Ref: 19/2007
Date: 29 March 2007
PCHR and the Palestinian Bar
Association Complete the 2nd Training Course for Young Lawyers
The second training course organized by PCHR and
the Palestinian Bar Association was concluded on Thursday, 29 March 2007.
The closing session was held in attendance of Adel Abu Jahal (vice-president
of the Bar Association), Raji Sourani (PCHR director), Safi El-Dahdouh
(member of the Bar Association Board of Directors), and Bassam El-Aqra (PCHR’s
training director).
In his closing speech, Abu Jahal thanked PCHR
for its role in promoting human rights and the rule of law among lawyers,
especially young lawyers. He also pointed that courses for young lawyers
will continue in the future, especially in light of the excellent results of
the two courses organized thus far.
Raji Sourani commended the role of lawyers and
the Bar Association in protecting human rights. He called for exerting more
effort by lawyers to get involved in the field of human rights. Sourani
pointed that lawyers are the closest sector to human rights due to their
legal knowledge. Furthermore, he called upon lawyers to visit PCHR to find
what they need in the field of human rights, especially since the Centre
owns a rich library of resources in the field.
Bassam El-Aqra indicated that this is the second
of three courses the Centre and the Bar Association agreed to hold. The
three courses are planned to cover the whole Gaza Strip. It is noted that 71
young lawyers attended the first two courses.
Each course covers a variety of human rights
topics, including international human rights instruments: Universal
Declaration of Human Rights; Covenant on Economic, social, and cultural
rights; Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Second Protocol Additional
to the Convention against the Death Penalty; International Criminal Court;
and the Fourth Geneva Convention and its applicability in the OPT. In
addition, the course covers some basic UN principles such as the role of
public attorneys, independence of the judiciary, role of lawyers in
furthering human rights, international legislation, and prosecuting war
criminals.
The training is conducted by a team of experts
from within and outside PCHR. The Center’s trainers are Raji Sourani, Khalil
Shahin (director of PCHR’s Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Unit),
Hamdi Shaqoura (director of PCHR’s Democratic Development Unit), and Bassam
El-Aqra. From outside the Center, the trainers are Adel Abu Jahal, Abdel
Rahman Abu El-Naser (ex-president of the Bar Association), and Muneer El-Oqbi
(assistant to the Attorney-General).
