Ref: 07/2006

Date:  16 March 2006

For the 4^th Consecutive Year, PCHR and UNRWA Implement their joint “Democracy and Human Rights Project”

The Training Unit Opens the Second Training Course of the Joint Project for 2006

On Thursday, 16 March 2006, PCHR’s Training Unit completed the second training course in the area of human rights and student mediation.  The course was held in cooperation with the Education Department at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in the Gaza Strip.

It is noted that this training course is part of ongoing cooperation between PCHR and UNRWA for the fourth consecutive year.  The annual joint project is coordinated and agreed to at the beginning of each year.

This course was the second in the series of training courses to be organized jointly with UNRWA in the Gaza Strip during 2006.  It was held for 3 days, from 14 to 16 March, for 22 male and female social studies teachers working in UNRWA schools in Gaza City.  The course was held at UNRWA’s Zaitoon Preparatory School for Boys in the city.

The course included training sessions on different human rights topics including the importance of human rights, the history of human rights, the international legitimacy of human rights, the three main components of human rights (the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the Special Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and the Special Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), the Convention on the Rights of the Child, student mediation and conflict-resolution.

A team of specialized trainers, from within PCHR and from external organisations, conduct the training, utilizing different training techniques.  Sessions were characterized by active participation and discussion.

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