| Posted: April 27 2005,20:22 |
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PROGRESS: Has your organization seen
progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of
action and in your constituency during the first half of the Decade? |
Yes :
At
the beginning, operating in that field was quite difficult and
considered a new trend to Palestinian refugees, even to the Lebanese
government. Our primary focus was the 'right of return'; however, it
was found that the right of return should not be separated from other
human rights such as the right of employment, right of property
ownership, the right to adequate housing and the right of education.
Hence, we included those issues and conducted numerous studies in
those fields. We also organized several conferences on human rights
advocacy that linked between the right of return and the necessity of
having complete human rights. After such long exhausting journey, the
Witness Association grew to have a say in every Palestinian event
taking place in Lebanon. We developed our activities and trained out
local representatives through a representative council appointed to
monitor and record, represent the Association in public activities and
solve problems whenever possible. Today, we treat people's complaints
through scientific methodologies and communication with the parties
concerned. The Witness Association is planning to be an important
reference on both the legal and human levels.
Measures of success:
* Positive public response
* Media coverage
* Official interaction
* Achievement of goals
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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The Witness Association has encountered numerous obstacles, chief among which are:
* Abuse of human rights of the Palestinians in Lebanon, a problem that requires great efforts.
*
Relapse of the human rights education and its confinement to the
political aspect only, which often hinders advancement in that
domain.
* Lebanese governments do not grant license to human rights
associations, especially Palestinian ones, which sometimes hinders the
promotion of our activities.
* Poor financial capacity which negatively reflects on the execution of our programmes and projects.
*
Political, rather than humanitarian considerations always have the
upper hand when dealing with the Palestinian refugees problem.
* The
declining influence of Palestinian political parties and powers in
daily life, and in the treatment of accumulated problems.
Measures of failure:
* Lack of enthusiasm on the part of Palestinian refugees
* Local and international media indifference to our activities
* Lack of official enthusiasm
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ACTIONS: What actions have been
undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the first half of the Decade?
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Action areas :
* Building a human rights culture among the Palestinian refugee community in Lebanon
* Advocacy of the 'right of return' of the Palestinian Diaspora and refugees to their homeland
* Issuing studies and reports on the conditions of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
Most important activities developed :
* Conducting a study on the humanitarian condition of refugee camps in Lebanon.
*
Launching a wide-scale campaign in Lebanon to emphasize the Palestinian
adherence to the right of return, and releasing an informative booklet
on the campaign and its significance.
* Holding a series of seminars
to raise awareness among refugees on their rights, especially those
enshrined in the International Human Rights Legislation.
*
Organizing an international conference advocating the Palestinians'
right of return, voicing opposition to resettlement and naturalization
in the host country; and calling for the entitlement to civil,
political, social, cultural and economic rights.
* Launching a
campaign on Arab and foreign embassies presenting the views of the
Palestinian refugee community in Lebanon, and urging Lebanon to grant
complete rights to the Palestinians until they return to their homeland.
* Organizing three workshops for the Association's representatives; an introductory course and two specialized ones.
*
Coordinating with several associations in Palestinian circles in
different activities calling for the abolishment of the 2001 property
law, which effectively bars any Palestinian from owning or inheriting
property in Lebanon.
* Participating in international seminars in Lebanon and the Arab World.
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ADVICE: What advice would you like to
give to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to promote a
culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the Decade? |
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PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence in the second half of the Decade (2005-2010)? |
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Postal address of organization
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P.O. Box 114/5004
Beirut
Lebanon
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E-mail address of organization
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pa4hrsw@hotmail.com
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Website address of organization
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Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Human rights
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Second priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Highest priority country of action (or international)
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Second priority country of action (or international)
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