Ref:
47/2010

Today the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
published its annual report for the year 2009. The report covers the period from 1 January through 31 December
2009. This is the fourteenth report in a
series of annual reports that PCHR has published since 1996. 

The report consists of two main parts. The first part addresses the human rights
situation in the Palestinian Occupied Territory (OPT), while the second part
addresses PCHR’s activities in 2009. The
first section of the report documents war crimes and violations of
international law and International Human Rights Law committed by the Israeli
occupation forces in the OPT during 2009. It also documents human rights violations and obstacles facing
democratization under the rule of the Palestinian National Authority
(PNA). It further presents
recommendations to the international community and to PNA. The second section of the report reviews the
activities of PCHR’s various units, including PCHR’s participation in
international conferences and meetings, PCHR’s meetings with international
delegations and representative, PCHR’s meetings with the media as well as
publications issued by PCHR during 2009. 

The report is published in both Arabic and English and is
distributed widely on the local and international levels. PCHR distributes the report to civil society
organizations, local and international human rights organizations, governmental
institutions, diplomatic missions, UN agencies as well as to journalists and
media outlets. 

In addition to the report, PCHR has prepared a summary of
the report in Arabic and English. This
summary is attached to the electronic copy of the annual report at www.pchrgaza.org. In the near future, PCHR will publish the
report in hard copy.

It should be noted that PCHR’s annual report contributes to
raising awareness of the human rights conditions in the OPT and is the result
of work over the course of an entire year. Based on its legal status as a
not-for-profit non-governmental organization providing free services, and its
commitment to transparency, PCHR considers this report an obligation to
Palestinian society.