PHROC visit the Gaza Strip

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) organized a field visit to the Gaza Strip during the 20th and the 24th of April 2015. The council delegation came from the West Bank to witness the deterioration of the human rights in the Strip, particularly after the last war on Gaza, the ongoing siege on the Gaza Strip imposed by the occupation forces, the obstruction of the reconstruction process of Gaza still not effective eight months after the end of war, while the suffering of victims is still ongoing.

During the stay, the council delegation met with members of the Palestinian human rights organizations in the Gaza Strip mainly Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, and the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR). The delegation also me with different civil and official sectors including: the Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO), representatives of all Palestinian sectors, vice president of the Palestinian Contractors Union, and the Minister of Public Work and Housing in the Palestinian Unity Government. Moreover, the delegation visited the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

During the stay, the delegation conducted intense field visits that involved cities and villages in the Gaza Strip, particularly those affected by war. The visits investigated the situation of the shelters for those displaced from their homes due to war, including the containers’ area and its difficult living circumstances there. The delegation encountered many people with demolished houses waiting since eight months to have the heaps of their demolished houses removed so as to live in the wreckage and save what may be left of their human integrity.

The delegation participated in a session organized by PNGO titled: “National Challenges and the Role of Civil Work.” A number of experts and civil activists from the Strip attended to hear the experience of the PHROC delegation and their first impressions.