News briefing
Translated and edited by: Committee for Justice
Geneva: February 27, 2022
A group of United Nations human rights experts have expressed their concerns about the use of the Pegasus spyware, which is produced by the Israeli company NSO, to monitor, intimidate and harass journalists and human rights defenders in Palestine.
Hacking the devices of 6 Palestinian activists:
In a memorandum sent to the Israeli authorities on December 27, 2021, the experts confirmed that, after a forensic examination of 75 iPhone devices owned by Palestinian human rights defenders and employees of civil society organizations, in November 2021, at least six of them were found to be infected with the aforementioned spyware; Including the director of the NGO Bisan Center for Research and Development, as well as the staff of the NGOs Al-Haq and Addameer.
The experts pointed out that the results of those investigations came only two weeks after the Israeli Ministry of Defense classified six Palestinian civil society organizations as terrorist organizations, namely; Addameer Foundation for Prisoner Support and Human Rights, Al-Haq Foundation, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children International – Palestine, Union of Agricultural Work Committees, and Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees.
Not just a breach of privacy:
In their memorandum, the experts stressed that the intrusion and monitoring of human rights defenders and members of NGOs, not only violates the privacy rights of these persons; It also violates their confidential activities as human rights defenders and lawyers, and the countless victims that have potentially been in sort of contact or communication with them. The experts stressed that privacy acts as a gateway to a range of other fundamental rights including non-derogable rights, the violation of which amounts to the violation of many of other rights.
The experts expressed their deep concern about the reported infiltration of the devices belonging to individuals working with Palestinian NGOs whose peaceful work seeks to promote freedom and justice, and whose role is crucial to any democratic society.
UN demands from Israel:
The experts asked the Israeli authorities to provide information on the measures in place to ensure the protection of the right to privacy of the six individuals mentioned above, as well as any other person – Palestinian or Israeli, and to clarify the legal and procedural framework in place, the process by which such surveillance is authorized, and the mechanism that monitors it, and whether this surveillance was legal, necessary, proportionate and non-discriminatory to its purpose.
The experts also called on Israel to provide information on regulatory oversight conducted by
the Defense Export Controls Agency of the Israeli Ministry of Defense in the context of the following statements made by the NSO Group in its first annual transparency and responsibility report (June 2021), with an explanation of the steps taken to prevent and protect
individuals and groups subjected to its jurisdiction against human rights abuses by business enterprises, and in particular by the products and services of the NO Group, in line with the UN Guiding Principles.
The experts also requested the Israeli authorities to describe the measures that have been taken to ensure that human rights defenders, including civil society organizations and activists, can work in an enabling environment and carry out their legitimate activities without fear of harassment, stigmatization or criminalization of any kind.
