Robert F Kennedy Memorial

For Immediate Release 23 March 2006
Contact: Sushetha Gopallawa 202-463-7575 ext 270

Award Winning Palestinian human rights advocate blocked from visiting Washington, DC by the US Administration
RFK Memorial calls on members of the media and human rights community to ask State Department officials how this could happen

Washington, DC - 1991 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award winner, Palestinian human rights lawyer Raji Sourani, has been stuck in Gaza despite plans to meet numerous U.S. officials from March 24th -30th. The United States Department of State has not granted Sourani a travel visa to the US though he has confirmed meetings with high-ranking officials at the Department of State, the National Security Council, an advisor to President Bush, The International Republican Institute, and The Heritage Foundation. In a letter addressed to Sourani, the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem required him “to obtain an Israeli police certificate” before his application could move further.

“International law is not a potluck dinner, the U.S. can’t simply pick and choose when to apply it and when to ignore it,” said Todd Howland, Director of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights whose organization was facilitating Sourani’s visit. Howland went on to say, “on one hand the US government asks a Palestinian wanting to visit the U.S. to obtain a police certificate from Israel, a country that international law holds is illegally occupying its territory. On the other hand, the U.S. government does not address the fact that Israel has obligations, regardless of the legitimacy of the occupation, to the health and welfare of those living in Gaza based on the Fourth Geneva Convention - obligations its present closure of the border crossings contradict.”

UN Security Council Resolution 242 (S/RES/242), unanimously adopted on 22 November 1967 by all members of the Security Council, including the US, called for the “withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict.” “Forcing a Palestinian to obtain a police clearance from an occupier who was instructed to withdraw over 35 years ago is absurd,” added Howland.

Timothy Smith, Office Manager for desk coordinating the multi-agency review process for visas at the Department of State (202-663-1246; smithtw@state.gov), can be contacted to for an explanation of how it is possible for the Department of State to request Mr. Sourani to obtain a police clearance from Israel, even though international law considers the Israeli occupation illegal and therefore its actions related to Palestinians de jure should be questioned.

Todd Howland, Director of the Center for Human of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial can be contacted to discuss the details of Mr. Sourani’s case and abuse of discretion by US government officials by making such a request of Mr. Sourani and other Palestinians. Please call Sushetha Gopallawa 202-463-7575 ext 270 to contact Howland.

Raji Sourani's Official Biography from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (www.pchrgaza.org)

Raji Sourani has been dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights throughout his professional career despite the personal and professional sacrifices he has been forced to make in adhering to the fundamental principles of human rights. He has been an active lawyer since his qualification in 1977 representing a wide variety of victims of human rights abuses. His profession, particularly his professional success and commitment, earned him early on the hostility of the Israeli military and State, a hostility that has continued and increased throughout his career.

Despite periods of political imprisonment in Israel and years of harassment and violence from the Israeli military, Raji has maintained an unwavering commitment to human rights and justice for both Palestinian victims in particular, and for all victims worldwide. His refusal to bend to political considerations, dogged determination in seeking justice for victims and his strength to speak out against perpetrators of human rights abuse in Israel, in the Palestinian Authority or elsewhere have earned him a reputation for integrity and commitment throughout the human rights world and beyond. Raji has been an advocate for basic human rights standards both at a domestic and international level and has refused to curtail his outspoken criticisms of failure to adhere to human rights standards by the Palestinian Authority, by political parties and by other states. This refusal to be silenced has resulted in further arrests, periods of detention, harassment by the Palestinian Authority and even death threats from Palestinian fundamentalist parties.

However, rather than weakening his desire to see justice done, these dark periods have actually served to strengthen Raji's resolve. In particular, the torture he suffered during periods of interrogation at the hands of the Israeli Shin Bet in Israeli prisons throughout the 1970s and 1980s, served to strengthen his commitment, his character and his determination to ensure that victims of human rights abuse world wide can seek justice for the abuses perpetrated against them and that those who perpetrate such acts cannot enjoy impunity.

Despite the cumulative impact on his health of these long years of physical and mental abuse, Raji continues to strive for these goals through the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights which he founded in 1995 with a group of fellow lawyers and human rights activists in the Gaza Strip. Raji has spearheaded the award-winning centre since its establishment and continues to ensure that the centre provides the legal and other services to victims of human rights abuses in the Gaza Strip that enable them to seek justice and reparation.

A committed family man, Raji has been blessed with an equally committed and understanding family, providing love and commitment through even the worst times. Raji's wife in particular has proved the strongest and unswerving source of support, despite the often great sacrifices to their life that his work has brought.

Throughout the recent challenges presented during the last two years of this second Intifada, Raji has remained stalwart in his determination that the centre will continue to provide the qualitative, effective and free services to the maximum number of victims. This he has achieved and the centre has responded effectively to the ongoing deterioration in the day to day situation in the Gaza Strip and throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

A leading advocate on human rights and Palestinian issues, Raji epitomizes the strength and determination of the Palestinian people in their struggle to attain their collective and individual rights, to attain justice and to seek to ensure justice for all victims of human rights violations around the world.