Ref: 59/2010

Today morning,
Thursday, 10 June 2010, a
meeting was organized in cooperation with Beit Lahi Development Association in the
northern Gaza Strip on the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Twenty five participants attended the meeting. Mr. Mahmoud al-Efranji, a DDU researcher,
presented a paper on “the Concept of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and
Expression.”

On Wednesday, 9 June
2010, another meeting was organized in cooperation with al-Sharq Centre for
Mental Health in Khan Yunis, with 28 newly graduates and members of al-Sharq
Centre in attendance. 

On Tuesday morning, 8
June 2010, a
third meeting was organized in cooperation with the Women’s Affairs Technical
Committee in Gaza City with 15 members of the Committee in attendance. The participants discussed ways to support
democratization within the Palestinian society. They agreed that it is important to unify efforts exerted by various
groups of the society, especially those exerted by the civil society
organizations, in order to enhance the concept of democracy at the levels of
both people and decision makers.

There were many
discussions and interventions during these three meetings that enriched the
presented subjects. The participants
affirmed that it is necessary to resort to ballot boxes and to put an end to
the political fragmentation as a precondition to enhance democracy. 

These three meetings
are a part of a three-year project funded by the European Union and Oxfam Novib. The project is titled Improving Awareness and
Respect for Human Rights in the OPT.  These
meetings are also part of continued efforts by PCHR to raise awareness on the
concept of democracy in the Palestinian society, especially in view of the
retreat of Palestinians’ trust in the democratic process due to the ongoing
political fragmentation and its consequences.