Ref: 18/ 2014

On Monday, 04 May 2014, the Training Unit of the Palestinian Centre for
Human Rights (PCHR) concluded a training course in human rights and democracy
for students of the Faculty of Sharia and Law at Islamic University in Gaza
City.  The 20-hour training course was
held in PCHR’s head office in Gaza City in the period of 21 April – 04 May
2014.  28 students participated the
course.

The program of the course covered a number of international human
rights instruments, including the International Bill of Human Rights (the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights); the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women; Universal Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women; in
addition to the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law.

A team of specialized trainers supervised the training sessions.  The team included Mr. Bassam al-Aqra’,
Director of PCHR’s Training Unit; Fadel Muzeini, a researcher at PCHR’s
Economic, Social and Cultural Unit; Sharif Abu Nassar, a lawyer at PCHR’s Legal
Aid Unit; Mona al-Shawwa, Director of PCHR’s Women’s Rights Unit, Majidah
Shehadah, a researcher at the Women’s Rights Unit; and Mohammed Abu Hashem, a
community activist.

In the concluding speech, Basam al-Aqra’emphasized that this course is
part of PCHR’s long-term efforts to promote human rights in the Palestinian
society.  Al-Aqra’ added that the
relation with students of law faculties 
in the Gaza Strip universities constitutes a consistent policy as PCHR
pays a special attention to these students through organizing training courses
for them in order to raise their awareness and knowledge and develop their
skills in the field of human rights and democracy.  Al-Aqra’ called upon trainees to benefit from
the PCHR’s services and emphasized that PCHR’s doors are open to everyone.  He expressed the hope that this course would
result in a new fruitful beginning for a relationship between PCHR and the
participants.

At the conclusion of the course, the participants highly appreciated
PCHR’s efforts to enhance respect for human rights in Palestinian society and
thanked it for its quick response to students’ request to organize this
training course.  Fatmah Abu Hatab, a participant
in the course, said that this course contributed to raising the participants’
awareness of the principles of human rights and international humanitarian law,
and was characterized by its diverse topics and rich information. Bahaa’
Ghabin, another participant, 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 and that the period
of the course should be longer.

All participants received certificates at the end of the day.