Lebanon

Human Rights Summer Camp, August 2005
Gina Olcese, Italian IUNV Specialist

The Regional Representative Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for the Arab Region and the American University of Technology organized the first Regional Summer Camp on Human Rights in cooperation with Amnesty International and the Arab Institute for Human Rights. It constituted the first summer camp on human rights of its kind at the regional level that addressed human rights concerns and explored many human rights themes.

The Regional Human Rights Summer Camp took place at the AUT Campus in Halat, Lebanon from 8 to 21 August 2005.

The summer camp was comprised of 45 participants and was designed for university students from the Arab region, representatives of NGO’s and civil society, human rights activist, United Nations Staff, government’s officials and policy makers with the capacity to influence future human rights initiatives and strategies in the Arab region. Indeed, in this first edition the countries represented were: Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia, with the participation of four Palestinians.

This Regional Summer Camp provided a forum for exchanging views, knowledge and experiences in the field of human rights so that participants would develop skills on how to implement human rights and how to organize awareness campaigns in their own countries.

Themes and issues identified on the Regional Human Rights Summer Camp’s Agenda ranged from historical development of Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights System, the charter- and treaty-based system of human rights protection, civil and political rights, political participation of civil society, economic, social and cultural rights, declaration on the right to development, MDG’s, Convention on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, violence against women, women voices in politics, HIV/AIDS, Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Geneva refugee convention, migrant workers’ rights, human rights and humanitarian law, capital punishment in the Arab world, the International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, Human Rights National Action Plan and Managing Human Rights Campaign. The Programme included lectures, discussion as well as case studies and group work.

As a UNV Human Rights Specialist assigned to work for the OHCHR office in Beirut and as a part of one of my functions and tasks regarding “Awareness on Human Rights issues and promotion of Human Rights Education”, I had the pleasure to contribute with my services and knowledge in the organization of and participation in this important event as a resource person, delivering a presentation on the UN Treaty based mechanisms for Human Rights Protection. The lecture was well received with full involvement by the participants. They raised interesting questions regarding their own perspectives and views with reference to their countries about this issue.

In addition, I was a facilitator for the Group Work activity which consisted of the analysis of a case concerning a human rights problem and the use of the individual complaint procedure by the participants with a role-play exercise, so that they could put into practical effect the thematic of the session with reference to the protection system. The participants expressed their satisfaction regarding the role play training activity, participating actively in the plenary presenting their views and arguments using the theoretical elements learned in the previous session.

The organization and the participation, as a UNV Human Rights Specialist resource person, in the Regional Human Rights Summer Camp was an interesting experience that enriched me both, professionally and personally. I could exchange my views and knowledge with the participants about the role the UN plays, regarding this important issue that is the human rights, and how it operates with reference to the mechanisms of protection. I was satisfied with the participants’ responds and full involvement which led to a constructive exchange of ideas, information, experience and a different culture approach.

he objective of my little contribution in this event was to strengthen the capacities in the area of human rights education, raising awareness about the principles of human rights as well as exchanging experiences and best practices.