Conflict Resolution Center concludes meetings on developing the work of probation officers for juveniles in Gaza

Gaza, Publication and Information Unit:
The Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs, concluded a series of meetings on "Mechanisms for developing the work of probation officers on juvenile cases in the Gaza Strip", within the events of the juvenile justice project in the Gaza Strip, carried out in partnership with Terre des hommes Switzerland. The final meeting was attended by the social team from the Conflict Resolution Center and by mukhtars and reconciliation figures who follow juvenile cases in the Gaza Strip.
For his part, lawyer Ahmed Al-Masri, coordinator of the juvenile justice project, said this meeting is the last in the series of meetings held, stressing that the Conflict Resolution Center will continue to work on delivering further workshops in order to achieve the best justice for children who have been drawn into criminal or hostile acts and who are termed juveniles.
He added that agreement has been reached with the public prosecution and the judiciary to designate a place for holding juvenile trials inside the Al-Rabee institution, in order to protect the juvenile's privacy and to avoid exposing them to psychological harm from being tried alongside adults.
Al-Masri explained that it was agreed that the social team would intervene in the cases where probation officers request intervention, and would submit a report to the probation officers on the juvenile's social situation, so that we can offer them the best possible solutions.
For his part, Omar Al-Darbi, deputy minister of social affairs, valued the role of probation officers in achieving the best justice for juveniles, considering their attendance at the meetings part of their determination to find solutions to the problems besetting juvenile justice in the Gaza Strip. He stressed the importance of joint cooperation between probation officers and the social team in order to create a good reality for the juvenile.
Al-Darbi added that working for juveniles requires the responsibility of society as a whole, whether government, civil society organisations, mukhtars or reconciliation figures. He described the reality juveniles live in as poor, particularly as there is an urgent need to amend some of the legal procedures taken against a juvenile with regard to sentencing, so that imprisonment is the last resort.
At the close of the meeting, certificates were handed out to the trainees from the social team and the probation officers, certifying the training they received through the Centre. The assistant deputy minister of social affairs also presented Ahmed Al-Masri, the project coordinator, and Abdel Moneim Al-Tahrawi, head of the legal unit at the Centre, with a shield of thanks and appreciation for the efforts made in working to achieve juvenile justice.