Annual Report - Palestinian Center for Human Rights

Outcome:
• See section 1 on UN interventions.
Activity: Developing relations with Human Rights organisations and lawyers in
Israel.
• The Unit has maintained excellent relations with B’Tselem, Hamoked,
ACRI, PCATI through numerous meetings in Israel. The Unit has
coordinated the PCHR strategy and response to the Amendment to the
Civil Tort Act in Israel. This included a number of Press Releases and
staff from the International Unit attended a joint advocacy trip to the
Knesset with the PCHR Legal Unit. Significant coordination also took
place at the conference on the “Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian
People”, as well as making substantial efforts to bring Israeli NGOs to the
Gaza Strip.
Outcome:
• Excellent joint Israeli/Palestinian NGO cooperation on Israeli
Compensation Law case, with superb information sharing and regular
discussions about advocacy options and strategies.
Activity: Developing Cooperation with INGOs.
• With FIDH, PCHR continues to feed directly into their advocacy
programme and was responsible for (i) writing the OMCT/FIDH report
section on human rights defenders on the OPT (ii) contributing to and
editing a FIDH Press Release on Jerusalem (iii) contributing to and editing
a FIDH Press Release on the Compensation Law. The Unit also submitted
an intervention requesting assistance during the Gaza disengagement plan.
• With Amnesty International, the Unit held meetings with AI staff during
their regular trips to Gaza and has exchanged considerable information via
e-mail on issues including the compensation law and prisoners’ status.
• With Human Rights Watch, the International Unit works closely with the
HRW Jerusalem based researcher and has held meetings planning
advocacy on the death penalty and on the compensation law.
• Staff from the Unit attended the Palestine working group of the Euro-Med
HR Network and has continued to try to focus on key advocacy aims at
this forum.
• International Unit re-wrote a paper, and then held discussions, about the
Euro-Med Network Paper on Human Rights and Peace Plans.
• Election – enhanced cooperation: during the Presidential election the Unit
facilitated and hosted huge numbers of NGOs. Close partners, such as
FIDH, NOVIB and Christian Aid, were at the core of this, as were dozens
of other NGOs who received briefings, including the National Democratic
Institute (NDI).
• Staff assisted in hosting at least 11 delegations from INGOs, a number of
whom were taken on tours of the Gaza Strip.
• A number of key cases of human rights defenders were brought to the
attention of Front Line.
• NOVIB used PCHR information on Human Rights Defenders in their
advocacy work.
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