Annual Report - Palestinian Center for Human Rights

Dicussion Group – India
On 22 and 23 October 2005, Director of PCHR, Raji Sourani, participated in a
discussion group organized by the Coalition for the Nonproliferation of Nuclear
Weapons with a working paper that was read on his behalf, as he was unable to travel.
In his paper, Sourani discussed the Israeli unilateral redeployment from the Gaza
Strip, the future of the OPT and the responsibilities of the international community in
this regard.
Conference on the Palestinian Cause in International Law – UK
On 26 and 27 November 2005, Director of PCHR, Raji Sourani, participated in a
conference organized by the Institute of Middle Eastern and African Studies in
London on the Palestinian cause in international law. He delivered a speech on the
legal status of the Gaza Strip following the implementation of the Israeli
Disengagement Plan, emphasizing that the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip is still
effective in its physical and legal form. Sourani also discussed the Palestinian–Israeli
agreement on border crossings, which maintains Israeli control over border crossing
under international observation. Sourani further highlighted the goals of the Israeli
Disengagement Plan, including moving the attention away from the essence of the
Palestinian–Israeli conflict and creating irreversible facts on the ground in the West
Bank.
Meeting of the FIDH International Bureau – Paris
From 2 to 4 December 2005, Director of PCHR, Raji Sourani, participated in the
meeting of the International Bureau of FIDH in Paris.
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People – Brussels
On 3 December 2005, Director of PCHR, Raji Sourani, participated in activities of the
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People organized by the
Palestinian–Belgian Society in Brussels. These activities included three workshops
on Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails; economic and social impacts of the Israeli
Disengagement Plan; the Euro-Israel Association Agreement and European policy.
Sourani spoke in the second workshop on the economic and social impacts of the
Israeli Disengagement Plan.
Seminar on Elections Monitoring – Cairo
From 4 to 8 December 2005, Hamdi Shaqqura, Head of Democratic Development
Unit, participated in a round table program for Arab activists on the subjects of
elections monitoring and electoral reform, organized by the National Democratic
Institute (NDI). Shaqqura was also a member of a commission of 10 experts in
democracy established by the NDI and the Egyptian governments to survey the public
environment during the elections as part of the NDI's activities.
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