Ref: 21/2011

On Tuesday, 12 April 2011, the Democratic Development Unit of the
Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) organized a panel discussion on the
right to freedom of opinion and expression under the Palestinian National
Authority (PNA), in cooperation with the Democratic Youth Union.

The panel discussion was organized in PCHR’s branch in Khan Yunis,
where 25 participants from the union attended. In his presentation titled “the Right to Freedom of Opinion and
Expression under PNA,” Mahmoud al-Efranji, a researcher in PCHR’s Democratic
Development Unit, tackled the issue. Later, there was a discussion by participants on the concept of the
right to freedom of opinion and expression, international standards and
domestic laws which ensure and organize the freedom of opinion and expression
in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, particularly in light of the political
fragmentation.

This meeting is part of a 3-year project, funded by the European
Union and Oxfam Novib, whose goal is to improve awareness and respect of human
rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  Such meetings are part of fruitful efforts
made by PCHR to promote democratic awareness in the Palestinian community under
the lack of the Palestinians’ confidence in the democratic process due to the
political fragmentation and its consequences.