Ref: 45/2008

Date: 28 October 2008

PCHR organizes a Roundtable Discussion on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression and the Right to Peaceful Assembly

On 27 October 2008, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) organized a roundtable discussion on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly in its sub-office in Khan Yunis. A number of journalists, academics, social activists, representatives of political factions and interested persons attended the roundtable that discussed the status of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly, as documented by a study prepared by PCHR to evaluate the enforcement of these two rights between November 2006 and July 2008.

Mr. Abdul Halim Abu Samra, PCHR Public Relations Officer, chaired the roundtable discussion. He first welcomed the participants and emphasized the importance of communication between PCHR and the local community.

Mr. Hamdi Shaqqura, director of PCHR Democratic Development Unit, reviewed PCHR’s study on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly. Shaqqura pointed out that the study is comprised of three main chapters. He explained that the first chapter reviews the relation between the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly on one hand and democracy on the other hand. It also refers to international standards and instruments that ensure and regulate the practice of these two rights. He continued by saying that the second chapter highlights the situation of  the right to freedom of opinion and expression in Palestinian National Authority (PNA) controlled areas, while the third chapter highlights the situation of the right to peaceful assembly in PNA controlled areas.

Shaqqura pointed out that the period covered by the study had been the worst in respect to the violations of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly since the establishment of PNA in 1994. He explained that several violations had been made during the reporting period, and attributed these violations to two factors that directly contributed to the escalation of attacks. He indicated that the first factor lies in the prevailing security chaos and attacks on the rule of law, while the second factor lies in the political fragmentation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip that took place following the military showdown by Hamas in June 2007. He added that following this showdown, the two Governments in Gaza and Ramallah together with their security services perpetrated violations against public freedoms, including the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly.

The participants in the discussion agreed that political controversies are the causes of violations of human rights. They explained that political factions neglect the human rights standards while educating their affiliates. The participants stressed that human rights organizations should undertake the dissemination of the concepts and standards of human rights among members of the security services in order to upgrade them. On another hand, the participants criticized the role played by the factional media that nourishes conflicts and provokes attacks against public freedoms. They stressed the importance of disseminating a social culture that would mitigate the misuse of power and that would ensure mutual respect of opinions. They affirmed the importance of putting an end, by Hamas and Fatah movements, to the ongoing fragmentation.

The roundtable discussion was concluded by a set of recommendations including:

1. Calling upon Hamas and Fatah movements to launch serious dialogue to overcome the existing impasse.
2. Establishing cooperation between the Ministry of Education and human rights organizations in the area of spreading the concepts of human rights through incorporating these concepts within school curricula.
3. Making amendment to the Elections Law to adopt the principle of proportional representation.
4. Abolishment of the Ministry of Information, replacing it by an official spokesman, and transferring the budget allocated to the Ministry of Information to the Ministry of Culture.
5. Activation of supervision tools and holding the executive authority accountable for official and unofficial violations to ensure respect for human rights and freedoms.
6. Activation of the press syndicate further protection for the rights of journalists.
7. Enactment of a law that regulates the intellectual property and the relation between the author and publisher.
8. Dissemination of PCHR’s reports at a wider scale to ensure its accessibility to all concerned parties.
9. Raising awareness on human rights via visual, audio and printed media.
10. Maintaining communication with the civil society organizations and discussing realistic initiatives for the purpose of spreading the culture of human rights and exerting pressure on the executive authority to respect these rights.
11. Neutralization of the media and press and commitment to objectivity and professionalism in journalism.  
12. Inviting Palestinian factions to sign a document that calls for respect of human rights.

PCHR is planning to organize another 2 roundtable discussions on the rights to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly; one in Rafah on 29 October 2008, and one in Gaza on 30 October 2008.