10 lowing a meeting with Dr. Hanna Nasser, Chairman of the Central Elections Commission (CEC), the ICHR organized a press conference in front of the CEC premises. The ICHR also addressed a public appeal on national elections to the President and secretaries general of Palestinian factions during their meeting in Beirut and Ramallah in September 2020. The ICHR also called on the President to pass a presidential decree on holding the elections as soon as practicable. In 2020, laws by decrees continued to be promulgated without a clear vision or specific and consistent procedures, which should have ensured greater participation by affected groups in consultations conducted in the lead up to the promulgation of these acts. A total of 41 laws by decrees were passed, including five on the declaration and extension of the state of emergency. As chair of the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions (ANNHRI), the ICHR followed up on the changing situation of Palestinian rights. To this avail, the ANNHRI published statements and organised regional and international meetings and seminars, which highlighted commitment to the Palestinian people’s rights and warned about the dangers of the so-called Deal of the Century. The Network rejected and viewed Israel’s schemes for annexing the West Bank as an unlawful, invalid step that was void of any legal value. Calling on all states around the world not to admit or recognise these schemes, the ANNHRI asked these states to support and assist the Palestinian people and Palestinian Authority to continue to confront Israeli annexation and Trump’s vision so that they can eventually accomplish their national goals of freedom and independence. Internationally, the ICHR carried out many interventions that aimed at ending the Israeli occupation and holding the Israeli authorities to account for persistent abuses of the Palestinian people from across the spectrum. For instance, the ICHR sent submissions and letters to UN Special Rapporteurs for human rights, as well as written and oral interventions before the UN Human Rights Council. Based on its powers as a national human rights institution, the ICHR developed and participated in the deliberations of the Shadow Report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child with the Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva during the first quarter of 2020. Further, the ICHR compiled the parallel report submitted to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the initial report of the State of Palestine on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In addition to submitting shadow and parallel reports to treaty bodies, the ICHR role involves ongoing follow up on the Palestinian government’s implementation of recommendations made by these treaty bodies with a view to strengthening and promoting human rights. The progress scored in the ICHR functions would have not been possible without the Board of Commissioners, who supported and guided the ICHR executive team. Believing in the Commission’s mission and vision, the ICHR executive team worked around the clock to provide assistance to the citizens who needed it. On this occasion, I would like to extend my profound thanks to Mr. Issam Younes, ICHR The Status of Human Rights in Palestine