Annual Report - Palestinian Center for Human Rights

• The Unit has continued to try to increase the circulation of PCHR’s
documentation, particularly Press Releases, Position Papers and Reports.
To this end, the Electronic Intifada has distributed over 85% of all
PCHR’s documents through its webpage and mailing list.
• The unit organised a meeting among heads of UN Agencies, the
International Media and International NGOs, which included a briefing
session and a request for feedback on PCHR’s public image and the
Centre’s representation of the work it carries out. The meeting was
originally designed to counter some concerns about PCHR’s language by
the Independent Evaluation Team, which visited PCHR in 2004.
• As part of this effort to increase circulation and impact, the unit has
redesigned the format of all PCHR’s Press Releases and Weekly Reports.
• Staff in the unit wrote and distributed a survey on PCHR’s website.
• Staff in the International Unit redesigned and rewrote the new PCHR
website, which includes focused campaigning information, as well as a
new special section on Women’s Rights.
• Staff in the unit hired a web-designer to complete a new site by August
2005.
• Staff in the unit produced 5 Press Releases which were widely distributed
and 1 “Live from the Field” Report on Disengagement.
• Staff in the unit wrote1 Internet article and 1 newspaper article during the
reporting period.
• The International Unit designed PCHR’s disengagement strategy –
including the media strategy.
• The PCHR website was updated to ensure that it remained ‘topical’ – new
campaigns and sections were added as appropriate.
Outcome:
• PCHR’s Court action during the Presidential election was widely quoted
on the Wire Services in the London Independent and The Guardian.
• Distribution by Electronic Intifada has allowed PCHR to extend its
messages to 5,000 additional people.
• The feedback from the International Consultative Meeting was extraordinarily
positive and the changes made in format of Press Releases and
in the Website arose from this meeting.
• PCHR’s Press Release on Caterpillar, Inc. spawned a new PCHR
campaign of which legal cases have been an integral part.
• The Press Release on the IOF’s X-Ray machine was researched in
cooperation with Liberty (UK). PCHR was the first organisation to
establish the actual purpose of the machine being used at Rafah. This
breakthrough resulted in: an article in a local Palestinian newspaper, an
interview by the Deputy director on al Jazeera and, ultimately, formed
part of a successful campaign in which the IOF stopped using the machine.
• The Press Release on the Israeli Compensation Law formed part of and
resulted in a worldwide civil society campaign in which FIDH, Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch released public statements.
• PCHR established a disengagement “incident room” which could field
enquiries 24 hours a day from the media about disengagement. PCHR
partners are aware of this and prepared to utilise PCHR during the
disengagement process.
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