Human Appeal is a British international development and relief charity based in Manchester. It was established in 1991. 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 restyled in 2018. It is now known as Human Appeal.
Offices
Human Appeal has offices in the UK, AUSTRALIA, France, Spain and Ireland. Although it shares the one founder and organisational name, it is a separate organisation from Human Appeal Australia and Human Appeal UAE. In 2018, Othman Moqbel was dismissed as chief executive pending investigation. Moqbel says that he plans to appeal. In April 2019, Human Appeal appointed Dr Mohamed Ashmawey as chief executive.
Since 2011 Human Appeal has been a supporter of Syrian refugees. In February 2018, Human Appeal called for immediate ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta and pointed out the devastating situation of civilians in the area. 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. In March 2016 Human Appeal completed a three-month project during which four Gaza universities were rebuilt and £227,000 contributed. 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. After the floods in North England, the Bradford District Council was supported during the clearing up process in late 2015. In January 2016 Human Appeal worked with the Slough Khidman Community Trust providing winter survival kits. 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. As part of their winter appeal, Human Appeal organised The Comedy Show which toured in December 2016. Human Appeal was named “Charity of the Year” at the 2017 British Muslim Awards for their achievements and contribution to British society. In summer 2017, Human Appeal launched an appeal for the victims of the Manchester attack, 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. 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. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisation worked with boxer Amir Khan; with Liam Byrne MP and with Claudia Webbe MP to promote relief efforts. The organisation worked to deliver food to key workers and people in need during the emergency. 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.
Alleged extremist ties
Human Appeal was included as a Hamas front in a 1996 CIA report on charitable organizations that finance terror. In 2003, the FBI said Human Appeal had a "close relationship" with Hamas. The US state department, in leaked cables from 2003, also associated Human Appeal 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, they 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. The name and address of the charity were posted on the Union of Good's official website as a member. In 2008, Israel listed Human Appeal as a banned association due to links with Union of Good and alleged fundraising for Hamas. 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. The UK Charity Commission interviewed spoke to involved charities in 2009, confirmed with them they were not members, and closed its investigation. 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.
Awards and nominations
In 2013, Human Appeal was awarded the International Charity Award at Global Peace and Unity. In January 2015, Human Appeal was nominated for the Charity of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards. In January 2017, Human Appeal was awarded Charity of the Year at the British Muslim Awards for their outstanding achievements and contribution to British society.
