The first session of the Syrian Palestinian Rights Unit at the Center
The Syrian Palestinian Rights Unit at the Syrian Center for Legal Studies and Researches completed its first internal training course –via Skype– in the “principles of international law and the documentation of crimes”, which was given by Mr. Anwar Al-Bunni a lawyer and head of the center.
The Unit stated in its welcoming message to the participants that this course is the first in a series of courses aim at rehabilitating and developing the expertise of its members in the context of establishing a specialized Palestinian-Syrian unit in the Center, which works for justice and prosecution of war criminals and perpetrators of major violations.
Mr. Al-Bunni presented the specialized unit, its work and its courses by saying that “The unit is a response to the human right needs of the Syrian Palestinians who have suffered as all Syrians, without citizenship rights and without international protection, unlike other refugees who are protected and supported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for lack of “international protection” in the laws governing the work of “UNRWA” –The International Organization for the Relief and Works of Palestinian Refugees in particular-, At the same time, the emergence of this unit stems from the need to prosecute the Syrian-Palestinian war criminals who have created and led militias that have committed violations and war crimes, such as the participation of “PLA”-Palestinian Liberation Army– in the Syrian regime’s war against the Syrian people, which violates the legality, legitimacy and the reason of its existence. And the participation of those militias in the siege and destruction of Yarmouk camp, in order for the Unit to do its role, we have been keen to develop the capabilities of its fellows. This requires series of courses in international and humanitarian law, war crimes and crimes against humanity, In addition to the jurisdiction of the courts, the principles and rules of documenting crimes, and the status of the Palestinian refugees and their rights…”
The training dealt with several topics, some of which are: international human rights law, international humanitarian law, international criminal law, the types of courts concerned and the documentation of crimes including war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. The materials presented at the session included the texts of the four Geneva Conventions (1949), the Rome Convention – the International Criminal Court and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).
While the sessions were held virtually via “Skype” and brought together activists from around the world on the Internet, the Syrian Palestinian Rights Unit plans to develop a live training program (Physical meeting), for its members within the series of programs and activities of the Syrian Center for Legal Studies and Research, which is based in Berlin, Germany.