Ref:26-2013

On Tuesday, 16 April 2013, the Training Unit of the Palestinian
Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded a training course in the field of
human rights for female students of Police Science and Law at al-Umma University
in Gaza.  The course was held in the
period 14 to 16 April 2013 at PCHR’s main office in Gaza City, in the presence
of Dr. Mazen Nour al-Din, Dean of Police Science and Law at al-Umma University;
Mr. Ahmed Hassaniya, a lecturer at the university; and lawyer Raji Sourani,
Director of PCHR.  15 students
participated in the course.

The program of the course included a number of international human
rights instruments: 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 principle of freedom of opinion and expression as it is codified in
international conventions.

A team of specialized trainers supervised the training
sessions.  The team from PCHR included Mr.
Bassam al-Aqra’, Director of Training Unit; Ms. Mona al-Shawwa; Director of the
Women’s Unit; Ms. Majeda Shehada, researcher at the Women’s Unit; and Ghadeer
al-Omari, Publications Officer.

In his concluding speech, Dr. Nour al-Din appreciated PCHR’s
efforts to promote the culture of human rights in the Palestinian
community.  He also talked about the role
of PCHR and lawyer Raji Sourani in defending the human rights of the
Palestinian people during the Israeli occupation and since the establishment of
the Palestinian National Authority.  Dr.
Nour al-Din encouraged the students to move from theory to practice and wished
them the best of luck.  Lawyer Sourani
stressed strong connection between law enforcement bodies and human rights
organizations, because of their common goal to protect the rights of
victims.  Sourani added that the
relationship between PCHR and al-Umma University is firm and permanent.  Additionally, the training of the university’s
students in the field of human rights is part of this relationship.  In his concluding speech, Sourani encouraged
the students not to hesitate to visit PCHR, especially as the centre has a rich
library in the field of law and human rights.

Mr. al-Aqra’, Director of the Training Unit, explained that this
course is part of PCHR’s long-term efforts to promote the culture of human
rights in the Palestinian community.  He
added that PCHR is open to everybody who can benefit from its services.

The participants praised the course that raised their awareness of
human rights’ concepts.  They also
appreciated the rich topics discussed during the course, dedication of the
trainers, and the use of diverse interactive training methods.  The students called for holding more similar
courses in the future.

At the end of the training course, certificates were handed to the
participants.