On Wednesday, 22
August 2007, PCHR hosted a delegation from the International Commission of
Jurists (ICJ) from Geneva. The delegation consisted of:
-
Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn
(Thailand): Professor Law at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, and a UN
Expert on the situation of human rights in North Korea.
-
Mr. Gerald Staberock:
Director of Global Security and Rule of Law Programme at the ICJ.
In Gaza, the visiting delegation teamed up with ICJ Executive Committee Member
and PCHR’s Director Raji Sourani.
The delegation held a series of meetings
with keynote officials in the dismissed Palestinian government in Gaza and the
PLC. Two of the keynote officials were Sa’id Seyam, the head of Hamas
parliamentary bloc in the PLC and the acting Minister of Interior in the
dismissed government in Gaza.; and Ahmad Bahar, the Deputy PLC Speaker.
The visiting delegation met members of the
legal community. They met Attorney-General Ahmad El-Moghani and two of his
assistants. The meeting discussed the restrictions imposed on the work of the
AG’s office in light of the closure and siege imposed on the OPT. In addition,
the visitors met members of the Judiciary including the Deputy Chief Justice and
members of the Supreme Court. The meeting centered on the challenges facing the
judicial system in the current circumstances, including Israel’s denial of
Palestinian civilian rights and continued occupation and siege.
The visitors also met representatives of
Palestinian civil society and human rights community, who talked about the human
rights situation in the OPT in general and the Gaza Strip in particular. They
pointed to the suffering of the civilian population, and the deteriorating
humanitarian situation caused by Israel’s closure and other violations of human
rights against civilians.
It is noted that the visiting delegation
is in the region to assess the human rights situation as part of a panel
studying the impact of counter-terrorism laws on the human rights situation
after 11 September 2001.
The ICJ delegation started their visit to
Gaza by a meeting at PCHR with the Director of ICRC in Gaza and his assistant.
The ICJ is an international NGO based in
Geneva with branches in more than 60 countries. It works to promote and monitor
the rule of law and to provide legal protection to human rights. Members of the
ICJ are active human rights organizations, including PCHR.
