BZU Legal Clinic holds a training to promote skills needed to monitor and document human rights violations

In cooperation with Al-Haq, the Legal Clinic of the Faculty of Law and Public Administration at Birzeit University (BZU) organised a training course on skills needed to monitor and document human rights abuses. In addition to the BZU Legal Clinic staff, a number of BA and MA students of the Faculty of Law and Public Administration took part in the training event. Held over three days, 1-3 November 2022, the training consisted of five hours a day.

On the first training day, Mr. Zahi Jaradat from Al-Haq presented on the practical skills to monitor and document human rights abuses. In particular, according to human rights mechanisms, systematic documentation serves as a basis for any future accountability. The trainer also provided a review of Al-Haq legal documentation effort, highlighting the stages and challenges that Al-Haq has encountered and made the process what it is today.

The second training day focused on the forms and techniques adopted by Al-Haq for documenting of human rights violations. Most notably, these include reports, questionnaires, autopsy operations, video footage, and affidavits. For a further benefit, Mr. Jaradat distributed forms, exercises, and case studies to participants to enhance their skills in dealing with real cases that involve abuses of individual rights.

On the third training day, the trainer finalised discussion and analysis of the techniques and methods used to document human rights abuses. Mr. Jaradat concluded the training with a presentation on eyeWitness to Atrocities, an internationally recognised documentation programme and made a demonstration on how to create, use, take footage, store, and retrieve documents.