Ramallah – Together – Today, Tuesday, a group of Palestinian civil society organizations launched the ‘Aouna’ initiative, in a meeting organized at the headquarters of the Abdul Mohsen Qattan Foundation in the city of Ramallah, in the presence of approximately 50 organizations and actors in Palestinian civil society. The idea of ??the main initiative, its proposed tools and mechanisms of action were reviewed, and the prospects for its development were investigated through a group discussion.
The idea of ??the “Aouna” initiative crystallized after the open genocidal war against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and the continuous attack by the occupation and settler militias in the West Bank, with the clear support and complicity of a number of Western colonial countries. This initiative comes from the standpoint of the social responsibility of Palestinian institutions and coalitions active in multiple sectors to create a strategic path under the title ‘Aounah’ in order to strive towards independence
from the colonial financing system, as these institutions see themselves as an integral part of the national liberation project, refusing to condemn the struggle of the Palestinian people. Any form of financing that is subject to political conditions conflicts with the legitimate collective right to confront colonialism, in addition to rejecting what the colonial financing system has undermined the national liberation and development project over many decades.
This initiative essentially seeks to question colonial funding policies on the one hand, and to seriously critically review the culture of civil work, its strategies and directions on the other hand. The initiative also seeks to strengthen the institutions’ steadfastness in the face of politically conditional funding through several tools that restore consideration to local resources and effective human energies in the face of… The system of subjugation and control and the strengthening of forms of societal solidarity, in order to disengage through a
systematic and strategic course of action from the dominant colonial financing system.
The ‘Aouna’ initiative calls on all Palestinian civil society organizations to take a decisive stance on the colonial financing system, and to join the initiative by adopting the attached principles document, committing to it, and working under its general framework, believing in the importance of unifying the Palestinian voice in confronting the colonial machine of oppression and its tools in order to achieve The rights of the Palestinian people are complete.
*The statement is attached below.
Document of principles for the initiative to gain independence from the colonial financing system
introduction
Based on our societal responsibility and our national and moral commitment, we, as a group of Palestinian institutions and coalitions working in various sectors, are launching an initiative under the framework of ‘Seeking Independence from the Colonial Funding System,’ following the positions of many donor agencies, whic
h showed complicity in the war of extermination on the Gaza Strip. . These parties criminalized resistance to Zionist colonialism, equated their positions between the colonizer and the colonized, cut off funding or threatened to cut it, and took unfair measures to impose their positions.
This initiative stems from the realization that the colonial funding system has historically been an instrument of control and political subjugation, and has sought to implant a competitive and individualistic culture among civil society organizations, based on strengthening fragmentation, with the aim of systematically undermining the infrastructure of the liberation struggle in Palestine.
From here, this initiative seeks to review the policies, practices, tools, and harms of colonial funding and conditional and/or politically directed grants, and their impact on the struggle of the Palestinian people. It will also work to unify and strengthen the role of civil society organizations in confronting this type of funding, wit
hin a vision that believes in the role and position of civil society organizations as an enhanced part of the Palestinian popular struggle, for liberation and emancipation, and the full realization of our rights.
This comes, necessarily, through a serious critical review of the prevailing culture of civil society work promoted by donors, and by raising the pace of our work and our role in holding donors accountable, and evaluating their commitment to the values ??of solidarity and their position on the Palestinian struggle, especially with the absence of the role of the Palestinian Authority in implementing its commitments. And exercising its role stipulated in the Associations Law, and the law stipulates rejecting any political conditions on grants and funding provided to civil society organizations.
We emphasize that this initiative comes as a continuation of previous national campaigns and initiatives that aim to disengage from the conditional financing system. This initiative also integrates with simila
r global campaigns calling for independence and reliance on the local energies and resources of vulnerable peoples, especially peoples who have suffered from colonialism for many decades and are still struggling to get rid of its dependency.
principles
This initiative declares that it is an integral part of the national struggle to liberate Palestine, and that our primary role and goal is to contribute to the serious work to achieve our full and legitimate national rights, most importantly the right of return and self-determination, and we seek to:
To keep in mind the goal of disengaging from the colonial financing system, by mobilizing and activating all our available resources and human energies, the spirit of volunteerism and giving, deepening partnership among the sons and daughters of our people, and enhancing grassroots community involvement in civil work.
The categorical rejection of any funding subject to political or procedural conditions that conflict with our struggle against colonialism and th
e values ??from which we base our work; Such as criminalizing fellow institutions, declaring a rejection of resistance through clauses calling it ‘terrorism,’ or preventing the adoption of calls to boycott Israel, or silencing us under the pretext of ‘incitement.’
Welcoming international solidarity support, whether financial or otherwise, based on respect for the dignity of our people, the independence of their decisions, and our right as actors in our society to read our reality coupled with discourse, strategies, and action tools that stem from it.
Rejecting funding that promotes fragmentation and fragmentation of our people.
The institutions signing this document commit to the following:
Combating all forms of normalization, and refusing to receive politically conditional funding.
Refusing to receive any support from foreign or Arab governments and institutions that declared political positions condemning and criminalizing the struggle of our people, especially after October 7.
A bold critical review
of the institutions’ financing policies and work strategies, and developing them in line with the vision of disengagement from the colonial financing system, and working to enhance the culture of social solidarity, starting from our needs and appreciation for the resources and energies of our people, away from elitism and fragmentation.
Active participation in providing local and international advocacy, publicly confronting funding conditions, providing legal support, and joint campaigns to confront financing conditions, by working to monitor and hold donors accountable, and by mobilizing and exchanging resources.
Rejecting any oversight procedures for the purpose of examination and audit, especially those introduced after October 7, which have a security and political nature, while exposing foreign and international parties that include these procedures in their contracts despite their illegality and illegality.
That the above principles constitute the minimum positions of the signatories to this document
, with the development of support mechanisms for institutions and entities prepared to provide a higher ceiling.
We call on civil society organizations throughout Palestine to join and sign this initiative, and to commit to promoting the principles contained in this document at the internal level, by presenting and discussing them within institutions, and to conduct a serious review of the financing policies adopted, and develop them in line with this document. We also call on partner institutions and coalitions to participate in our efforts to develop a code of conduct to monitor and hold donors accountable.
Source: Maan News Agency