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

To the Donor’s Meeting – December 7-8, 2004 Oslo, Norway

We are facing a new era with great possibilities and opportunities for rebuilding an Israeli-Palestinian political process. Palestine is heading towards democracy and soon a new government will be sitting in Ramallah. The Israeli government is also in the process of being reshaped where its main policy directive will be the implementation of the disengagement plan. There is already shift in attitudes in Jerusalem regarding the needs and possibilities for implementing the disengagement in coordination with the Palestinians. Field level coordination between Israeli and Palestinian security personnel is already beginning. Internationally and locally there is more talk about moving the process from disengagement into the Road Map.

One of the challenges facing the political echelon in Israel and in Palestine is in rebuilding public confidence and trust in the possibility of renewing a political process. Both leaderships have less than the necessary or desired political legitimacy to advance the process sufficiently to rebuild trust and confidence. There remains a gap between the new rhetoric and the reality of the ground. There are many spoilers within both societies who can disrupt and perhaps derail the hopes for a new beginning.

The Oslo process to a great extent ignored the importance of engaging and involving civil society in shaping the process. The old “people-to-people” projects were little more than paying “lip service” to the idea that civil society should support the peace process. Civil society has many roles to play in helping to ensure the success of a new political process. Governments – Israel and the Palestinian Authority, as well as the international community (the donors) convening in Oslo this week to assist the process, should look seriously at building a public sector-civil society partnership for strengthening positive steps that would help to ensure greater success.

This partnership should be involved in monitoring the process, and the sides should demonstrate a real interest in having it monitored in a fair and genuine way. The partnership would assist in creating and building wider public legitimacy for moving away from violence and back into dialogue and negotiations. Developing the economy and rebuilding economic coordination and cooperation is another area where the partnership should be emphasized.

Israeli and Palestinian civil societies are abundant with civil society organizations and initiatives that are anxious to play a positive role. IPCRI requested to have civil society representatives present at the Donors meeting in Oslo later this week. This request was rejected without sufficient good reason. We must assure that transparency is built into the new political process so that the public will feel trust and confidence that developments are taking into account the best interests of both societies. Through a public sector-civil society partnership we can implement some of the lessons learned from the mistakes of the past. There is too much at stake to risk the chance that lessons learned will not be implemented and that the mistakes of the past will be the same mistakes of the future.

The Donor’s should insist on having civil society observers present at the donors meetings where Israeli and Palestinian representatives are participating. The presence of these representatives would help to ensure that decisions regarding the means to rebuild coordination and cooperation reach beyond the level of government. The donors should ensure that civil society is given information regarding the decisions taken on providing financial resources for the rebuilding of the political process and for the rehabilitation of the Palestinian Authority, including the elections process in order to ensure the ability of civil society to play a monitoring role.

The donor community should engage civil society organizations that have on their agenda supporting and building cooperation and peaceful relations between the two parties. Cross-boundary cooperative endeavors must be placed high on the agenda and supported so that the publics can see the fruits of the new era.

Civil society must be involved with the governments and the donors in fighting incitement and in reforming education in both societies as concrete evidence that a new era has begun. The development of a new political process must be both from the “top-down” and from the “bottom – up” reaching the grassroots and having an impact on the lives of Palestinians and Israelis. This partnership must begin now, from the beginning and not be left until it becomes an afterthought. Now is the time for civil society and government to support each other and the international community as the third party must facilitate and encourage this role and this part of the process.

Introduction:

The idea of designing a curriculum that prepares students for the future is not new. After all, education is not only for the present. Students will be living in a world different from the one they now occupy, and schools should enable them to deal with that world. Thus, what policymakers and educators should aspire to do is an education process that is genuinely meaningful to students, challenging them with problems and ideas that they find both interesting and intellectually demanding. To achieve this, educators need to equip students with certain types of knowledge, abilities, life skills and strategies. In addition, they need to provide learners with an educational setting that enhances a positive attitude towards learning. Among the most important of these abilities are judgment, critical thinking, collaborative work and service learning.

Educators believe that the best way to prepare students for the future is to focus on the present in a way that enables them to deal with problems that have more than one correct answer. The problems that matter most cannot be resolved by formula, algorithm or rule. They require the exercise of a human capacity that is called judgment that requires the ability to give reasons for the choices that individuals make.

A second ability that schools need to develop in students is the ability to think critically, to critique information and ideas and to enjoy exploring what one can do with them. To develop this ability, students must be presented with information and ideas that are relevant, provocative and worth exploring and investigating.

Collaboration, in the form of learning to work with others collectively, cooperatively and in harmony, can make a big difference in students’ lives and experiences. The process of collaboration is thought to give birth to new ideas and develops social skills that are essential for democratic life.

The Palestinian education system has made strides in the direction of achieving some of these goals. The new curriculum is one example of a coordinated effort exerted in that direction. However, curriculum designers and materials writers, historically, have been more exclusive than inclusive of the wide range of ethnic and cultural diversity that exists within a particular society, nation, or region. In the haste to promote harmony and avoid controversy and conflict, they gloss over controversial and sensitive political and social problems and the realities of racial, ethnic, national, civil and religious identities. They sometimes romanticize racial, ethnic and religious relations, and ignore the challenges of coexistence and a regional perspective.

For Palestinian students to be able to compete at the local and regional and levels, more needs to be done along the path of education reform. In particular, the Palestinian experience should be, now more than ever, an interaction with the region, including Israel, and the world. After all, Palestinian students are also going to need to be citizens of this planet and neighbors of the State of Israel. This means that new curricula need to take a look at increasing students’ regional and global knowledge. It will be their world.

In addition, and in spite of the obstacles, it would be unwise for the Palestinian education system, curriculum being an integral part of it, not to have as its central mission educating the young in the democratic ideals of humankind, the freedoms and responsibilities of a democratic society, and the civil and civic understandings and dispositions necessary to democratic citizenship. Palestinian education should encourage pluralism and should prepare their pupils to know themselves as well as their neighbors.