Al-Marsad – Arab Human Rights Centre in Golan Heights is an independent, not-for-profit international human rights organization with no religious or political affiliation that operates in the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

.Humphries, Isabelle
In the Ghost Towns of the Occupied Golan, Five Villages Defiantly Wave the Syrian Flag
''Washington Report on Middle East Affairs'', August 2006 The Golan Heights region is internationally recognised as

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n territory occupied by Israel, although Israel asserts it has a right to retain control over the area.Y.Z Blum "Secure Boundaries and Middle East Peace in the Light of International Law and Practice" (1971) pages 24–46 The organisation was created in October 2003 and is run from

Majdal Shams Majdal Shams (; ) is a predominantly Druze town in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, located in the southern foothills of Mount Hermon. It is known as the informal "capital" of the region. Majdal Shams played a significant role in the Great ...

.Szerman, Nathalie and Feki, Masri
Les druzes du Golan
''Israël Magazine'', 9 July 2007
Original: L'objectif révélé du centre est de «faire l'inventaire des graves violations de l'occupation israélienne contre les Arabes syriens du Golan afin de faire connaître à la communauté internationale la situation des. Droits de l'homme dans le Golan» et d'encourager une intervention internationale. L'un de ces abus serait le «nettoyage ethnique» des Arabes syriens du Golan effectué par Israël. Al-Marsad, fondé en octobre 2003 par un groupe d'avocats et de professions libérales est une organisation indépendante à but non lucratif.
Translation: The centre's explicit aim is to "draw up an inventory of the serious violations made by the Israeli occupation against the Syrian Arabs of the Golan," in order to both bring to the international community's attention and encourage intervention. One of the abuses is the "ethnic cleansing" of Syrian Arabs of the Golan carried out by Israel. Al-Marsad, founded in October 2003 "by a group of lawyers and professional people" is an independent, non-profit organization. It was the first human rights organisation founded in the Golan. Al-Marsad is registered with the

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i Registrar of Non-Profits, and is a member of the OPGAI (Occupied Palestinian and Golan Advocacy Initiative) and Convenio Palestina 2015.

Issues and campaigns

Human rights and humanitarian law

Al-Marsad has published detailed legal studies on behalf of affected individuals in the

, concerning: forced evictions and internal displacement, the illegality of family separation, parallel reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, including advocacy before the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights concerning human rights abuses, economic occupation, and Israeli violations of international law. Al-Marsad has also voiced concern over what it deems Israel's "ethnic cleansing" of the Syrian Arab population in the Golan. 130,000 Syrian Arabs from the Golan Heights were expelled or fled to Syria following Israel's capture of the territory in 1967. Most villages were also destroyed by Israeli forces, leaving six villages and 23,000 Syrian residents remaining in the Golan. Al-Marsad has reported that Israeli settlers receive five times the amount of water than the area's Syrian farmers do, and that land has been expropriated for

Israeli settlements Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Jewish identity or ethnicity, and hav ...

. Al-Marsad has also reported that Arab residents, moreover, pay more taxes to Israel than their Israeli counterparts while receiving fewer services.

Israeli (de facto) annexation of the Golan Heights

Al-Marsad campaigns against Israel's (de facto) annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights.http://www.golan-marsad.org/Images/022011/Dearabizing%20the%20golan.pdf

References

{{reflist Human rights organizations based in Israel Golan Heights

Issues and campaigns

Human rights and humanitarian law

Israeli (de facto) annexation of the Golan Heights

See also

References