The PLC listened in its normal session held in Ramallah and Gaza on May 15-16, 2002, to the important speech which was delivered by President Yasser Arafat, and which included a frank and strong call for the administrative and financial reform. In its capacity as the Palestinian Legislative Council as stipulated in the law in terms of monitoring and accountability and legislature, the Council conducted a comprehensive assessment discussion of the previous phase and the process of tackling the conditions that are the result of the weak institutional structure and the rule of the law and the results of the Israeli bloody invasion of the Palestinian towns, villages and camps in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and destruction incurred by the Palestinian society and its governmental and private institutions and organizations, in addition to the damage caused to the Palestinian economy in terms of the infrastructure and destruction of the public and private institutions.
The PLC highly appreciates the size, scope and extent of sacrifices the Palestinian heroic people through the convoys of martyrs and the injured and the thousands of freedom prisoners in the Israeli occupation prisons and the physical damage incurred by the PNA and the Palestinian people.
The PLC highly praises the popular solidarity and the Palestinian national unity that was witnessed throughout the past months, and which constituted an important factor in the heroic steadfastness of the Palestinian people in front of the barbaric and ugly attack executed by the Israeli occupation; the past months also witnessed the masses support and solidarity with the historical leadership which is headed by Brother President Abu Ammar under the worst conditions and under the siege which was imposed by the Israeli occupation.
The PLC affirms on the importance to maintain the Palestinian national unity as a basic guarantee for our just struggle to achieve our legitimate national rights in return and in self-determination and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state with al-Quds al-Shareef as its capital. The PLC calls for initiating towards a process of national dialogue on the basis of national programs adopted by the legitimate institutions and on the basis that there is one sole authority and under the rule of the law in light of political pluralism. The PLC affirms on its readiness to contribute in this dialogue.
The PLC commissioned the Political Committee to make a full assessment of the political developments surrounding the Palestinian cause at the national, regional and international levels and regarding the Palestinian national dialogue and the negotiations in order to submit the assessment report to the PLC in a special session.
Thus, and in light of the PLC assessing the internal conditions and the requirements of change, activation and reforms, the PLC decided:
The PNA and the State
In order to develop and activate the PNA institutions and define its structures and assess its shortcomings, and in order to achieve the principle of separation of authorities, and in order to lay the grounds of transparency and accountability, the PLC affirms on all the resolutions and laws it adopted and on the need to implement them.
For the sake of the requirements of the reconstruction and the activation of the PNA institutions and in order to rectify the mistakes, the PLC affirms on the following issues:
Chapter One: The Constitutional Aspect
The Basic Law
To ratify the Basic Law, issue it, and compel all institutions and commissions in the Palestinian society to respect this law and abide by it and implement it since it is the basic reference of the work of the PNA and its institutions.
The laws and legislations:
a- the PLC welcomes the ratification of President Arafat of the law of independence of the judiciary system and demands to implement the law and ratify the remaining of the laws passed by the PLC and the laws which were submitted to President Arafat and to implement the ratified laws.
b- to execute all Palestinian ratified laws and compel all PNA institutions to abide by them and respect them.
The PLC demands the establishment of a constitutional court and present its special law to the PLC for ratification.
The General Elections:
The elections process must include all representation commissions (the legislative parliamentary elections, the local councils, the trade unions, the sectoral institutions and charitable organizations and others.
The Presidential, Legislative, and Local Councils Elections:
a- The PLC demands setting up a date for the legislative and presidential elections at the beginning of next year and commission the permanent central elections committee to prepare for those elections.
b- to reconsider the elections law in light of the new experience and reality.
ii- to commission the elections committee of the local councils to prepare for holding the local councils elections and set up a date for those elections not to exceed this year.
iii- all representation institutions, such as the civil society institutions, have to abide and hold the regular elections in their set dates, such as trade unions, professional unions, charitable organizations and all other institutions according to their bylaws.
Freedoms:
to guarantee public freedoms and basic rights of the Palestinian people in all aspects of life, as stipulated in the Declaration of Independence and the Basic Law and according to the international norms and charters.
Chapter Two: The Executive Authority
The Cabinet:
The government will consist of ministers not to exceed 19 ministers according to Article (65) in the Basic Law on the condition that the ministers have experience and are qualified and they do not necessarily have to be members of the PLC.
The PLC considers the current government a government to run the affairs until the formation of the new government which should take place within a period not exceeding 45 days.
To work on merging and canceling some sectoral ministries with similar duties and to limit as much as possible any establishment of independent administrations and include them in the ministries.
The new government should submit an integrated program for the work of the government in all aspects to the PLC to gain the vote of confidence from the PLC.
The members of the government will devote their time to implement their programs and will hold meetings in a detailed manner independent from the meetings of the political leadership.
To expedite reconsideration and modernizing the administrative structure and job descriptions in the ministries in light of the pervious experience and work according to clear future plans and provide the needed budgets to implement their works and programs.
The Finances of the PNA:
To affirm on the importance and centrality of the work of the Ministry of Finance and put an end to the numerous decision making sources and the multiple references and organize and monitor collection and resources and investments in the context of the ministry and abide by the law of organizing the general budget.
To abide by the annual general budget law and reconsider the structure of the Ministry of Finance in manner that assure the unification of decision-making in the Ministry, modernize, and develop the work of the Ministry.
To unify the finances of the PNA in the account of the general treasury and make an account to all revenues of government properties and investments of the PNA and its institutions and procure all revenues in terms of taxes, fees, loans and grants and all profits and all revenues incoming to the PNA through its activities. No amount of money from the general treasury can be allocated or spent for any purpose unless as decided by the law.
To subject all revenues of the independent government institutions, such as the tobacco and petroleum commissions and other commissions and their assets and revenues and profits under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance according to the law.
To keep the money in the special funds of pension and other financial funds for their designated purposes according to the law governing such funds.
Security
To reorganize the structure of the public security troops apparatus and the national security troops apparatus according to the following principles and tasks:
The duty of the forces of the public security and national security apparatuses is to:
a- protect the security of the citizen and the public and private properties.
b- to maintain public order and enforce the law.
A law based on the Basic Law and the pertaining laws will be issued to include the principles that govern the work of the security services and the conditions of recruitment and defining their jurisdictions and authorities in a manner that prevents overlap of duties.
The service term of the heads of security services will be limited to four years.
To reduce the number of security services and unify those services with similar jurisdictions and have the Palestinian security services under civil authority (Minister of the Interior) and under the monitoring of the PLC.
To form the national security committee as a higher commission, to be headed by the President, to supervise the security services and institutions.
To prevent the security services and their heads from interfering in political and media actions unless as stipulated by the law and the stipulated authorities.
To prevent the security services and their heads from conducting any monetary collection unless as stipulated by the law and on the condition that the money collected will be transferred to the Ministry of Finance.
To prevent security services and their heads from working in any economic or civil field unless stipulated by the law.
To ban the contacts of the security institution with the Israeli side and have such contacts within the agreed upon in the agreements and according to a commission by the political leadership.
General Control Office:
To reconsider the law of General Control Office in order to determine its role and responsibility, jurisdictions and relations with the various governmental and non-governmental institutions and have the Office submit its annual and periodical reports to the PLC in a manner that reinforces the independence and efficacy of the Office.
The PLC demands from the executive authority to hold accountable and question all those who abuse public funds spending.
The Higher Positions of the Independent Government Institutions:
The head of the General Control Office, Head of Personnel Affairs, Head of Monetary Authority, Heads of Independent Public Commissions that are not related to the Ministries have to be ratified by the PLC in accordance with the Basic Law.
The Governors
To prepare charts and special organization pertaining to the governors and administrative structures and determine their authorities within the borders of the governorates and organize the relations between the governor, the security services and the local administrations and assess their status according to their performance.
The Personnel Office:
To abide by the provisions of the Civil Service Law regarding the role of the Personnel Office and its terms of reference and jurisdictions and implement the provisions of the law, especially the administrative aspect.
To halt any permanent appointments in the Authority until reconsideration of the structures of the ministries and ratify their bylaws.
Chapter Three: The Judicial Authority
The PLC welcomes the President's ratification of the Law of Independence of the Judiciary System and demands issuing it.
The PLC believes there is a need to restructure the higher judicial council according to the law in order to activate the judiciary system and complete its final structure, taking into consideration the following issues:
To unify the Palestinian judiciary system and restructure it on all the Palestinian territories according to the law.
To reinforce the judicial system with human resources, prepare, and rehabilitate the judicial cadre.
To complete building the new courts according to the law and complete the logistic needs, including the buildings, the administrative and office equipments, and prepare the necessary regulations.
The PLC shall request from the government to complete the submitting of the package of judicial laws so that the PLC can ratify them as soon as possible.
The PLC affirms on the need to abide by the independence of the Palestinian judicial system and the respect of the rule of the law and implement the judicial provisions and decisions.
To allocate a special budget for the judicial authority in the framework of the general budget.
The PLC reaffirms its previous decision on canceling of the state security court.
My Rights, Our Power: A Joint Campaign Launched in Palestine to Raise Awareness on Women’s Fundamental Human Rights
Date posted: March 09, 2019
By UN Women
1_March 2019, Ramallah – On the occasion of the International Women’s Day (8 March), a week-long joint campaign “My Rights, Our Power” was launched today in Palestine to raise awareness on women’s fundamental human rights. The joint effort, with participation from over 30 national and international partners from civil society organizations, media outlets, and international development agencies, targets youth, women, and men in various geographic areas in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza to promote women’s human rights in Palestine.
The campaign comes at a crucial moment when the anticipated adoption of the Family Protection Bill is at a standstill, raising concerns among national and international stakeholders about the consequences of such delay on safeguarding women’s fundamental human rights in Palestine. According to the Palestine report of the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES), nearly one in five Palestinian men (17 percent) surveyed said they had perpetrated act of physical intimate partner violence against female partners, while 21 per cent of women surveyed reported having experienced such violence.
“Family violence, usually committed by a family member who has social or economic power over others in the family, causes enormous pain and suffering to all members of the family, especially the women and children,” said a spokesperson from civil society, which has vigorously initiated the development of the Family Protection Bill (FPB), and has strongly pushed its adoption since 2004.
“The violation of women’s human rights manifests in various levels and should be also understood from economic, cultural, and social aspects,” the spokesperson added, highlighting the lack of opportunities and freedom of choice, as well as limited access to justice and services that women in Palestine still experience.
The joint campaign aims to raise awareness of the general public, especially youth, women, and men on women’s fundamental rights in line with international standards and embedded in the Family Protection Bill draft endorsed by the previous Cabinet at the end of December 2018. Five key messages, addressing women’s right to a life free of violence, right to achieve justice and seek help in case of violation of such life, as well as the right to equal opportunities and right to make one’s own choices, will be distributed through various channels such as radio, social media, helpline (121), outreach activities, and on-site events. The closing event of the joint campaign will take place on 8 March in Jerusalem and will celebrate women’s achievements using TED-style talks, followed by art performances.
“My Rights, Our Power” joint campaign is part of the global International Women’s Day 2019 campaign under the theme of “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change”. The theme focuses on innovative ways in which we can advance gender equality and the empowerment of women, particularly in the areas of social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure, echoing the theme of the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 63) taking place in New York on 11-22 March 2019.
The participating organizations of the “My Rights, Our Power” are (in alphabetical order): 17 Palestinian women’s organizations represented by Al-Muntada (coalition), British Consulate-General, Business Women Forum, CARE International, Consulate General of Sweden, Consulate General of Belgium, EUPOL COPPS, EU Representative Office, FAO, General Union of Palestinian Women, Government of Japan, CowaterSogema/GROW Project, International Labour Organization, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, Ma’an TV, MIFTAH, Netherlands Representative Office, Nisaa FM, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development, Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association, Representative Office of Canada, Representative Office of Denmark, SAWA, Sawasya II, Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, Sports for Life, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Representative Office of Norway, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNOPS, UN Women, Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling, Women’s Studies Center.
For more information, please contact Eunjin Jeong at UN Women via eunjin.jeong@unwomen.org or 059 2321 308, Majd Beltaji at UNESCO via m.beltaji@unesco.org or 059 4501 506.
