Ramallah: Human Rights and Democracy Media Center “SHAMS” under the support of UNDP/UN Women Joint Program “SAWASYA” and UNICEF, “strengthening the rule of law in the occupied Palestinian territories”. Organized a dialogue session about activating mechanisms of civilian oversight and social accountability on the Palestinian security sector, attended by representatives of civil society organizations, human rights council, unions and syndicates, Independent Commission for Human Rights, researchers and journalists. The meeting aimed at looking for ways to enhance the concept of civilian oversight and social accountability within Palestinian security sector in practical context and in accordance with human rights and basic freedoms. Besides, presenting the experiences of organizations in oversight on security entities’ work, and approaches to develop oversight role as well as reinforcing the concept of social accountability in the performance of civil society organizations.
Within the meeting, the lawyer and human rights activist Salah Mousa addressed the concept of control in relation to social accountability in local and international context, types of control in terms of legislative, judicial, media or political control. He added that rights and freedoms are regulated within a framework so, crimes pertaining to rights and freedoms won’t be outdated. Moreover, he pointed to the importance of Palestine’s accession to Optional Protocol on combating torture and its consequences on the work of security entities.
Participants agreed that performance of security entities has improved, and that impediments against civil society organizations are related to different topics like the absence of a law which regulates the right to access information. Additionally, they called civil society organizations for formulating a joint vision regarding oversight on the performance of security entities. And the significance to establish partnership and enhance continuous coordination between security institutions and civil society organizations.
At the end of the session, participants recommended the necessity to establish a supervisory body which combines civil society organizations based on joint fundamentals to control security sector. Furthermore, to develop a concept paper to identify oversight and its legal basics, to reinforce civilian oversight by building a joint national concept to deal with the portfolio of violations and to foster legal & administrative accountability basics for violators against rights and freedoms by security entities. In addition to start a national campaign for generalizing a social comprehensive culture to strengthen accountability in the work of security entities. And the need to call security entities for joining hearing sessions, and the need to have communication between civil society organizations with working groups formulated in the West Bank by PLC members to be activated and involved in social work and supporting its role of protecting rights & freedoms by controlling performance of security entities. Also, to formulate a supervisory body which combines human rights organizations for the purpose of including oversight and social accountability within the work of security entities, in line with human rights approach based on defending rights & freedoms