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.

Mr. President,

We thank France for organizing this important meeting and extend our appreciation to the Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary General, the Executive Director of UN Women, the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security and the Secretary-General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie for their efforts and important briefings.

The issue before us is of relevance not only for half the planet, but to all, given the role and contribution of women in the fields of peace and security and the untapped potential that could be unleashed by mainstreaming their participation. Since the adoption by consensus of resolution 1325 by this Council, a lot has happened, and yet we are still far from the goal of full and equal participation, including in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and from ensuring the protection and empowerment of women. Gender equality and non-discrimination remain prerequisites for the fulfilment of the purposes and principles of this organization and all of our lofty, collective commitments, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The State of Palestine welcomes the Secretary General’s report and his commitment to implementing the women and peace and security agenda, including by placing gender at the centre of his prevention platform and surge in diplomacy. We appreciate all efforts by the UN in this regard, including by UN Women, OHCHR and UNDP, notably in the field of human rights, capacity building, employment and rule of law. We urge UN bodies, notably those operating in Palestine, including the Special Representative, to intensify their engagement and collaboration with women organizations.

Mr. President,

I wish to highlight some of Palestine’s own important efforts in this regard. The Palestinian women’s movement is one of the oldest and strongest in the region and beyond, with institutional and representative structures established as early as the 19th century. Within the PLO, the General Union of Palestinian Women was among the first unions to be established. A coordination of women frameworks within PLO political parties and other organizations has also been established as the “Women’s Affairs Technical Committee” in the aftermath of the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference.

There have been many achievements thereafter. Among them: In 2012, Palestine inaugurated a High-Level National Committee for the implementation of resolution 1325, led by the Ministry of Women Affairs in partnership with relevant Ministries and NGOs. In 2016, the State of Palestine was among the 68 countries and areas that adopted a National Action Plan on women, peace and security.

This Action Plan (2017-2019), adopted by both the Government and civil society organizations, identifies three primary objectives: 1. ensuring protection for women and girls both domestically and in the face of the Israeli occupation; 2. ensuring accountability through national and international mechanisms, with a particular focus on crimes and violations committed by the occupation; and 3. furthering women’s political participation in decision making at the national and international level. The State of Palestine also joined core IHL and human rights instruments, including CEDAW, without reservations. Women’s participation and empowerment are also important and cross-cutting objectives in the context of the National Policy Agenda (2017-2022).

We are, however, conscious that, despite all these efforts, much more work remains to be done. Only in 2009 was a women elected to the highest executive body of the PLO. Quotas are still decisive in allowing women’s election to Parliament and local councils. And while women organizations were among the strongest advocates of national reconciliation, they have been unfairly absent from reconciliation talks. The relevant legislative framework applicable in Palestine is also outdated and must be revised to ensure consistency with Palestine’s international commitments and obligations and avail women the protection and rights they are entitled to and the opportunities they deserve.

Mr. President,

The Palestinian women’s movement since its establishment over a century ago pursued the struggle on two fronts – the struggle for the independence of Palestine and the struggle for women’s rights and empowerment – a dual struggle the movement continues to pursue to this day. The Israeli occupation remains the main source of the violations of our women’s rights and their vulnerability and violence against their person. We have repeatedly called for protection of the Palestinian people, especially women and children. We have also called for accountability, a key element of resolution 1325, the first resolution to address the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women, as the only way to put an end to violations and crimes.

While Palestine stands ready to do its part to advance women rights and the role of women in the fields of peace and security, it is clear that the enjoyment of these rights in our country necessitates ending the Israeli occupation. We will thus continue to work for an end of the occupation and true progress on the path to independence, justice and peace, with the equal and full involvement of women, leading to an independent State of Palestine ensuring human rights for all its citizens without discrimination.

On the occasion of the ICC Prosecutor’s Office to Palestine, the Palestinian Women Coalition of UNSCR 1325, which consists of twelve different Palestinian women’s organisations, is urging the Prosecutor’s Office to take concrete actions towards investigating war crimes committed against Palestinians. The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom remains deeply concerned with the complete impunity of Israeli war crimes and firmly supports the Coalition’s call for a just accountability mechanism for Palestinian victims. WILPF also calls on the international community to recognise and fully support Palestinian women’s organisations substantial role in paving the paths to justice, accountability and peace. Read the statement of the Palestinian Women Coalition of UNSCR 1325 below.

We, the Palestinian Women Coalition of UNSCR 1325,welcome the visit of the delegation of the ICC Prosecutor’s Office as a step in the right direction. But we are deeply disappointed that the purpose of this visit was restricted to preliminary examination, while Palestinian victims of Israeli war crimes, including women, continue to suffer and urgently await justice and an end to Israel impunity.

We do not understand the decision to exclude the Gaza Strip from this visit, when Gaza has been the site of the most war crimes and where women have been most systematically impacted by Israeli collective punishment policies; a prolonged imposed siege and a severe humanitarian deterioration resulting from Israeli military aggressions .

We are further disappointed that women who have been systematically impacted, and their women’s organisations, have been excluded from the delegation’s agenda.

We call upon all future delegations of the ICC Prosecutor’s Office to include on their agenda meetings with women’s organisations and women who have experienced direct and indirect impacts of Israeli crimes.

We, the Palestinian Women Coalition of UNSCR 1325, have seen in UNSCR 1325, 2242, and other UN Resolutions a commitment to hold the Israeli perpetrators accountable for their war crimes.

We look to the ICC as the most important mechanism to end impunity for all war crimes committed, finally bringing justice for the Palestinian people. Yet, we are very concerned that the preliminary examinations will be an endless process.

Therefore, we urge, Ms. Fatou Bensouda, the Prosecutor of the ICC, to conclude the preliminary examination and move to investigations into Israeli war crimes, bringing justice to Palestinians.

We have paid the price of non-accountability and impunity of Israeli war crimes for too long. “Delaying justice is justice denied.”

Palestinian Women Coalition of UNSCR 1325: The General Union of Palestinian Women (GUPW), the Women’s Affairs Technical Committee (WATC), Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD), MIFTAH, Filastinyat, Women Media and Development (TAM), Women Stu Dies Center, Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling (WACLAC), the National, YWCA of Palestine, Center for Women’s Legal Research and Consulting (CWLRC), the Culture and Free thought Association(CWLRC) and Women’s Affairs Center (GWAC).

Occupied Palestine

October 11, 2016

Three of us from IWPS exit a taxi at the Huwara checkpoint. It is the main way in and out of Nablus and the surrounding refugee camps, Balata and Askar. Our purpose there is to monitor the behavior of the soldiers who run the checkpoint and its impact on Palestinians. This is the first day of Eid el fitr, the feast that ends the holy month of Ramadan. It is traditional to visit friends and family members and give gifts for Eid.

We have agreed we are there to observe and record what happens. As we walk toward the checkpoint, someone spots us, and leans out of the window of a full “service,” a collective taxi. “The jesh” – “jesh” is the Palestinian Arabic word for soldiers – “won’t let the people go through. Can you help us?”

We say we will try, though we are not optimistic. Kate and Dorothée walk toward the soldiers, who are pacing around the guard booth. As we approach, they shout at us to stop, waving guns in our direction. We approach anyway, and they do not react. Kate greets them, “Boker Tov,” and gets a lukewarm, “Boker Tov” in response. They are very young, 19 at most, one still has acne. Their hostility is without conviction. We ask them why a group of about 15 people is waiting instead of being let through. “Because the checkpoint is still closed”, they say. “When will it be opened?”. “When we decide”, they answer. They tell us to move back, “because it is a closed military zone”.

Trucks, ambulances and a few private cars try to pass through the checkpoint. Most people come in taxis, which cannot pass through the checkpoints. The passengers must get out of the cars, carrying their luggage, gifts, merchandise or household supplies, and walk through the checkpoint, which is about 500 meters. The taxis have to turn back, usually with another full load of people who are turned away or who are leaving Nablus for Ramallah or other areas of the West Bank.

We watch the soldiers dealing with the people and cars going north, toward Nablus and the villages around. We cannot see the area where people wait to come south, but we see them trickling through. We count 93 men, 30 women and 50 children going on foot through the checkpoint between 6.30 and 11.00 am. One hundred fourteen cars and six ambulances go through. Most of the cars have yellow plates and are driven by Israeli settlers. One ambulance and ten yellow-plated cars with Palestinian drivers are sent back.

The pedestrians walking through the checkpoint stand on the tarmac, separated from the road by a high wire fence. In the wide road, blocks of concrete and sandbags are set up to force the cars to slow down as they wind towards the two soldiers waiting for them. The settlers’ cars zoom around roadblocks, only occasionally checked by the soldiers. The white and green plated Palestinian cars have to wait about 50 meters from the soldiers. If they go further they are shouted at and forced to drive back. When the soldiers feel in the mood to let the driver approach, they shout the order to approach. The driver has to step out of his car, and walk cautiously toward the soldiers, showing them his identity card. The men sometimes have to lift their shirts or jackets to prove that they have nothing around their waist.

On the pedestrian side, people are shouted at from afar (30 meters) to stand in line, women on one side, men on the other. They are called to come one by one, “bass wahad!” or sometimes motioned to approach with a loud “hey”.

They show the soldier their identity cards, most in green or orange plastic folders. These cards determine where they can travel and how they can get there. In addition to the ID cards – huwiyya in Arabic, ironically one sound away from hurriyya, freedom – many people have various other documents to show, “permissions” to enter certain areas on certain days by certain roads.

At first, everyone goes through after a cursory check of their ID. Those with plastic bags full of fruit, cakes or meat and lots of gifts for relatives and friends have to open them while the soldier looks through them. When the cars and ambulances are being controlled and more than two soldiers handle the driver and passengers, the pedestrian side has to wait until the soldier who checks them goes back to his concrete booth, one meter high, to let them through or turn them away.

At 7:30 a.m., we start hearing scattered shots. Two more taxis arrive, filled with more people bearing gifts. They wait 20 minutes or so, while all the soldiers are busy searching trucks and ambulances and talking with each other. We hear more shots. One man says something about curfew (mamnuatajawal) in Nablus. We don’t know if he knows or is guessing. It’s always a good guess.

About 8:00 the soldier calls for the next person to come – ta’al wahad. A young man goes up. A few minutes later, he walks back, palms outstretched, and says to the people, “mamnua,” forbidden. Forty men, eight women and eighteen children are turned away. When asked why, the soldier answers “Nablus is closed”. A few people get through; couples have a better chance than single men.

At one point Kate and Dorothée go back to the soldier with three men who have been told that it is forbidden to go on further. When asked why he does not let these men through, the soldier says: “It’s military and humanitarian cases only.” Kate argues with him that a man who is trying to visit his father in the hospital should qualify. “He’s not humanitarian enough,” the soldier says. Kate asks if she can talk to whomever is in charge. “I am in charge ... and I need not give an explanation,” he responds. Dorothée tells him about the intention of these people to spend Eid with their relatives, as it is a the first day of a three-day holiday. He denies that and says it is the end of the feast, meaning Ramadan. He apparently is little informed about the feast of Eid el fitr for Muslims.

Whole families, smartly dressed, are turned away, as are two men carrying heavy containers of olive oil. The reactions are quite subdued. Some are almost imperceptibly disgusted, others leave with bitterness. Some try to hide the humiliation they are feeling being ordered away by young, uniformed, armed men of the occupying army. One man says: “Write what you see, we cannot have a happy feast under these conditions”. Another explodes: “The Israeli army is bad. Foreigners can go anywhere here and I cannot move in my own country”. The understandable rage, the utter hopelessness of the situation due to these daily threats, controls and humiliations are indescribable.

As Abdul Jawad Saleh puts it: “The Palestinian public passes daily through a series of unforgettable experiences at Israeli checkpoints. Humiliation is one primary but systematic curse of the Occupation. The curfew and closures that kill active life (...) leave the Palestinians living in a pre-industrial society and spread illiteracy and starvation. Palestinian days are not as normal days. Days have nothing to do with sunrise or sunset ... it is the whim of an Israeli soldier who marks their day or night” [1].

We return to Hares and make up packages of chocolates to take to people we are going to visit. Kate and Dorothée have been invited to join a group of men from the Palestine People’s Party (formerly the Communist Party) to visit the families of “martyrs” (anyone killed by the Israelis, either Army or settlers) on the first day of Eid. R., who is a leader of the PP in this area has invited us. He said if you want to honour a person the most you must visit him on the first day of Eid, if you honour him a lot you visit him on the second day, and if you honour him you visit him on the third day.

Kate and Dorothée walk to Deir Istya. Young boys come toward us, flashing the new plastic pistols and guns they have receved as Eid gifts. They are anxious for us to photograph them pointing the guns and looking like fighters. We meet the group of men after they have already visited two families. The visit is a formal acknowledgement of the price the bereaved families have paid in the resistance to the Occupation.

The family we visit lives in the old part of Deir Istya with magnificent arches and very old houses. One complex of houses is being restored and transformed into a youth club and a women’s club. The martyr’s brother welcomes us. We are introduced to the men with whom we are waiting in the living room lined with chairs and armchairs. On the wall two photographs show the two young men that have died one in the first Intifada, the second, who was only 14 when he died, during the second Intifada, Al Aqsa. The mother arrives after we have been served coffee by the son. We sit in silence a while, then R. makes a speech of condolence and comforting. We do not understand the words but the grave tone conveys comfort. The mother weeps silently and mutters phrases. Another man speaks too, apparently some verses of the Koran. Then a third man adds something about the place where the deceased are now. After about half an hour, R. gives a signal and we all leave, shaking hands with the martyr’s mother and brother.

The second family we visit had a son belonging to Hamas, who died in this Intifada. We are invited to sit in the garden, right outside the house. Two brothers of the deceased offer tea. There is no official statement nor words of solace. The mother, we learn from R. on our way back to the street, does not receive men. The third family lives near the edge of the village. The father and two brothers of the deceased man receive us. There is no official statement. The conversation in the room with about 25 chairs along the walls is lively and turns around recent experiences and encounters with soldiers, a daily matter. We are offered a soft drink, coffee and Eid cookies. This last visit of 30 minutes ends our round with the official visiting of the Deir Istya Families of martyrs.

The men of the People’s Party want to share the sorrow of the families of martyrs and to officially underline their political stand in the resistance to the Occupation. Kate and Dorothée are grateful to be invited to participate in this part of the Eid, although as usual, it is a little awkward for us to be the only women in a group of men. As we walk back toward Hares, we are followed by a mob of boys armed with plastic guns who enjoy shooting plastic pellets at us. A man from Deir Istya who now lives in Ramallah explains to us that the boys have no alternative toys. The brutality of the situation is also visible in this particular indulging the makeshift war games. When we reach Hares, we are discouraged to see that here too the boys are armed with new toy guns that they were proud to point at us.

While Kate and Dorothée were in Deir Istya, Karin and Nijmie from IWPS went to the nearby village of Marda, to talk with a man whose car had been recently attacked by a group of Israeli soldiers. Instead of talking relaxedly with friends and family in his large comfortable sitting room at Eid, he was constantly distracted by the pain in his leg, which still contains a bullet from an Israeli soldier’s gun. Two foreign women, Karin and I, were among the assemblage of brothers and cousins, and undoubtedly changed the tone of the gathering. We went only to meet and sit with this man in solidarity, but after friends and family had come and gone, we were told it was okay to take a statement from him about the recent attack. We pulled out our pens, paper, and digital camera to listen to his story and document the brutal incident he experienced.

On December 3, the man was in a collective taxi with about 15 other people, including his wife and some of his children. He needed to see the doctor in Nablus for a chronic medical condition, and he had finally arranged transport for him and his family. At 4:30 pm as they passed the village of Awarta, they came upon a worrisome scene: Israeli soldiers were stopping cars in the street. Supposedly, the soldiers were looking for a specific car, but decided without provocation to fire on this man’s car. Three men were shot, and one was injured critically. Five soldiers also approached the car and pulled out the driver and some passengers, beating them with their guns and feet. The soldiers destroyed the windows of their taxi as well as a number of other cars on the road.

When the car finally made it to the Huwara checkpoint, soldiers told them they had no permission to enter Nablus. The shot and beaten men were forced to wait for one and a half hours before an Israeli army ambulance came and performed first aid on the man’s gunshot wound. After the army checked everyone’s ID’s, they were forced to wait for another one and a half hours before they were finally allowed to pass the checkpoint in an ambulance to go to the Nablus hospital.

Although it was good to record this man’s statement and take a picture of his leg wound, it was also strange to realize that our act of bearing witness to what has happened to him is the only recognition he will receive. There is no justice for Palestinians under Occupation. No one will pay for the crime of shooting him and the others in the taxi. No judge will hand down a sentence. We hope that our work to document his story will build toward the day when world opinion will cease to accept the dehumanising treatment of Palestinians on their own land. As we sat, drinking tea and eating special sweets that were prepared for Eid, we remarked with wry humor that in only in Palestine do you go to the hospital and come back worse than when you started.