Human Appeal Explained

Human Appeal
Leader Title:CEO
Leader Name:Dr Mohammed Ashmawey
Type:International NGO
Founding Location:Manchester, England
Headquarters:Manchester
Location:1 Cheadle Point, Carrs Road, Cheadle, England SK8 2BL
Area Served:Worldwide

Human Appeal is a British international development and relief charity based in Manchester. It was established in 1991.[1] It runs targeted poverty relief programmes in emergency response and sustainable development.

In the past, the charity was known as Human Appeal International but was rebranded in 2018. It is now known as Human Appeal.[2]

According to the Telegraph, the organisation is related to UAE-based Human Appeal International which has been accused of having ties with Hamas.

Offices

Human Appeal has offices in the UK (Manchester, London, Birmingham and Leicester), France, Spain and Ireland. Human Appeal said that it is a separate organisation to Human Appeal UAE. According to The Telegraph the two charities are divisions of the same organisation.

Executive staff

In 2018, Othman Moqbel was dismissed as chief executive pending investigation. Moqbel withdrew his appeal to an employment tribunal in 2020.[3] [4]

In April 2019, Human Appeal appointed Dr Mohamed Ashmawey as chief executive.[5] [6] Ashmawey was given the "Humanitarian Hero of the Year Award 2022" at the annual global humanitarian conference AIDEX, in Brussels, Belgium in November 2022.[7]

Memberships and partnerships

Human Appeal is a member of Bond (the UK membership body for non-governmental organisations working in international development),[8] and of the Muslim Charities Forum.[9]

Projects

Since 2011 Human Appeal has been a supporter of refugees of the Syrian civil war. In February 2018, Human Appeal called for immediate ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta and pointed out the devastating situation of civilians in the area.[10] In early 2016 the Isle of Man donated £30.000 to support Human Appeal’s work on the island of Lesbos which has become a main access point of Syrian refugees arriving in Europe.[11]

In March 2016 Human Appeal completed a three-month project during which four Gaza universities were rebuilt and £227,000 contributed.[12] In August 2017 Human Appeal was awarded over £4.3 million by the UNHCR in order to distribute help in Mosul, Iraq after the liberation from ISIS.[13]

After the floods in North England, Bradford City Council was supported during the clearing up process in late 2015.[14] In January 2016 Human Appeal worked with the Slough Khidman Community Trust providing winter survival kits.[15] Later that year, in October 2016, Human Appeal announced the Wrap Up Manchester campaign asking the Greater Manchester public to donate unwanted winter coats to help people in need through the cold months.[16] As part of their winter appeal, Human Appeal organised The Comedy Show which toured in December 2016.[17]

Human Appeal was named "Charity of the Year" at the 2017 British Muslim Awards for their achievements and contribution to British society.[18]

In summer 2017, Human Appeal launched an appeal for the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing, raising £27,000 in a matter of days and earning their then CEO, Othman Moqbel, the honour of being named one of the "Muslim Heroes of Manchester" by the Evening Standard.[19]

The organisation raised and contributed over £114,000 for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.[20]

In November 2019, for the fifth year, the Wrap Up Manchester campaign project ran in partnership with Human Appeal. With drop-off locations across the UK, the project collects unwanted coats and funds and donates them to charities that support people fleeing domestic violence, children living in poverty, refugees and the homeless. In 2018, over 30,000 coats were donated in London, Birmingham and Manchester.[21]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisation worked with boxer Amir Khan;[22] with Liam Byrne MP [23] and with Claudia Webbe MP [24] to promote relief efforts. The organisation worked to deliver food to key workers and people in need during the emergency.[25] [26] [27]

Human Appeal published a report Risking Death to Give Birth: The consequences of conflict on the health needs of women and girls in Syria on 9 years of the Syrian conflict.[28]

In January 2022, Human Appeal joined with the US humanitarian organisation Globus Relief to undertake healthcare projects in northwest Syria and Iraq.[29] [30]

In April 2022, Human Appeal worked with Globus Relief to deliver civilian shelters, together with medical supplies worth £1.5 million, to Ukraine, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The temporary shelters are to be operated by the Ukrainian Muslim Women's League, a local NGO.[31] [32]

Working from Gaziantep, Turkey after the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake, Human Appeal provided medical aid, water and 30,000 meals.[33] [34] [35] Human Appeal's own Al Imaan Hospital in Syria was damaged by the earthquake, but was able to continue to function.

Alleged extremist ties

Human Appeal International, a UAE-based organisation which is related to the British Human Appeal according to the Telegraph had ties with extremists. It was included as a Hamas front in a 1996 CIA report on charitable organizations that finance terror.[36] In 2003, the FBI said Human Appeal International had a "close relationship" with Hamas. The US state department, in leaked cables from 2003, also associated Human Appeal International with Hamas and said that "members of its field offices in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Chechnya had connections to al-Qaeda associates".

In 2012, after the counter-extremism unit in the Department of Education intervened, the UK-based Human Appeal International were banned from an event at a Manchester school. They co-hosted an event in July 2011 event at Brent Town Hall in north London with Hamas supporters.[37] The name and address of the charity were posted on the Union of Good's official website as a member.[38]

In 2008, Israel listed Human Appeal International as a banned association due to links with Union of Good and alleged fundraising for Hamas.[39] [40] The Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation said Human Appeal, along with other British Muslim charities, was an early participant in the Union of Good, an international network designated a terrorist organisation by the US in 2008.[41] The UK Charity Commission interviewed spoke to involved charities in 2009, confirmed with them they were not members, and closed its investigation.[42]

Alleged links to the funding of terrorism made by the Jewish Chronicle in 2012 were withdrawn and an apology was issued in May 2013 after the allegations were deemed untrue and damages paid.[43]

Awards and nominations

In 2013, Human Appeal was awarded the International Charity Award at Global Peace and Unity.[44]

In January 2015, Human Appeal was nominated for the Charity of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards.[45]

In January 2017, Human Appeal was awarded Charity of the Year at the British Muslim Awards[46] for their outstanding achievements and contribution to British society.[47]

Human Appeal was shortlisted in the Charity Times Awards 2022, under the "Change Project of the Year" category.[48]

Supporters

UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Anna Soubry,[49] MP Kate Green,[50] MP Shabana Mahmood, and Sir Graham Brady[51] have all supported Human Appeal.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Charity framework. apps.charitycommission.gov.uk . 2019-06-05.
  2. Web site: Human Appeal gets a new visual identity designed by Johnson Banks. Polianskaya. Alina. 2018-09-27 . Design Week . 2019-06-05.
  3. Web site: Regulator begins statutory inquiry into Human Appeal. Cooney. Rebecca. www.thirdsector.co.uk. 2019-06-05.
  4. Web site: Franey . 28 July 2020 . Mr O Moqbel v Human Appeal: case 2415017/2018 . 3 December 2020 . Employment Tribunals Office, HM Courts and Tribunals Service. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f1ecd598fa8f53d291abf59/Mr_O_Moqbel_v_Human_Appeal_-_2415017_2018_-_Preliminary_-_Withdrawn.pdf
  5. Web site: Human Appeal names new CEO . Charity Times . 23 October 2019 . 18 April 2019.
  6. Web site: Manchester Charity launches Emergency Response to Indian crisis. About Manchester. Barlow. Nigel. 2021-04-30. 2021-05-24.
  7. News: UK charity Human Appeal's CEO wins prestigious global award . 30 November 2022 . The Asian Connect . November 2022.
  8. http://www.religionsanddevelopment.org/files/resourcesmodule/@random454f80f60b3f4/1241771228_wp_30.pdf Kroessin, Mohammed Ralf (2009) Mapping UK Muslim Development NGOs, Working Paper 30 Religions and Development Research Programme
  9. Web site: Our Members . . 19 October 2021.
  10. Web site: 'Besieged to death': Manchester charity Human Appeal call for immediate Syria ceasefire . Mancunian Matters . 24 February 2018 . 2019-06-05.
  11. News: Isle of Man donates £50k to humanitarian charities. BBC News. 7 January 2016. 2016-02-08.
  12. Web site: Manchester charity help to rebuild Gaza universities. ITV News. 22 February 2016. 2016-03-23.
  13. News: After Mosul, UNHCR steps up humanitarian support for returns. Refugees. United Nations High Commissioner for. UNHCR. 2017-09-07.
  14. Web site: Keighley recycling centre opened on New Year's Day for flood-damaged items. Keighley News. 2016-02-08.
  15. Web site: Survival kits handed out to help homeless through winter months in Slough. www.sloughexpress.co.uk. 2016-02-08.
  16. News: Muslim charity donates 1,000 clothes items to keep Manchester's homeless warm this winter. 2016-11-23. The Independent. 2017-11-27 .
  17. News: This Muslim Comedian Sat Next To Donald Trump's Son On A Plane To Scotland. BuzzFeed. 2016-12-09.
  18. News: BBC Local Live: Greater Manchester and East Cheshire on Thursday 26 January 2017 . 2017-01-26 . BBC News . 2017-02-06 .
  19. News: Meeting the Muslim heroes of Manchester. 2017-05-26. Evening Standard. 2017-06-02.
  20. Web site: Charity Commission for England and Wales . Grenfell Tower charitable funds update . 29 January 2019.
  21. News: How to donate to the Wrap Up Manchester project. 2019-11-13. ITV. 2019-12-06 .
  22. Web site: Boxing champ Amir Khan shows the most vulnerable that he's in their corner . ITV plc . 17 September 2020.
  23. Web site: Weekly Round Up 25th April . Liam Byrne . Liam Byrne MP . 17 September 2020.
  24. Web site: Webbe . Claudia . 19 May . https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/102008471272490/168187901321213 . 2022-02-26 . limited. Claudia Webbe MP . Facebook . 17 September 2020.
  25. Web site: Human Appeal delivers help across Glasgow as part of coronavirus emergency campaign . Scottish Housing News . scottishhousingnews.com . 17 September 2020.
  26. Web site: Community efforts to provide hot meals for key workers and those in need . Rochdale Online . Rochdale Online . 17 September 2020.
  27. Web site: Ferguson . Sam . Finsbury Park Mosque hands out 100 meals to Whittington staff . Islington Tribune . New Journal Enterprises . 17 September 2020.
  28. Web site: Risking Death to Give Birth: The consequences of conflict on the health needs of women and girls in Syria - Syrian Arab Republic.
  29. Web site: Human Appeal UK in partnership with Globus Relief USA - Syrian Arab Republic . . 28 January 2022 .
  30. Web site: Human Appeal partners with US charity to support Syria and Iraq . CivilSociety . 28 January 2022.
  31. News: Charity to donate £1.5million worth of medical supplies to war-torn Ukraine . Yusef . Alam . 17 May 2022 . Bradford Telegraph and Argus .
  32. Web site: UK and US NGOs provide £1.5 million medical delivery inside Ukraine - Ukraine ReliefWeb . ReliefWeb . . 17 May 2022 .
  33. Web site: CNN . Disaster relief pours into Turkey, Syria as earthquake death toll rises . 8 March 2023 .
  34. News: Scheerhout . John . How people in Greater Manchester can help after Turkey and Syria earthquake . 8 March 2023 . Manchester Evening News . 7 February 2023 .
  35. Disaster relief pours into Turkey, Syria as earthquake death toll rises . 10 July 2023 . CBS News anchors Lana Zak and Errol Barnett spoke with Derya Kalender, the senior HR officer for the Human Appeal Charity, which is providing food, water and medical aid amid the crisis, about the greatest needs. .
  36. https://books.google.com/books?id=CG-AjU3rraQC&q=%22Human+Appeal%22&pg=PA144 Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad
  37. Web site: Gilligan . Andrew . 2015-10-03 . Terror-link charity was due to host joint official reception with Tory party . 2024-04-09 . The Telegraph . en.
  38. News: Gillgan . Andrew . Human Appeal and Hamas: the evidence . . 19 October 2010.
  39. http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/pressroom/2008/pages/defense%20minister%20signs%20order%20banning%20hamas-affiliated%20charitable%20organizations%207-jul-2008.aspx Defense Minister signs order banning Hamas-affiliated charitable organizations
  40. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/human-appeal-international-linked-to-bendigo-mosque/news-story/7d997d945755029a7b8e9b77389371dc Human Appeal International linked to Bendigo mosque
  41. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11114599/Government-donation-to-Muslim-Charities-Forum-denounced-as-madness.html Government donation to Muslim Charities Forum denounced as "madness"
  42. News: Islamic charities in UK fear they are being unfairly targeted over extremism . The Guardian . 2015-07-22 . 2016-02-01 . Alex . Delmar-Morgan.
  43. News: Human Appeal International: an apology . The Jewish Chronicle . 30 May 2013.
  44. Web site: GPU 2013 Event Brochure . 17 June 2019.
  45. News: British Muslim Awards 2015 finalists unveiled. Asian Image. 23 January 2015. 1 November 2015.
  46. News: Ramchurn . Sheena . Winners are announced at the 5th annual British Muslim Awards 2017 presented by Al Rayan Bank. The Asian Today. 30 January 2017. 1 April 2018.
  47. News: BBC Local Live: Greater Manchester and east Cheshire on Thursday 26 January 2017 . 2017-01-26 . BBC News . 2017-02-06 .
  48. Web site: Shortlist 2022 . Charity Times . 25 August 2022.
  49. News: Sir Keir Starmer and Anna Soubry condemn "genocide" facing Rohingya at Eid reception in Parliament . 2017-09-18. Human Appeal . 2021-05-24 .
  50. Web site: 2021-11-19. Kate's blog: 19 November 2021 - Kate Green. 2022-01-08. Kate Green. en-GB.
  51. News: Supporting Human Appeal. 2018-11-21 . Graham Brady MP Facebook . 2021-05-24.