On Tuesday, 21 February 2012, the Arab Organization for Human
Rights (AOHR) and the Palestinian Centre for Human on Rights (PCHR) concluded a
training course titled “Martyr Ahmed Said Habboush” on human rights
and justice mechanisms for activists of the Syrian civil society.  The
training aimed at preparing activists to confront violations of human rights
and at building their capacity in the area of justice mechanism.

The 4-day training course (29 training hours) was held in Cairo
between 18 and 21 February 2012, with 30 Syrian human rights activists and
lawyers representing 10 organizations in attendance.

In his concluding speech, Mr. Alaa Shalabi, Secretary General of
AOHR, thanked the participants for their commitment and their interaction in
the course, which contributed to its enrichment and vitality.  He further appreciated the role played by
PCHR, Member of AOHR, describing it as the engine that leads the human rights
movement in Palestine, and appreciated the role of Syrian organizations that
contributed to arrangements and preparations for the course. 

Mr. Raji Soaurani, Director of PCHR and President of AOHR’s Board
of Trustees, congratulated the participants for enduring the burden of
traveling to participate in the course.  He
pointed out that the ideal situation would be “standing beside you in the
field, sharing your suffering and holding the course in Syrian, but the
oppression and suppression practiced by the Syrian regime presented this.” He
further called on the participants to turn what they learnt from the
theoretical level into the practice.  He
added that this course taught the participants about mechanisms of monitoring,
documenting and reporting crimes committed against the Syrian people, which
constitute a first step towards holding the perpetrators accountable.

Mr. Rassem al-Atasi, Member of AOHR’s Board of Trustees and AOHR’s
former Director in Syria, appreciated the role played by PCHR and AOHR in the
dissemination of the culture of prosecution of war criminals and holding them
accountable in the Arab world.  He
stressed the need to hold similar courses, depending on the extensive knowledge
acquired by the participants, which was relevant to developments in the Arab
World. 

In the end of the ceremony, Mr. Raji Soaurani, Director of PCHR and
President of AOHR’s Board of Trustees; Mr. Alaa Shalabi, Secretary General of
AOHR; and Mr. Rassem al-Atasi, Member of AOHR’s Board of Trustees and AOHR’s
former Director in Syria, handed certificates to the participants. 

It should be noted that this was the second course of its kind in
2012.  The first course was held in Cairo
in early February 2012, which was attended by 34 Yemini civil society
activists.