2018-07-25

Gaza

Human Rights Defenders / Gaza / Announcement

MUSAWA and Press House-Palestine Organize a Round-table Discussion on The Right of Access to Information and Mechanisms of Legal Protection

MUSAWA – The Palestinian Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession and Press House – Palestine organized a round-table discussion, titled: “The Right to Access to Information, and the National and International Mechanisms of Legal Protection”. The workshop, which was attended by 25 people, including 10 women, is part of the extended community workshops that aim towards ensuring the conformity of national legislation with international agreements.

The workshop was divided into three consecutive panels, which covered the following topics: “The crime of misuse of technology in the Palestinian Penal Code, and its conformity with international agreements and treaties and the International Criminal Law”, “The legal protection of the freedom of speech and access to information; constraints and challenges”, and “The statute of the Palestinian Human Rights Defenders Network, its conformity with the international agreements Palestine has recently acceded to and mechanisms for harmonization within national legislation”. The topics were addressed by Dr. Ahmad Hassanieh; Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Gaza, Mr. Kamal Hijazi; attorney and media figure, and media professional and member of the Palestinian HRDs Ansam Al-Qatta’, respectively.

The workshop was closed with the participants’ recommendations to establish a mobile legal clinic that provides legal support and consultation to media professionals, in addition to the designation of a Deputy Prosecutor and a Judge at the Palestinian courts to look into cases related to journalism and freedom of speech, as a first step until the establishment of courts specialized in media-related cases, following the example of countries that adopt the system of specialized courts. The participants also recommended increasing pressure to pass the law on the right to access to information.

It is worth mentioning that this workshop is also part of the legal awareness program implemented by MUSAWA, and funded by the Netherlands Representative Office, which aims to enhance the right to equality before the law and the judiciary, the right to access to justice and the right to fair trial guarantees.