS receive $5.78 million of the $10.38 million.
  • Norway’s decision stands in sharp contrast to the Dutch Parliament’s resolution (June 2016) calling for a review of its funding to the Secretariat over concerns about BDS support.
  • The Swiss Parliament will vote on a similar resolution following criticism from journalists and a motion questioning Swiss funds to the Secretariat signed by 41 MPs from different parties. This criticism includes alleged involvement of officials from the PFLP terror organization (details below) and disproportionate salaries.

NGOs funded by the Secretariat include:

 

2010 2015 2016
 badil_cartoon  Badil2015  Badil2016
  • Al-Haq (core funding in 2015: $710,000), a leader in anti-Israel demonization campaigns through lawsuits (“lawfare”) at the International Criminal Court, and BDS activities.
  • Addameer (core funding in 2015: $230,000) lobbies international frameworks against Israel and supports BDS. A number of Addameer staff members have alleged connections to terror groups:

Screenshot from Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website

Norwegian ministry of foreign affairs