NABLUS, July 29, 2010 (WAFA)- The project “Rule of Law – Public Awareness Campaign in Balata” that started last December finished today, 29th  July, in the premises of the Yafa Cultural Centre (YCC) in Balata refugee camp in Nablus.

The graduation ceremony was attended by EUPOL COPPS’ Head of the Rule of Law section, Nicholas Robson, and some of the Mission’s experts from the fields of Defense Counsel, Police and Human Rights.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Robson highlighted “the importance of civil society’s involvement, especially at these times where many changes are taking place and the Police, the Prosecution and the Judiciary are becoming lot more professional”.

The Head of the Yafa Cultural Centre’s board of trustees, Mr. Taysir Nasrallah, also emphasized that “the course has brought the youngsters of the camp closer to the institutions and has enhanced the cooperation between the civil society and the institutions.”

The Palestinian Civil Police’s District Commander, Mr. Omar Bzour mentioned that “we want to keep the channels open with all sectors of Palestinian society”. In this regard he added that “therefore we, here in Nablus, have created new Police units, such as the family protection unit and the juveniles unit”.

The aim of this comprehensive project -involving all fields of EUPOL COPPS’ activities- was to raise awareness and to improve confidence and trust in the Rule of Law including the Justice system and the Police among members of the community in Balata.

 Due to cramped and difficult living conditions, the law and order situation in Balata camp has been particularly precarious. To bolster awareness in the Rule of Law among key members of the community, 35 volunteers of the Yafa Cultural Centre (YCC) in Balata attended regularly the training sessions. All of them are working with the juveniles in the refugee camp.

Trainers of the project came from a variety of different institutions and organizations including Nablus University, Nablus Governorate, Nablus District Police, the Jericho Police Training School, and the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC) were involved in the implementation of the courses.

Training sessions, workshops and study/field trips were conducted as part of the three main project components detailing the Rule of Law, Human Rights and the Police. These sessions were geared towards raising awareness about the importance of improving the Rule of Law in Palestine.