Ref: 18/2021

Date: 03 March 2021

On Wednesday, 03 March 2021, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded a training course on women’s rights, gender-based violence (GBV) and the mechanisms of intervention and protection with the participation of twenty-six male and female young representatives of 5 community-based- organizations from Khan Younis and Rafah. The 20-hour training course was held over the course of four consecutive days, from 24 – 27 January 2021, in Khan Younis.

This training course falls within PCHR’s strategic goal to build the capacity of civil society organizations on the general principles of human rights and women’s rights in particular; as well as, GBV issues and intervention and legal protection mechanisms. PCHR intends to create ambassadors for change to disseminate the culture of human rights within their organizations and communities, and to expand its organizational outreach to women who may require help, in a manner that safeguards women’s rights, eliminates violence against women and promotes their role and contribution to society.

At the end of the course, PCHR organized a closing ceremony, where Abdulhalim Abu Samra, Head of the Training Unit at PCHR, emphasized that such training courses enhances networking and cooperation between PCHR and the CBOs especially that this was the first engagement for PCHR with some of the participating organizations. He added that PCHR aims to empower CBOs, especially those specialized in women’s rights, in the field of women’s rights and responding to GBV cases, and to network with CBOs for the provision of legal aid for women. Abu Samra calls for expanding social engagement between PCHR and women’s rights organizations to create a community that fights violence and all its forms.

Mr. Mohammed al-Jamal, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Society for Democracy and Law in Rafah and training recipient, thanked PCHR on behalf of his society for its pioneering role in disseminating the culture of human rights, encouraging his colleagues to benefit from the training course and use the new skills they learned. He stressed the importance of having social activists act with a rights-based approach in the face of norms and traditions that are unjust towards women and disenfranchise them from playing their natural role in a society based on justice, equality and rule of law.

At the end of the ceremony, all participants in the training course received certificates.