With the participation of at least 500 officials, representatives of political factions, representatives of NGOs, academics, jurists, media officials and representatives of a number of international organizations, on Wednesday morning, 21 June 2006, the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mr. Ismail Haniya, opened a conference on “The New Palestinian Government and the Human Rights Agenda.” The two-day conference is organized by PCHR in Gaza City.
In his opening speech, Prime Minister Haniya emphasized that the region can never enjoy security and stability unless the occupation comes to an end, and "our people obtain their legitimate rights, particularly the right to establish their independent, sovereign state, with Jerusalem as its capital, the right of refugees to return homes and be compensated for the many years of expulsion and dispersion, and the right of prisoners to be released from Israeli jails. "
Mr. Haniya further said: “When we came to power, we had the ambition to bring back our people’s trust in their homeland and their feeling of safety and security, and provide them with appropriate living conditions, through an integral project of continuing the process of liberation, while completing the process of construction.”
