In the past decade, researchers and practitioners have critically reflected on the tendency by which human rights organisations are drawing closer to armies. Indeed, in an attempt to counter arguments made by armies justifying their operations, NGOs and UN missions sometimes mimic military logic and research practices. This is but one example of the complex amalgam of similarities and differences among human rights organizations and state institutions. But what if the similarities run even deeper than we’d like to admit? Can we, as human rights defenders, really draw a line clearly differentiating ourselves from state institutions?
On May 25th 2016, B’Tselem—the Israeli Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories—announced that it would end its 25 year long practice of filing complaints to the Military Advocate General (MAG) Corps, Israel’s military legal system, in cases of suspected harm to Palestinians. Upon releasing their report, the organisation declared:
“…there is no longer any point in pursuing justice and defending human rights by working with a system whose real function is measured by its ability to continue to successfully cover up unlawful acts and protect perpetrators.”
