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

This year on World Population Day, the focus is on young people. From a 10-year-old girl to a young man of 24, their needs are different, their cultures diverse. Yet, all over the world, young people want to be heard and involved.

They possess the ideas, determination and energy to accelerate effective action to reduce poverty and inequality. In every region, young people are taking action on HIV/AIDS and other issues that threaten their health, education and future opportunities.

Young people want to stay safe and healthy. They want a chance at a better future. About HIV prevention, they tell us: “Adults say we are too young to know; we say we are too young to die.” About family planning, young people tell us: “Men should share responsibility with women.” About sexual and reproductive health, they say: “Young people need this information. It shapes our lives and affects our future.”

Yet today, millions of young people are threatened by poverty, illiteracy, risks of pregnancy and childbirth, and HIV/AIDS. Today, more than 500 million people aged 15 to 24 live on less than $2 per day; 96 million young women in developing countries do not know how to read or write; and 14 million adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 become mothers every year. Every day, 6,000 young people are newly infected with HIV.

These challenges lie at the heart of goals set by world leaders to reduce poverty and improve health and well-being. It is clear that the Millennium Development Goals will not be met unless young people are actively involved in policymaking and programming, their voices are heard, their needs are met and their human rights are respected.

UNFPA champions young people’s rights to education, health and employment. We recognize that investments in young people promote social and economic growth. Key to these efforts are keeping girls in school, building life skills, delaying marriage and pregnancy until adulthood, and preventing HIV infection. Young people have the power to drive development forward.

On World Population Day, let us focus on young people and seek new ways to work side-by-side as partners in development. Although it is often said that young people are the future, it is also true that young people are the present and their leadership should be supported today. As a young peer educator said, “We are creating the future and it is great.”

Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA

Today, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, joins people around the world in commemorating the International Day of Families. The theme of this year’s observance, Changing Families: Challenges and Opportunities, points to the dramatic changes that families are undergoing in all regions of the world.

One of the most dramatic transformations is urbanization. Today, nearly half of all people live in cities compared to less than 15 per cent a century ago. The numbers of children attending school, especially girls, has risen and, as a result, there are more and more women participating in the formal workforce. Furthermore, evidence shows that the increase in female employment has been a major driving force of global economic growth and poverty reduction. It is no surprise that leaders at the 2005 World Summit declared “progress for women is progress for all.”

Progress for women and their families has been the primary focus of UNFPA since its inception. When women are educated and healthy, and able to make their own choices, they do what is best for themselves and their families. They usually choose to have fewer children and invest more in the health and education of each child. Improved health, education and employment opportunities for women encourage savings and economic growth, which help nations fight poverty.

Also important are family-friendly policies that help parents balance work and home responsibilities, and equitable relations within families. All over the world, expanding opportunities have prompted many young women to delay marriage to later ages. But progress remains uneven. To this day, millions of girls continue to be married when they are children—denied the ordinary experiences that young people elsewhere take for granted: schooling, good health, economic opportunities and friendship with peers. Today, UNFPA calls on communities and nations to actively discourage child marriage and to promote secondary education, gender equality and economic opportunities for young women and men. UNFPA also calls on governments to increase investments in sexual and reproductive health.

Today, millions of children are orphaned each year because their mothers die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth, or from AIDS. Surely, we can do better. Many lives could be saved, and families strengthened, if the international goal of universal access to reproductive health were achieved.

Today, on International Women’s Day, I join others in paying tribute to women. Progress for women is progress for all. No enduring solutions to society’s most pressing problems can be found without the full empowerment and participation of women.

Women are not only life givers. They are peace builders and must play a full role in conflict resolution and recovery. They are workers, even though their work is often undervalued and underpaid. They are the backbone of families, communities and society, even though their multiple roles are not often recognized or appreciated. Yes, women are different from men but this difference should be celebrated along with the recognition that all human beings are created equal in dignity and rights and should be afforded equal opportunity and legal protection.

Much progress has been made over the years for the advancement of women and this past year was no exception. In Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected President, the first female President in Africa. In Germany, Angela Merkel was elected as the nation’s first female Chancellor. And in Chile, citizens elected their first woman President, Michelle Bachelet. These victories represent important steps forward but we still have a long way to go before we reach gender parity in the political decision making levels. Today only 16 per cent of legislators worldwide are women.

Today I call for greater action to involve women in decision-making at all levels—from the top of government and the United Nations down to the basic unit of society, the family, and foremost in matters related to their own lives.

Research shows that while much progress has been made, millions of women are still denied the opportunity to make even the most basic decisions about marriage and childbearing. At September’s World Summit, world leaders agreed to achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015 as critical for the attainment of gender equality and the other Millennium Development Goals to improve maternal health, reduce child mortality, combat HIV/AIDS, and reduce poverty. Reproductive health and rights are fundamental to women’s empowerment.

Today, on International Women’s Day, I would like to encourage greater dialogue within societies, communities and families, between women and men and between young and old. We need to talk to each other and find ways to advance mutual respect, mutual communication and mutual responsibility. Gender equality should be inscribed into national law and translated into investments in national budgets. UNFPA is committed to promoting sexual and reproductive health, reproductive rights, women’s empowerment, male involvement and responsibility, and gender equality. Today we salute the women and men who are working towards these worthy goals.

Message of Thoraya Ahmed Obaid UNFPA Executive Director

As the world commemorates the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, it is time to remind ourselves, as world leaders agreed at the 2005 World Summit, that progress for women is progress for all.

Every woman has the right to live in dignity—free of fear, coercion, violence and discrimination. Every woman and girl has the right to education and health, including sexual and reproductive health, and equal opportunity. Yet, for hundreds of millions of girls and women worldwide, these human rights are routinely denied.

As a result, women and girls continue to be threatened by domestic violence and abuse in their own homes. Girls are forced into marriage as child brides. Women and girls are subjected to shocking levels of sexual violence. In conflict situations, rape is used as a strategy of war. And trafficking of women, a modern form of slavery, is on the rise. Violence and exploitation are also putting women and girls at increased risk of HIV infection and furthering the spread of the AIDS pandemic. Violence against women is a threat to health and a violation of human rights. It also carries heavy social and economic costs for women, their families and communities, and entire countries.

Today and every day we must speak out forcefully for zero tolerance of all forms of violence against women and girls. Together we have to do more to back up our rhetoric with action. And we must recognize that this is not a woman’s issue—this is an issue that concerns us all, and men have an important and responsible role to play.

Together we must prevent and punish violence against women. It is neither inevitable nor acceptable and it can be stopped. Social norms and attitudes that condone discrimination and violence against women and girls can be changed. This is the first step, which requires awareness raising, behavior change and social mobilization.

A second step is legal protection. We need to strengthen legal systems and the rule of law. The rights of women—including their rights to income, property, security and inheritance—need to be protected and those who violate the laws must be brought to justice.

A third step is the provision of health information and services. We need to do more to guarantee the right to sexual and reproductive health, including family planning, safe motherhood and HIV prevention.

UNFPA is working with a wide range of partners to eliminate violence against women and to promote women’s empowerment, male responsibility, gender equality and reproductive health and rights. We are convinced that this comprehensive approach will move us closer to a world where women and girls can live free from fear and violence and reach their full potential, and where women and men can enjoy mutual respect and confidence.