Ref: 71/2013
On Wednesday, 20 November 2013, the Training
Unit of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded a training
course in human rights and democracy for students of the Faculty of Law at
al-Azhar University in Gaza City. The
20-hour training course was held in PCHR’s head office in Gaza City in the
period 11 – 20 November 2013. 21
students, most of whom are 1st –year students, attended the course.
The program of the course included a number of
international human rights instruments, including the International Bill of
Human Rights (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights); the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women; Universal Declaration on the Elimination of
Violence against Women; in addition to the independence of the judiciary and
the rule of law.
A team of specialized trainers supervised the
training sessions. The team included Mr.
Bassam al-Aqra’, Director of PCHR’s Training Unit; Mr. Khalil Shahin, Director
of PCHR’s Economic, Social and Cultural Unit; Ahlam al-Aqra’, a lawyer at
PCHR’s Legal Aid Unit; Mona al-Shawwa, Director of PCHR’s Women’s Rights Unit,
Majda Shehada, a researcher at PCHR’s Women’s Rights Unit, and Mohammed Abu
Hashem, a community activist.
In the concluding speech, Mr. Raji Sourani,
Director of PCHR, emphasized that this course is part of PCHR’s long-term
efforts to promote human rights in the Palestinian society. Sourani added that the international
humanitarian and human rights laws have added a fourth dimension to peoples’
struggle and their right to self-determination, which means the right of all
people under occupation to resistance in all forms. Sourani also talked about the “Moot Court”
project implemented by PCHR that aim to pass PCHR’s knowledge, expertise and
experience in the area of prosecution of war criminals to the next generation
of lawyers. Sourani said that PCHR
opened through this course a window to the participants in the field of human
rights. He also explained that each
topic addressed by the course fits a Ph. D dissertation calling upon them to
focus on developing themselves in all fields.
Mr. Bassam al-Aqra’ stated that PCHR pays
special attention to students of the Faculty of Law through organizing training
courses for them in order to raise their awareness and knowledge and develop
their skills in the field of human rights and democracy. Al-Aqra’ called upon trainees to benefit from
the PCHR’s services and emphasized that PCHR’s doors are open to everyone.
At the conclusion of the course, the
participants highly appreciated PCHR’s efforts to enhance respect for human
rights in Palestinian society and thanked it for its quick response to
students’ request to organize this training course. ‘Omer al-Dabous, a participant in the course,
said that this course contributed to raising the participants’ awareness of the
principles of human rights and international humanitarian law, and was
characterized by its diverse topics and rich information. Amani Abu Tair, another
participant, appreciated the course and praised the dedication of the trainers
and the use of diverse interactive training methods. She added that active participation and
discussion during the training sessions had enriched the course, but she
requested that more specialized courses should be organized.
All participants received certificates at the
end of the day.
