Ref: 47/2023
Date: 24 August 2023
On Thursday, 24 August 2023, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded a training course on “Rights of Children with Disabilities”, aimed at 23 children with motor disabilities. The 20-hour training course was conducted from 21-24 August 2023 over the course of four consecutive days.
The training course is a component of project “Strengthening the Role of Civil Society Organizations”, which is implemented by PCHR in collaboration with Save the Children and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) in coordination with community organizations.
The training course covered fundamental principles outlined in the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, This encompassed topics such as equality and non-discrimination, accessibility, and specific measures and procedures taken to protect persons with disabilities. The course also delved into Palestine Law No. 4 for 1999 on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the role of children with disabilities in community participation and holding accountability sessions and advocacy campaigns. The training sessions included many recreational activities and games that promote concepts of children’s rights, life skills and psychological debriefing.
At the conclusion of the course, Mr. Abdul Halim Abu Samra, the Head of PCHR’s Training Unit, highlighted that PCHR gives particularly attention to the issues and rights of persons with disabilities as part of its mandate on issues and rights of marginalized groups through interventions aimed at ensuring realization and protection of their rights, following up complaints and violations committed against them, providing consultations, organizing accountability and awareness sessions to build their capacities and integrate into society, considering them a vulnerable group. Abu Samra added the challenges and difficulties facing persons with disabilities prevent them from effectively participating in public life as they are most vulnerable to unemployment, illiteracy, poverty ill-treatment and discrimination in workplaces and education have the least access to services, public facilities and sources of income as well as being most disadvantaged in enjoyment of the already fragile protection systems or in political, economic, social, and cultural participation since they are the most isolated and least able to exercise their rights. Abu Samra called for intensifying all efforts and endeavors to promote justice for persons with disabilities and their participation in all aspects of public life on a right-based perspective in the interest of development and to provide them with ways to enjoy their rights, effective participation and integration into society.
The children participating in the course expressed how happy they were to participate, emphasizing they were introduced to new topics for as the training course shed light on their legitimate rights and raised their awareness on child rights and the rights of persons with disabilities. Participants also demanded to increase the participation of children with disabilities in the training courses in order to enable them to advocate for their rights and issues.
