Ref: 46/2008
Date: 29 October 2008
In Cooperation with the National Association of Democracy and Law in Rafah, PCHR organizes a Roundtable Discussion on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression and the Right to Peaceful Assembly
On 29 October 2008, in cooperation with the National Association of Democracy and Law (NADL), the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) organized a roundtable discussion on the rights to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly in NADL’s offices in Rafah. The roundtable that was chaired by Mr. Ibrahim Mu’ammar, Director of NADL, discussed the status of the rights to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly as documented by a study prepared by PCHR to evaluate the enforcement of these two rights between November 2006 and July 2008.
Mr. Hamdi Shaqqura, director of PCHR Democratic Development Unit, opened the discussion by reviewing PCHR’s study on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly. Shaqqoura pointed out that the study is composed of three main chapters. He explained that the first chapter reviews the relation between the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly on one hand and democracy on the other hand. It also refers to international standards and instruments that ensure and regulate the practice of these two rights. He continued by saying that the second chapter highlights the status of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) controlled areas, while the third chapter highlights the status of the right to peaceful assembly the PNA controlled areas.
Shaqqura highlighted that the period covered by the study had been the worst in respect to the violations that the study attributes to two main factors which are: the prevailing security chaos and attacks on the rule of law and the political fragmentation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip that resulted in the attacks launched by the two Governments in Gaza and Ramallah on public freedoms, including the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly.
The participants in the discussion agreed that the political crisis is the cause of many violations of human rights, including violations of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly. They concluded that the problem is political and the solution will be realized by dialogue. They criticized the role that had been, and is still being, played by the factional media, that participated in and contributed to fueling conflict during and after the internal fighting. In addition, the participated urged human rights organizations to play a more effective role in the mobilization and advocacy to achieve national reconciliation that would contribute to the reduction of violations perpetrated in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank against the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly.
The discussion was concluded by a set of recommendations:
- Calling upon Hamas and Fatah movements to launch serious dialogue and terminate the state of ongoing fragmentation.
- Calling for not pushing journalists and media into the ongoing political conflict.
- Calling upon the public to play a more effective role through cooperating with civil society organizations towards the achievement of national reconciliation.
