-
(TRC) Ramallah- 13th
Dec 2018
Treatment and
Rehabilitation Center of Victims of Torture (TRC) in partnership with Rescate held
on Monday 10/12/2018 the annual conference in commemoration of the 70th
anniversary of the International Human Rights Day, which is annually organized
on December 10th funded by European Union under the project "Strengthening
Support of UNCAT& OPCAT In Palestinian Authority Legislation to Stimulate a
Human Rights- Oriented Palestinian Society”. The conference was held at the
Palestinian Red Crescent Society in the presence of an audience representing governmental,
civil societies and press institutions, and members of the Palestinian
Coalition against Torture. The overall theme of the conference was an inquiry
on which many answers and commitments are to be based, "Where are we from
the effective implementation of the Convention against Torture in Palestine?"
Dr. Mahmud Suhwail;
president and founder of TRC inaugurated the conference. He started his speech
by welcoming all the audience and focused on the importance of signing the
Convention against Torture, as the Palestinian society is one of the most
vulnerable communities. He also emphasized the importance of affording
financial support necessary to continue provision of psychosocial therapy and primary
medical care for victims. His excellence Mr. Ali Abu Diak; Minister of
Palestinian Justice representing his excellence the Prime Minister Dr. Rami Al-Hamdallah,
who stressed on the special rituals of the Palestinian people to remind the
whole world of its failure to protect our rights, which are still violated by
the Israeli occupation on continuous basis. He pointed out that the State of
Palestine has initiated the harmonization of the national legislation to these
conventions, including the decision to adopt terms of reference on the national
preventive mechanism for combating torture in Palestine on 16/10/2018 and the
formation of a committee to propose a draft law establishing the mechanism in
line with the rules of the optional protocol.
Prior to the first session,
recorded voice comments were broadcasted, the contents of which were quoted
from the experiences of torture victims from the Palestinian side. Mr. Ashraf
Abu Haya then began the first session, which included a number of papers
focusing on the principles that guarantee effective implementation of the
Convention which was initiated by Judge Ahmad al-Ashqar; representative of the High
Judicial Council. Mr. Imad Hammad from the Public Prosecution in his speech
came across the importance of monitoring the situation of detainees. Then, Dr.
Rakez Salamah from the Department of Forensic Medicine/ ministry of Justice
gave a presentation on the importance to investigate allegations of torture,
and how to distinguish between cases of torture practiced by the official
authorities or fabricated (self inflicted) by the detainees. The final speech
by Ms. Haitham Arar of the Ministry of Interior, gave a review on preventive safety
measures adopted to combat the occurrence of torture.
In an innovative way, the
Palestinian artist Mohammed Al-Haj presented a play aimed at explaining the
motives and causes of torture. Then, Mr. Wissam Sahwail; moderated the second
session that dealt with the contribution of international and local human
rights institutions to the implementation of the anti-torture application
initiated by Mr. Bahaa Al-Saadi on the United Nations mechanisms to combat
torture, representing the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Followed by Mr. Waleed Al Shaikh from the Independent Commission for Human
Rights, who presented the noticed status of torture in Palestine showing that
the number of complaints claimed torture reached 573 complaints in 2017. Later,
Mr. Hilmi Al-Araj representing the Palestinian Coalition against torture spoke
about the importance of promoting synergies between the institutions of the
community to effectively implement the Convention. Finally Mr. Khader Rasras TRC
Executive Director concluded a summary of the most important achievements that
have been accomplished throughout the mentioned project and that the project
had contributed directly to motivate the state to sign the optional protocol of
the convention against torture, in addition to the active participation in
local negotiations to issue the state report in the requested form. Add to
those, the active provision of suggestions to review and adapt the
legislations. Finalizing his speech, he gave thanks and praise for the EU for their
continuous concerns of human rights devotion and good governance. These
achievements included raising awareness about the
Convention against Torture and the concept of torture to a large number of
decision-makers for PA officials, lawyers and educational staff through
workshops and community meetings, as well as intensive training for relevant
groups of lawyers and others. Open Hall Community meetings also included a
number of stakeholders that allowed open dialogue to a deeper understanding of
the experiences of victims of torture and the negative impact of torture and
other ill-treatment. The project also
included publishing radio spots on local radio station and social networking
sites on many items and topics related to victims of torture, in addition to
broadcasting voice over during the conference and through social networks based
on the experiences of victims of torture; which was reflected by
increased number of people referred o TRC for support.
It should be
noted that there are new beneficiaries from TRC services of Palestinian victims
of torture by Palestinians since 2014, and this indicates that the State must
take the issue of anti-torture seriously, and exerts more preventive and
security measures. We must not forget the need to compensate the victims and
provide the necessary psychological treatment and rehabilitation services to
mitigate the negative effects of torture on the victims themselves and those
indirectly affected in their surroundings.
At the end, the conference was
closed with a lyrical musical show of content of human rights and the need to
enjoy the basic rights of the Palestinian presented by the artist; Maher
Shafei.
For more details please
contact us on: info@trc-pal.org, OR 0097222961710
