Ref: 18/2006
Date: 22 May 2006
PCHR Receives Two Lawyers Representing the Swedish Bar Association, the International Bar Association and the International Legal Assistance Consortium
From 18 to 20 May 2006, PCHR received lawyers Per Stadig and Hans Hjalmers, representing the Swedish Bar Association, the International Bar Association and the International Legal Assistance Consortium. Their visit to the Gaza Strip came in the context of continuous cooperation between PCHR and a number of international organizations, which are active in the fields of legal assistance and judicial training.
The visitors met with the Director of PCHR, Raji Sourani (lawyer), and Head of the Legal Aid Unit, Iyad al-Alami (lawyer). The meeting discussed latest developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
In addition, PCHR prepared a program for the visitors, which included meetings with representatives from the Palestinian judiciary and the local community, including Ahmed al-Mughanni, the Attorney-General; Counselor Yahia Abu Shahla, from the Higher Judiciary Council; a number of judges; Mr. ‘Aadel Abu Jahal, Deputy Head of Palestine Bar Association; Dr. Salah al-Bardawil, Yahia Mousa and Faraj al-Ghoul, Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council; and Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahhar, the Palestinian Foreign Minister.
The two visitors were escorted by the Head of PCHR’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Unit, Khalil Shaheen, on field tours to al-Qarara village in Khan Yunis, the Swedish Village in Rafah, Gaza International Airport and Rafah International Crossing Point. They also met with a number of Palestinian civilians affected by house demolitions in Khan Yunis. In addition to field tours, the two visitors met with representatives from a number of governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as political factions. These meetings discussed the current political situation in Palestine and the future vision of the Occupied Palestinian Territory; the impacts of the Israeli disengagement plan on the population of the Gaza Strip; poverty; health and humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip.
It is worth noting that PCHR often receives visiting international delegations and figures, in the context of its efforts to expose crimes committed by Israeli Occupation Forces and to seek justice for Palestinian civilians. In this context, from 17 to 21 May 2006, PCHR received the Belgian author, Franciscus Van, who is writing a book on the Palestinian political system, accompanied by the journalist Carvalho Sousa.
