Ref: 42/2021

Date: 11 August 2021

On Monday, 09 August 2021, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded a training program on “Capacity Building for Child Protection Teams on Participation, Monitoring, and Accountability to Fulfill Their Rights.” The training course was attended by 50 female and male children divided into two groups and selected by 30 child rights organizations in the Gaza Strip and the Central Council of Students’ Parents. The 60-hour training course was held over the course of 3 weeks from 25 July 2021 to 09 August 2021.

This training comes within PCHR project “Strengthen child participation, child rights monitoring, reporting and accountability to child rights,” funded by Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) in partnership with Save the Children and in coordination with community organizations.

This training aims to raise children’s awareness on national and international conventions pertaining to child rights, and to enhance their role in monitoring, documenting, and reporting violations against children. The training also intends to impower children to expose child rights violations, lead on data collection and accountability. Additionally, the training focused on building children’s capacity on working with and influencing governmental decision-makers at both the national and international levels, through standardized frameworks for enabling children rights and promoting inclusive and democratic Civil Society Organizations (CSO) practices. Moreover, the traning seeks to share knowledge and expertise with all children, so they can plan and implement initiatives and accountability sessions to enable their rights in the Palestinian society.

The training program was divided into three main components (20 hours/component):

1. Introductory training on the international human rights law; international conventions signed by the State of Palestine, especially Convention on the Rights of the Child; monitoring and documenting child’s rights violations and following up and intervention mechanisms; violence against children and the national strategy to reduce it; empowering children in community participation, leadership, and accountability; and international and domestic protection for children.
2. Training children on collecting and analyzing data, documenting and reporting violations against them, monitoring child’s rights, advocacy at both the national and international levels, communication skills, formulating Public Budgeting for the Realization of Children’s Rights, accountability and advocacy for child rights issues; and how to prepare, plan and implement initiatives and accountability sessions.
3. United Nations human rights mechanisms; human rights commission; Special Rapporteur on the rights of the child; Committee on the Rights of the Child; preparing and writing international reports strategies; how to prepare and write official international reports; submission and follow-up on individual complaints.

In conclusion of the course, PCHR organized a closing ceremony, where Abdul Halim Abu Samra, Head of PCHR’s Training Unit, thanked the participants for thier interest, commitment and active participation during the training days and encourage them to transfer what they learned to their peers in the schools and institutions that nominated them and to nearby communities  for increased impact. Abu Samra added that in the coming phase, the children will join a a series of practical measures to implement what they have learned in the training course in reality through conducting practical learning days atnPCHR’s various units, visiting child rights organizations, holding accountability sessions with decision makers at both national and local levels, and preparing plans to organize and implement initiatives and support children to establish advisory boards.

For their part, the trainees stressed the importance of training in enabling them to participate and contribute to defending the rights of Palestinian children who are exposed to marginalization and the most heinous violations of their rights. Moreover, the participants praised PCHR and Save the Children for their role in advocating for child rights and Norad  for sponsoring this project.