State of Palestine

Human Rights and Democracy Media Center (SHAMS)

Human Rights and Democracy Media Center “SHAMS” is a Palestinian non-governmental non-profit organization, established in 2003 in Ramallah by a group of academicians, educated, advocates and human rights activists .“SHAMS” Center holds Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations

“SHAMS” Center believes that dissemination and generalization of human rights should be tackled ‎from a holistic approach that takes into consideration the civil, political, economic, social and cultural ‎rights, and their mutual interdependence on each other.‎

“SHAMS” aims mainly at providing capacity building to organizations and individuals (especially women ‎and youth) in the fields of human rights and democratic participation.‎

We try and achieve this through two main approaches. The first is direct engagement with local ‎communities through our vast network of human rights activist on-the-ground in villages throughout ‎the West Bank. In this capacity, we provide workshops, training courses, and other such activities to ‎enable people to take up and demand their own rights. Our other approach is to utilize the media to ‎spread information to a wider audience (through a bi-weekly TV-program and regular radio and TV ‎appearances).‎

Goals and Objectives:

1.    Dissemination of information about human rights, democracy, and good governance issues ‎through the utilization of the media

2.    Opposing death penalty

3.    Promotion of the concepts of human rights in Palestinian legislation.

4.    Strengthening the role of Youth & women within their communities

5.    Capacity building and strengthening the relationship and cooperation between local, regional ‎and international institutions.

6.    Promoting change within society, especially countering stereotypes and biases towards ‎women, increasing values of tolerance, and awareness of democratic principles and ‎participation.

“SHAMS” Programs:

•    Combating death penalty program: This aims at abolishing death penalty from the legislations applied in Palestine, and enacting Palestinian legislations which respect and protect the right to life and combat death penalty. And encouraging the president not to approve death sentences inflicted by Palestinian tribunals to correspond to the increasing international approach to stop executing this penalty. Additionally, providing guarantees of the fair trial and not prosecuting Palestinian civilians before military tribunals. And calling the president for using the constitutional authorities in granting a special pardon, and fulfilling Palestinian commitments to international agreements and conventions that Palestine accessed to.

•    Human rights program which contains capacity building “training” besides raising awareness, education, lobbying & advocacy, legal aid and assistance, researches and studies.

•    Human rights’ media program which includes (opinion & issues program): TV and radio dialogue episodes, written and TV human rights’ report, radio drama, a (newspaper) supplement, the monthly electronic newsletter and press releases.

•    Human rights program for Palestinian security sector and Sharia faculties’ students which contains the forum of enhancing human rights within the Palestinian security sector as well as including the concepts of human rights’ concepts for Sharia faculties’ students in the Palestinian universities.

•    Enhancing Women access to justice.

 

Date founded

2003             

Structure type

NGO             

Contact informations

Al-Masyoun Luis Favro ST, Sendian 3 Building,1st floor
00970 Ramallah
Phone +972 2 2985254
Fax +972 2 2985255

Resources

Document(s)

Palestine – Committee Against Torture – Death Penalty – June 2022

on 21 July 2022


2022

NGO report

World Coalition

State of Palestine


More details Download [ pdf - 1747 Ko ]

The State of Palestine on 1 April 2014 ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. On 28 December 2017, the State of Palestine signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. On 18 March 2019, the State of Palestine also ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which aims to abolish the death penalty. The State of Palestine has not yet abolished the death penalty. Indeed-as described herein-the 14 June 2007 split in power between the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah in the West Bank under President Abbas, and the Hamas movement in Gaza, has been followed by many documented executions in Gaza without the requisite signature of President Abbas, and Gazan military courts conduct trials of civilians, where they can be sentenced to death.

This report considers the prevalence of torture and other issues ancillary to the death penalty itself: confessions under torture or degrading treatment, due process, access to legal counsel, death-row conditions, and methods of execution.

  • Document type NGO report / World Coalition
  • Countries list State of Palestine

News