Ref: 22/2012

On Sunday, 26 February 2012, the Democratic
Development Unit (DDU) of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) organized
two meetings in cooperation with local NGOs in the northern Gaza Strip.

The first meeting was held in the office of Fursan
al-Ghad (Tomorrow’s Knights) Youth Association in Beit Hanoun.  It was attended by 25 activists of the
association.  Mahmoud Efranji, a DDU
researcher, presented a working paper on the right to freedom of opinion and
expression under the Palestinian National Authority.  The participants then discussed the concept
of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, international standards and
domestic laws that ensure this right, and the status of this right in the Gaza
Strip and the West Bank under the political split in the Palestinian National
Authority. 

The second meeting was held in the office of
the Coast Association for Development in Jabalya refugee camp.  It was attended by 27 activists of the
association.  Mohammed Abu Hashem, a
human rights activist, presented a working paper on Democracy and political
participation in the Palestinian society. 
The participants then discussed the importance of political
participation in a democratic society, women’s political participations and
mechanisms of defending the right to political participation. 

These meetings are 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 persistent 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.  

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For more information, please contact the Palestinian Centre for
Human Rights at [email protected] or
+972-(0)8-282