On Monday, 5 December 2011, Al Mezan Center for Human opened a training course entitled 'Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (IHL): Basic Concepts', held at the Al Mezan’s office in Gaza City.
The course is being attended by 27 volunteers.
Al Mezan’s director, Mr Issam Younis, and Mrs Shirin Shobaki, training and mass communication unit coordinator at Al Mezan opened the course by welcoming the participants.
Mr Younis said that the course aimed to increase participants’ awareness and understanding of human rights issues.
The course is part of a larger aim to spread awareness and understanding of human rights and IHL among all groups of Palestinian society.
Mr Younis talked about the current human rights situation in Palestinian society and about the main challenges that human rights workers and defenders face.
Mrs Shobaki presented the participants with a brief summary about Al Mezan’s work and the training schedule.
She hoped that the course would enable the participants to effectively know about human rights issues.
The course consists of 18 hours to be delivered over three days.
The course introduces participants to the historical and legal framework of international human rights law (IHRL) and international humanitarian law (IHL); the content of the basic principles of IHL; and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural rights(ICESCR), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the right to education.
Mr Bassam Abu Hasheesh, professor at Al Aqsa University, presented the first session of the workshop, an “Introduction to human rights and economic, social, and cultural rights”.
He discussed the concept of human rights, the historical development of human rights, the International Bill of Human Rights, and the ICESCR.
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