Ref: 5/2012

On Thursday, 19 January 2012, the Training Unit
of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), in cooperation with civil society
organizations in Khan Yunis, concluded a training course in human rights and
democracy.  The 20-hour training course was held in PCHR’s office in Khan
Yunis in the period 15 – 19 January 2012, with 37 participants representing 10
civil society organizations from Khan Yunis in attendance.

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; Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; the Convention on the
Rights of the Child; and Universal Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
against Women.  The course also covered other topics such as the rule of
law, independence of the judiciary, the rule of law, political participation
and gender issues.

The training was conducted by a number of
specialized trainers from PCHR: Majda Shihada, a researcher in PCHR’s Women’s
Rights Unit; Sharif Abu Nassar, a lawyer in PCHR’s Legal Aid Unit; Bassam
al-Aqra’, Director of PCHR’s Training Unit; and Khalil Shahin, Director of
PCHR’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Unit.

Jaber Wishah, PCHR’s Deputy Director, explained
that this course is part of a 3-year project funded by the European Union and
Oxfam Novib, whose goal is to improve awareness and respect for human rights in
the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Wishah added that this course was part of
long-term efforts exerted by PCHR to promote human rights in the Palestinian
society in cooperation with community-based organizations.  He further asked the participants to continue
to benefit from the services offered by PCHR to everyone, hoping that this
course would constitute a continuation of the constructive relationship between
PCHR, civil society organizations and beneficiaries.

The participants highly appreciated PCHR’s
efforts to disseminate human rights culture in the Palestinian society.  One of the participants, Suha al-Malliti, said
that the course contributed to raising the participants’ awareness of the
concepts of human rights.  She added that the course was characterized by
the variation of its topics in spite of the intensity of the training material.
 Another participant, Mohammed Shihata,
appreciated the efficiency of trainers and the training methods, including
effective participation and discussion, which contributed to enriching the
course. He called for the organization of more courses targeting other groups.

At the conclusion of the course, Wishah,
al-Aqra and Abdul Halim Abu Samra, PCHR’s Public Relations Officers in Khan
Yunis, distributed certificates to participants.