The Community Media Center conducts a training course on ‘mechanisms for documenting and preparing evidence-based reports on violations of the right to water and related rights’
CMC-GAZA
As a part of ‘Towards the promotion and protection of human rights in the southern West Bank, Jerusalem, Gaza Strip- “MA’A WA ARD” project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) in partnership with the Women Media and Development (TAM) and the Hebron Youth Development Resources Centre ( Hebron YDRC), the Community Media Centre (CMC) in the Gaza Strip has conducted a training course on the Mechanisms for documenting and preparing evidence-based reports on violations of the water right and the other linking rights emphasizing the importance of reporting the violations against the Palestinian rightsholder and the water right as a fundamental human need.
The Training aimed to build and develop the capacities of participants in documenting and reporting on human rights violations related to “water rights” and linking them to the right of movement, education, protection, health, as well as providing supporting evidence of such violations in the Gaza Strip.
The Training dealt with several topics, including the identification of water problems in Palestine, and its relationship to human rights, Besides, the powers of the responsible authorities related to the provision of water. From his residence in Ramallah via Zoom meeting, Dr Abdul Rahman Tamimi the expert in the field of water rights concentrated to explain the effects of the international human right conventions on “water right ‘and the current sanitation in relation to water rights.
Referring to the political agreements and in particular, clause No. 40 of the Oslo Agreement signed between the occupying state and the PLO. Dr Tamimi attached, “the provision for the establishment of the Joint Water Commission was importantly supposed to deal with the water and sanitation resources in the West Bank. Simultaneously, water projects have been agreed with the approval of the Joint Commission and civil administration. which results in the obstruction of the implementation of these projects. Accordingly, the Palestinian Water Authority considered it as a barrier committee.”
“Under the interim agreement and a resolution provided to transfer the powers of the Israeli side to the Palestinian one; however, the agreement did not materialize. Also, the department remained under the supervision and powers of the water officer of the Civil Administration.”
Hussein Hammad, a researcher, participating in the Training, said: The Training has significant benefits, Since the multidisciplinary team in the various fields in human rights, media, legal, and feminism, our interaction was noticeably great. Added “that the Training addressed the right to water as a fundamental human right that should be the property of the Palestinians and not only beneficiaries. Moreover, the water right inextricably linked with economic, social rights besides the political aspect what we will employ in the draft of the evidence-based report prepared during the project.”
“The Training has enriched us with essential information on the subject of the water right, especially that the CMC as a media organization highlight human rights issues related to violations of Palestinians by the occupation, such as the right to health, education, work and the right to life”. As she Pointing out, “undeniably the water right is a fundamental human right. We at the CMC firmly work to embody and present this serious issue by documenting human rights violations and preparing evidence-based reports on them,” said Khuloud al-Swalma, project manager at the Community Media Center and a participant in the Training.
It is noteworthy that the community media center (CMC) is a non-governmental organization in the Gaza strip seeks to develop the role of media in addressing community issues. Moreover, it plays a significant role in promoting the values of democracy, equality and a culture of human rights, as focusing on women’s and youth issues besides highlighting them in various media and human .rights-based approaches
