Ref: 9/2023
Date: 18 February 2023
On Thursday, 16 February 2023, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded a training course on “Promoting the capabilities of journalists in human rights in general, and women’s rights in particular,” in cooperation with the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. The 20-hour-training course was held from 13 to 16 February 2023, and it was attended by 23 female and male journalists.
The training course aims to build the capacities of journalists and media personnel in human rights, especially women’s rights and freedom of opinion and expression for their important role in shedding light on women’s issues, especially gender-based violence (GBV), in addition to enhancing the major role of media personnel in disseminating the human rights culture, including women’s issues, in the community.
The training program tackled various topics such as: the International Bill of Human Rights, Human Rights Based Approach, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), GBV, the family protection draft law, freedom of opinion and expression in national and international legislations, mechanisms of monitoring and documenting violations against journalists, and ways to protect journalists in times of armed conflicts.
At the end of the course, PCHR held a closing ceremony where Abdul Halim Abu Samra, Head of PCHR’s Training Unit, emphasized the historic relationship between PCHR, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate and those working in the field of media (visual, audio and written). He stressed that this relationship is integrative in a way aimed to protect human rights, exposing human rights violations, and forming public opinion against them. Abu Samra said that human rights provides a window on the community’s concerns while media reflects the reality of this community and a tool for shaping public opinion, expressing his hope that the course will contribute to deepening knowledge, concepts, standards and mechanisms relating to the role of media in the human rights field.
Abu Samra added that cooperation with journalists is on top of PCHR’s priorities, considering journalism the fourth authority whose mission is not only limited to the oversight of the public authority, but rather goes beyond disseminating human rights concepts and culture and raising awareness of their importance, as many people are still unaware of their rights and how to defend and preserve them. This also includes a call to respect and safeguard these rights for their role in building democracy and strengthening governance, transparency, accountability, equity, and social development.
Dr. Tahseen Al-Astal, Vice President of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, appreciated PCHR’s unique efforts in the field of disseminating human rights culture among journalists and media personnel in different media outlets. He also praised PCHR’s on-going role in defending the freedom of opinion and expression in Palestine, and PCHR’s contribution to enhancing journalists’ capabilities in the human rights approach, laws specialized in journalistic work, and protection and intervention mechanisms particularly in times of conflict. Dr. Al-Astal urged the female and male journalists participating in the course to take the role in disseminating the human rights culture and employing what they learned during the course in their work fields all the way to achieve responsible professional journalism obliged to its ethics and standards.
The participants praised the course, looking forward to holding more courses on human rights in a way that enhances their efficiency in addressing violations committed against the Palestinian people, particularly women, in their writings and reports.
At the end of the ceremony, all participants received certificates.