Aid Watch Palestine (AWP) is an independent, Palestinian-driven initiative
AWP stimulates and supports efforts to make international aid more accountable to Palestinians — starting with reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. We invite the Palestinian community and aid actors -- local and international, public and private -- to join us in critical and constructive scrutiny of aid. Together, we can liberate ourselves from aid that harms and focus on long-term solutions. To achieve this vision, AWP works to ensure that:
Information about aid is available and accessible
AWP advocates for current, accurate and actionable information about aid to be made available to the public in both Arabic and English.
Palestinian discourse on aid is critical and constructive
AWP engages all parts of Palestinian society in analysis and critique of aid processes.
Palestinians understand their rights in relation to aid and have ways to claim them AWP
educates Palestinians about how the aid system is supposed to work. We publicize information about how to lodge effective complaints and advocate for better aid policy.
Aid actors meet their own mandates and face consequences when they don’t
AWP encourages aid actors to comply with international law, global standards and existing commitments, and to work diligently for an end to the need for aid.
People who speak out are supported AWP builds a community of justice-minded Palestinians and internationals who are passionate about improving aid in Palestine and globally and who understand what is at stake.
Why a New Initiative?
Aid Watch Palestine fills a gap in the Palestinian national discourse by sustaining a focus on the role
international aid plays in enabling violations of Palestinian human rights. We:
- Catalyze open, constructive and results-oriented discussions about how to fundamentally re-envision aid, thus challenging the idea that aid practice only needs small, technical improvements;
- Involve ALL aid actors (public, private, international and Palestinian) and, in doing so, focus on the transparency and accountability of the aid system rather than on individuals;
- Provide data, information and analysis about aid politics in Arabic and English to empower stakeholders to advocate effectively;
- Bring international law to the forefront of the discussion about aid so that we move beyond the idea of “aid effectiveness” to deal with issues of justice; and
- Frame aid issues in historical and political context from the perspective of Palestinians, the intended “beneficiaries.”