PCHR democratic Development Unit has organized 2 new meeting on the death
penalty. The first meeting was held on Monday, 10 March 2008 in the offices of
the Palestinian Society for Democracy and Law in Rafah. At least 30 individuals
representing a number of NGOs in Rafah attended the meeting. The second meeting
was held on Wednesday, 12 March 2008, in cooperation with Sharek Youth Forum in
Gaza City. At least 30 students and graduates of al-Azhar University in Gaza and
a number of civil society activists attended the meeting.
The two meetings are part of a series of activities carried out by PCHR in the
context of the implementation of a project against the death penalty. Such
activities aim at raising the awareness of the public and creating a public
opinion calling for the abolishment of the death Penalty from Palestinian laws
in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). They further seek to exert pressure
to stop extra-judicial execution carried out by Israeli Occupation Forces
against Palestinians in the OPT.
The meetings discussed an escalating international trend towards the abolishment
of the death penalty from domestic laws, since it constitutes a violation of the
right to life and a form of cruel and inhuman punishment. On 18 December 2007,
the United Nations Assembly issued a resolution calling to stopping the use of
the death penalty as a prelude to completely abolish this severe penalty.
During the meetings, discussions were opened among the participants who were
divided between support and opposition for the death penalty.
