Ref:
45/2014

On
Thursday, 20 November 2014, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
concluded a training course on “prisoners’ rights/human rights” for prisoners
rights’ defenders in the Gaza Strip. The 20-hour training course was held in
al-Dar Restaurant in Gaza City in the period 16-20 November 2014. The course
was attended by 28 participants representing the prisoners’ committee of national
and Islamic factions; 6 CBOs working in the field of defending prisoners’
rights and 2 radio stations.

The
course covered the following topics: the International Bill of Human Rights; Convention
against Torture; Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;
international humanitarian law, penalty of solitary confinement in international
law; administrative detention in international law; and legal terminology.

The
training course was facilitated by a number of trainees from PCHR: lawyer Raji
Sourani, PCHR’s Director; Mr. Khalil al-Wazeer, lawyer at PCHR’s Legal Aid
Unit; Mr. Bassam al-Aqra’, Director of PCHR’s Training Unit; Mr. Jaber Weshah,
PCHR’s Deputy Director; Mr. Khalil Shaheen, Director of PCHR’s Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights’ Unit; and Ms. Samar al-Khdour, translator at PCHRs’
Translation Unit.

In
his concluding speech, Sourani highlighted the importance of the prisoners’
issue and how it is on top of PCHR’s agenda. He also stressed that prisoners
rights defenders should be aware of human rights concepts, international law,
international human rights law and international humanitarian law. He then
thanked the participants for their commitment and active participation, which
reflected their keenness on international law.

Mr.
al-Aqra’ explained that this course was part of a long-term effort by PCHR to
promote human rights in Palestinian society in cooperation with community-based
organizations. Al-Aqra’ called upon trainees to benefit from the PCHR’s
services and emphasized that PCHR’s doors are open to everyone. Moreover, he
drew attention that participating organizations agreed on holding similar
courses in the future.

It
should be noted that the prisoners’ committee of national and Islamic factions
and other participating organizations made a surprise and offered PCHR a
souvenir emblem thanking PCHR for its efforts to disseminate human rights
culture in the Palestinian society.

Mr.
Jamal Ferwana, a participant in the course, said the course raised their
awareness on human rights concepts and showed how international law is linked
to prisoners’ rights. He added that the course was characterized by the
variation of its topics in spite of the intensity of the training material. In
addition, Ferwana appreciated the course and praised the dedication of the
trainers.  He added that active
participation and discussion during the training sessions had enriched the
course.

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