Shawan Jabarin, director of Al-Haq, at the offices of the International Federation for Human Rights in Paris, March 17, 2025. LUCIEN LUNG/RIVA PRESS FOR LE MONDE
For Shawan Jabarin, France's refusal to grant him a visa felt like "a new sanction." The general director of Al-Haq, which claims to be the oldest Palestinian non-governmental human rights organization, has had his visa applications rejected by French authorities twice since September 2025.
On Tuesday, April 14, Jabarin was expected to appear before the European Parliament's human rights committee in Strasbourg. "But he was unable to testify before the committee I chair," wrote MEP Mounir Satouri on X. During the committee session, Satouri called out French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, urging him "to reverse this decision so as not to align with the US sanctions" imposed against the NGO. When contacted by Le Monde, neither the Quai d'Orsay [French foreign ministry] nor the Interior Ministry responded.
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