Ref:
29/2014

On Thursday,
26 June 2014, the Training Unit at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
(PCHR) concluded a training course in the field of the freedom of opinion and
expression and human rights for members of the Youth Media Assembly in Khan
Yunis. The 20-hour training course was held in PCHR’s office in Khan Yunis in
the period 22 – 26 June 2014.  Twenty-three
participants attended the course.

The
course focused on a number of international human rights instruments, including
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women; and the Universal Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
against Women. The course also covered the topics of the freedom of opinion and
expression in international conventions, restrictions imposed on the freedom of
opinion and expression in democratic countries, the rule of law and
independence of judiciary.

A
team of specialized trainers supervised the training sessions.  The team included: Mr. Bassam al-Aqra’,
Director of PCHR’s Training Unit; Dr. Fadel Muzaini, a researcher at PCHR’s
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Unit; Ghadeer al-Omari, Publications’ Officer
at PCHR; Majeda Shahada, a researcher at PCHR’s Women’s Rights Unit; and
Shareef Abu Nassar, a lawyer in PCHR’s Legal Aid Unit.

Abdul
Halim Abu Samrah, Public Relations officer at PCHR’s office in Khan Yunis, explained
that this course was part of long-term efforts by PCHR to promote human rights
in Palestinian society in cooperation with community-based organizations. He
also added that this course is the first activity of its kind dedicated to
students of media and public relations in order to raise their awareness in the
field of the freedom of opinion and expression and human rights and get them
involved in PCHR’s various activities. Abu Samrah called upon trainees to
benefit from the PCHR’s services and emphasized that PCHR’s doors are open to
everyone.

The
participants highly appreciated PCHR’s efforts to disseminate the human rights
culture within Palestinian society. One of the participants, Angham al-Astal,
commented that the course contributed to raising the participants’ awareness of
the concepts of human rights, especially since it is the first of its kind, so
it helped them to understand the concepts better as a prelude to claim their
rights. Al-Astal called for holding similar courses for the Assembly’s members throughout
the Gaza Strip. Another participant, Hassan Mansour, added that the course was
characterized by the variation of its topics in spite of the intensity of the
training material. He appreciated the course and praised the dedication of the
trainers and the use of diverse interactive training methods.  He added that active participation and
discussion during the training sessions had enriched the course, but he
requested that more topics should be included in the course.

At
the end of the day, participants received their certificate.