Attendees of the session held by the Coalition for Integrity and Accountability-AMAN to discuss the draft report on “Accountability of Foreign Institutions Operating in Palestine” emphasized the need to apply the Palestinian law on all foreign institutions operating in Palestine. They also emphasized the necessity for these institutions to be subject to the control of the State Audit and Administrative Control Bureau (SAACB). In that regard, attendees called on the Council of Ministers to meet with all official competent parties, in order to define conflicting or overlapping of powers and or responsibilities relating to the application of the law on foreign civil work in Palestine. Moreover, attendees called on the Council to determine the supervisory body from each related competent ministry in accordance with the of the Palestinian NGO and Charitable Organizations Law for 2003, and to ensure that all necessary logistical arrangements to achieve this are taken. In addition, they also called for revision of the Palestinian NGO and Charitable Organizations Law for 2000, ensuring removal of confusing and ambiguous articles, and to also strengthen the .
Dr. Azmi Shuaibi, the Anti-Corruption Advisor to the Board-AMAN, opened the session by stating that this is not the first time AMAN addresses the issue of foreign civil society organizations (NGOs) working in Palestine. AMAN’s concern with the issue has always been focused on examining the integrity values, principles of transparency and systems of accountability in the work of these institutions, noting that the report targeted only civil society foreign institutions and not all foreign institutions operating in Palestine. This was due to the difficulty in defining these institutions number, legal frameworks governing these institutions work, and relationship with the Palestinian Authority (PA). Hence Dr. Shuaibi pointed out the necessity for having a unified and comprehensive database that includes budgets and area of specialization for foreign and local civil society institutions.
Dr. Lourd, who conducted the research of this report, presented the main focal points of the report epitomized by: the legal framework regulating NGOs in Palestine; official Palestinian institutions related to the work of foreign NGOs and control over their work as well as procedures in practice; and the extent by which the values of integrity and principles of transparency are applied internally in these institutions. Dr. Lourd finished by presenting conclusions of the report, most important of which are: shortage in human resources and other logistical requirements at the Ministry of Interior and competent ministries needed for follow-up on foreign NGOs’ files; lack of a permanent and continuous follow-up on foreign NGOs due to the absence of a separate unit in each ministry; absence of the competent ministry’s supervisory role in provisions of the law and as well as in practice on the ground; the low level of coordination between Palestinian official institutions, namely between the Ministry of Interior, competent ministries, and the SAACB.
Mr. Mohammad Abu-Shamleh, representative from the Civil Society Organizations Commission, confirmed that the Commission has submitted a request to the Council of Ministers emphasizing the necessity of allowing competent Palestinian ministries to carry out the supervisory role over foreign NGOs working in Palestine, since these ministries are best suited for this task. He clarified that the executive regulations of 2003 increased confusion in regard to NGOs identifying competent ministries as responsible for control over foreign institutions. This was in contradiction with the Palestinian NGO and Charitable Organizations Law for 2000, which failed to mention competent ministries and settled for the Interior Ministry as the party responsible.
Representative of the SAACB, Mr. Khaled Ja’ideh pointed out that the gaps mentioned in AMAN’s report concur with results of the SAACB’s internal report, prepared by the SAACB on the role of competent ministries in follow-up on Palestinian NGOs. He said: conclusion of the SAACB report indicated that these ministries do not carry out their assigned role. He also confirmed the absence of the SAACB’s role in monitoring and control over foreign NGOs due to its conviction of the lack of legal grounds granting it full powers to exercise control over these NGOs. In this regard, he called on the Council of Ministers to take measures that would place all foreign NGOs working in Palestine, without an exception, under the jurisdiction of the SAACB’s control, and to abide by the Financial and Administrative Control Law. This conjured an agreement from the representative of the NGO Unit at the Council of Ministers, but also added that all parties mentioned in the law must take their full responsibility in terms of their control roles.
Mr. Nidal Masri, from the Ministry of Interior, praised the report and agreed with its recommendations, promising attendees that related information to the work of foreign NGOs will be published at the beginning of May through official means. He added that the Ministry has recently employed control mechanisms on NGOs, which helped to ensure responsiveness of foreign NGOs to the ministry’s demands.
Mr. Ghassan Kasabreh, Director of the NGO Development Center (NDC), also agreed with the report’s results confirming that the gaps mentioned also apply to Palestinian NGOs in terms of transparency and accountability.
It is worth noting that the session was attended by representatives from the: Council of Ministers, Interior Ministry, State Audit and Administrative Control Bureau, Civil Society Organization Commission, National Union for Civil Organizations, Foundation for Global Communities, Higher Education Institution, Children’s Villages International, in addition to journalists, researchers, and academics from the Arab American University.
