January 1990, Page 45

Human Rights

By Sally Clark Nyhan

Israeli, Palestinian Groups Receive Carter Human Rights Award

A Palestinian and an Israeli organization are recipients of the fourth annual Carter Menil Human Rights Award. Al-Haq, the West Bank affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists, and B'Tselem, an Israeli group of lawyers, journalists and Knesset members, will split the $100,000 award, presented in a Dec. 9 ceremony at the Carter Center in Atlanta, GA. Both groups monitor Israeli abuses of Palestinian human rights in the West Bank and Gaza.

Former President Jimmy Carter and Dominique de Menil, founder and president of the Rothko Chapel in Houston, established the Carter-Menil Human Rights Foundation in 1986 to promote human rights throughout the world. This is the first time an Israeli or a Palestinian group has received the award.

"These organizations share the goal of promoting basic human dignity," Carter said. "In the face of repeated condemnation, harassment, and sometimes even physical abuse, the members of these two groups have not wavered in their determination to expose, condemn, and prevent violations of human rights."

Mrs. de Menil said at the ceremony that "by recognizing al-Haq and B'Tselem, the Carter-Menil Foundation hopes to highlight the urgent need to support all parties in the region that are actively engaged in the search for justice, human rights, and peace."

Al-Haq was formed in 1979 to identify, investigate, and document human rights violations in the occupied territories. The group also promotes the development and application of humanitarian law, and seeks to reduce human rights abuses.

B'Tselem, created in February 1989, documents abuses in the occupied territories and encourages public debate about the impact of Israeli violations on the country's democratic principles.

"We understand that this will be a controversial award," said Carter. "In the charged political atmosphere of the Middle East, some will misinterpret our decision to honor these human rights heroes as political. Rather, our intention is to heighten awareness about the human suffering taking place in the occupied territories and to recognize the efforts being waged to end that suffering in the hopes of strengthening the call for peace."

The Carter-Menil Center presents its award each year in commemoration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its advisory committee includes representatives of such organizations as Amnesty International, Human Rights Internet, Human Rights Watch, International League for Human Rights, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, and Physicians for Human Rights.

Al-Haq Fieldworker Arrested and Beaten

Al-Haq fieldworker Sha'wan Jabarin was arrested on Oct. 12 when Israeli soldiers broke into his home in Sa'ir, near Hebron.

Jabarin, who was recently nominated for the 1989 Reebok Human Rights Award, swore in an affidavit that he was beaten in the head and stomach while being transported to the military compound in Hebron and again during interrogation. He said that one soldier made him lie on the floor of a bathroom and then jumped up and down on him for approximately 10 minutes.

Al-Haq Executive Director Mona Rishmawi confirmed that, 16 days after being beaten, Jabarin still had large swellings above his eyebrows. Despite appeals from international human rights organizations, Jabarin was placed under a one-year administrative detention order on Oct. 26. The Israeli embassy in Washington said that Jabarin had resisted arrest and that it was necessary to use "reasonable force to put him in jail."

Al-Haq has called for Jabarin's immediate release and an impartial investigation into the events surrounding his arrest.

New Human Rights Reports

The DataBase Project on Palestinian Human Rights has released a new 81-page report titled: "Colonial Pursuits: Settler Violence During the Uprising in the Occupied Territories. " It and other reports are available for $5 from PHRC, 1 Quincy Ct., Suite 1308, Chicago, IL 60604.

The United Nations has published a new booklet, "The Need for Convening the International Peace Conference on the Middle East," available from the Division for Palestinian Rights, Room 3650, United Nations, New York, NY 10017.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has published a six-month study of the Jenin area titled, "Violations of Human Rights in the Northern West Bank. " The report includes sections on IDF Special Units, Killings and Summary Arrests, and House Demolitions. It is available from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, P.O. Box 6487, 31064 Haifa, Israel.

Sally Clark Nyhan is Book Club Editor for the American Educational Trust.