The United Against Torture (UAT) Coalition Protests the Closure of the Nafha Organization
After the closure of Nafha by the Israeli authorities, on Tuesday 8 July 2008, the United Against Torture Coalition (UAT) and its affiliate organizations undertook several initiatives in order to protest against the suspension of its activities.
Nafha is a member of the UAT Coalition, a network of Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights NGOs who cooperate in the struggle to end torture and inhuman and degrading treatment of Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).
A first Statement was released on the 14th of July ,where the UAT called on Israel to abide by the fundamental principles contained in the UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the other international human rights conventions, to which Israel is a party.
An urgent appeal by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), was launched after the UAT statement.
Lastly, the UAT Coalition together with the Euro Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) wrote a joint letter calling upon the European Union to take concrete steps – according to the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders - in order to call on the Israeli authorities to comply with the relevant international norms and standards, and, in particular the above mentioned UN Declaration, in order to promote an environment conducive to the free operation of human rights defenders.
PCATI is a founding member and partner of UAT
