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About Al Mezan

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al Mezan) is an independent, non-partisan, non-governmental human rights organization based in the occupied Gaza Strip. Since its establishment in 1999, Al Mezan has been dedicated to protecting and promoting the respect of human rights, especially economic, social and cultural rights, supporting victims of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and enhancing democracy, community and citizen participation, and respect for the rule of law in Gaza as part of the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT).

Al Mezan’s goals are:

  • To promote and protect human rights—particularly economic, social and cultural rights—in occupied Palestine, with a geographical focus on Gaza.
  • To work towards the realization of both individual and collective human rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, through the channels of international law.
  • To build and enhance the functioning of democracy and citizen participation in occupied Palestine and press towards good governance that respects human rights.
  • To advocate for justice for victims of human rights abuses, holding perpetrators accountable through legal mechanisms, and raising awareness both domestically and internationally about violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law.

Areas of Action

  • Monitoring and Documentation of human rights and international law violations: systematic gathering of data and evidence concerning violations for the purpose of intervention, prevention, protection and/or dissemination. This includes up-keeping a human rights database. Violations are monitored regardless of the identity of the violators—i.e., whether Palestinian or Israeli actors stand behind them.
  • Advocacy and Accountability: Producing materials aimed at informing the authorities in the OPT, Israel and the international community on the human rights situation and violations, and advocating for respect of human rights in the OPT through statements, advocacy/information documents, events and meetings with stakeholders in the OPT and internationally.Al Mezan’s strategic plan stresses the need to increase the work with international community and the engagement with the UN in terms of parallel reporting and advocacy missions.
  • Legal Assistance and Advice, especially to victims and/or potential victims, including by litigation in Palestinian, Israeli, and foreign jurisdictions, and following case-files and complaints outside of courts, provision of legal advice relevant to human rights and international law. Legal advice is directed to various domains on international law, with a focus on UN mechanisms related to Palestine's accession to a number of human rights treaties as well as the ICC Rome Statute.
  • Liaison and Networking: Maintaining relations with human rights networks, coalitions and working groups on local and international levels, collaborating with UN agencies and mechanisms, INGOs and  human rights NGOs in Palestine, Israel and abroad. This also includes thematic coalitions to act on specific human rights issues.
  • Dissemination related to human rights through research, reporting and publication of reliable materials on the human rights conditions, including maintaining a web site in Arabic, and English.
  • Training and Awareness-raising: Organizing awareness-raising and training courses, workshops, lectures, developing materials and providing library services to local communities. This includes deploying skills needed for increasing the capacity of relevant actors in Gaza, e.g. lawyers, schools, women, children and CBOs. 
  • Capacity-building of the organization and its staff to manage and deliver the best possible services.

Memberships

Al Mezan is an active member of numerous national, regional, and international coalitions, including: 

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