JERUSALEM: Israel is set to become the first democracy to expel a Human Rights Watch employee, its executive director Ken Roth said Sunday, denouncing the upcoming deportation of one of his staffers.
US citizen Omar Shakir, the New York-based rights group’s director for Israel and the Palestinian territories, is to be deported from Israel on Monday over his alleged support of a boycott of the country.
The expulsion, upheld by the supreme court, would make Shakir the first person to be expelled from the country under a controversial 2017 law allowing the deportation of foreigners who support a boycott of Israel, according to authorities.
HRW denies Shakir supports a boycott of the Jewish state and accuses Israel of seeking to suppress criticism of policies toward Palestinians.
“I cannot think of another democracy that has barred a Human Rights Watch researcher,” Roth told AFP in Jerusalem.
Roth said countries including North Korea, Venezuela and Iran have expelled HRW researchers but no functioning democracy had taken such action.
“I think it demonstrates the increasingly constrained nature of Israeli democracy,” Roth added.
He said Israel, despite having elections and a free press, tries “as much as it can” to silence efforts “spotlighting the human rights violations at the heart of the oppressive, discriminatory occupation (of Palestinian land).
Shakir has been fighting a lengthy legal campaign against expulsion but earlier this month Israel’s supreme court upheld the government’s decision to deport him.
Israel accuses him of being a supporter of the banned Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for a broad-ranging boycott of Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians.
Israel sees the movement as a strategic threat and accuses it of anti-Semitism — a claim activists strongly deny.
Supporters compare it to the economic isolation that helped bring down apartheid South Africa.
“All those who work against Israel must know that we will not let them live or work here,” Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said earlier this month.
The case against Shakir was initially based on statements he made in support of a boycott before taking up his post with HRW.
The government case also highlighted work he has done since joining HRW, including criticizing Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“Neither Human Rights Watch nor I as its representative have ever called for a boycott of Israel,” Shakir told AFP.
But he said that the organization did not restrict free speech, including the right to call for a boycott.
“It is undeniable that boycotts around the world have led to changing unjust systems but Human Rights Watch doesn’t take a position on them,” he added.
Israel first democracy to expel HWR staffer: director
Israel first democracy to expel HWR staffer: director
- “I cannot think of another democracy that has barred a HRW researcher,” Roth told AFP in Jerusalem
- Roth said countries including North Korea, Venezuela and Iran have expelled HRW researchers
International law at ‘breaking point’ amid ‘epidemic’ of conflicts: Survey
- Gaza war highlighted as one of the most concerning areas; atrocities in Sudan also noted
- ‘Well over’ 100,000 civilians have been killed in past 18 months amid ‘rampant impunity’
LONDON: A new survey of 23 conflicts worldwide has said more than 100,000 civilians have been killed in the past 18 months, with adherence to international humanitarian law reaching “a critical breaking point.”
The “War Watch” survey highlighted the war in Gaza as one of the most concerning areas in an “epidemic” of violence, while also noting concerning levels of atrocities in Sudan.
Taken under the auspices of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, the survey covers July 2024 to the end of 2025.
Lead author Stuart Casey-Maslen said: “Atrocity crimes are being repeated because past ones were tolerated. Our actions — or inaction — will determine whether international humanitarian law vanishes altogether.”
In Gaza, local authorities say 18,592 children and 12,400 women have been killed since Israel invaded the Palestinian enclave in October 2023.
The report said Gaza’s overall population had declined by “about 254,000 people, a 10.6 percent decline compared with pre-conflict estimates,” making it one of the most deadly conflicts in the world. It noted that despite a ceasefire being agreed late last year, civilian casualties have continued.
In Sudan, after the fall of the city of El-Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces last October, widespread reports of survivors “being gang-raped by RSF fighters” — including in the presence of relatives — were recorded in numerous instances.
The survey said: “We do not know how many civilians have been killed in the conduct of hostilities during armed conflicts in 2024 and 2025, but we do know that the number is well over 100,000 in each of the two years.”
It added that “serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) were wrought … on a huge scale and with rampant impunity.”
The report said IHL and the laws of armed conflict, established after the Second World War to protect civilians, must be upheld by every state under the Geneva Conventions “in all circumstances.”
It added: “Addressing widespread impunity for serious violations of international law should be treated as a policy priority.”
The report suggested several policy ideas to reduce the number of people suffering, including arms export bans for countries “where there is a clear risk that the arms or ammunition to be delivered will be used to commit or facilitate serious violations” of IHL.
It also proposed limiting the use of drones and artificial intelligence targeting in civilian areas, as well as unguided gravity bombs or inaccurate long-range artillery.
In addition, it called for “systematic prosecution of war crimes,” saying more political and financial support need to be given to the International Criminal Court by members of the international community.
