Leading Palestinian politician to address Derry human rights conference

Dr Barghouti, who is the Secretary General and co-founder of the Palestinian National Initiative, al-Mubadara, will address delegates at the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience Network’s 2022 European Regional Meeting.

The conference will take place over three days, from June 14 to June 16.

Dr Barghouti will deliver his keynote address at the Guildhall on Wednesday, June 15, the anniversary of the release of the second Bloody Sunday Inquiry report. The event, which will begin at 7pm, will be open to members of the public.

The Sites of Conscience conference is taking place during the 50th anniversary year of Bloody Sunday. The Bloody Sunday Trust has chosen ‘One World, One Struggle’ as the theme of its one-year-long commemoration programme.

Dr Barghouti is a member of the Palestinian Central Council. He was runner-up to Mahmoud Abbas in the 2005 Palestinian presidential election and was Minister of Information in the Palestinian unity government in 2007. He is a fierce critic of “Israeli state terror”, advocates non-violent resistance, and has criticised the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank over alleged corruption. He is a renowned defender of human rights and a staunch advocate of internal democracy.

As a qualified physician, one of Dr Barghouti’s greatest achievements was the establishment of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society – a non-profit, community-based response by doctors which addresses years of damage inflicted on Palestine’s health infrastructure by Israeli military occupation.

The chairperson of the Bloody Sunday Trust, Tony Doherty, says the Trust is honoured to welcome Dr Barghouti as its keynote speaker because of the way in which his work has embodied their shared goals, and also in celebration of the strong links between Palestine and Ireland.

“Our community’s fight for truth and justice has deepened our sense of who we are and made us more aware that we are also citizens of the world who can both inform and learn from other struggles,” he said.

“We chose ‘One World, One Struggle’ as our theme for 2022 because we believe that tying our struggles together is not optional if we truly wish to further the global struggle against oppression, structural racism and imperialism.”

Admission to Dr Barghouti’s lecture is free and tickets can be booked at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bloody-sunday-50-one-world-one-struggle-panel-with-mustafa-barghouti-tickets-355222017617