Al Haq - Early Years

Early Years

Al-Haq was established in 1979 by a group of Palestinian lawyers. According to Al-Haq, it was one of the first human rights organizations set up in the Arab world.

During its early years, Al-Haq was largely limited to analyzing Israel's legal status as an Occupying Power in the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, as well as the structures put in place by its governmental authorities in the OPT. Al-Haq would produce some of the early studies trying to apply humanitarian law to the Israeli occupation. Al-Haq reported that these studies "were essential in shaping the debate on what laws and regulations are applicable in the OPT." It was during this period that Al-Haq established its Legal Unit, which helps advance their positions in conjunction with the Legal Research Unit.

By 1986, they had started taking on projects involving human rights issues of specific concerns, like women’s and labour rights. It was this work that helped Al-Haq to earn international recognition.

Middle East analyst, Mouin Rabbani, noted that, from its outset, Al-Haq has been as involved with understanding its environment as it has been with pursuing changes. The need for an organization like this stemmed from both the “incomprehensible” judicial system in the Occupied Territories and its “arbitrary implementation.” The piece also said that in “an accurate reflection of these concerns, legal research, as opposed to human rights monitoring and intervention as narrowly understood, assumed pride of place during al-Haq's formative period,” and Al-Haq still defines itself as both a human rights and legal research organization.