The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy- MIFTAH was granted a special consultative status to work with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), through which MIFTAH seeks to contribute to promoting the Palestinian narrative and international advocacy based on international legitimacy and United Nations resolutions related to the Palestinian cause.

The ECOSOC is the principal organ that coordinates the economic, social, environmental and related work of the 14 United Nations specialized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions. It serves as the central forum for discussing international economic, and social and environmental issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to Member States and the United Nations system.

ECOSOC provides NGOs the opportunity to be heard by a truly global audience and contribute to its agenda. ECOSOC has been the main entry point into the UN system for NGOs. ECOSOC remains the only main UN body with a formal framework for NGO participation

What is Consultative Status?

Consultative Status is an accreditation framework that benefits both the United Nations and the NGOs. Consultative arrangements are to be made, on the one hand, for the purpose of enabling the Council or one of its bodies to secure expert information or advice from organizations having special competence in the subjects for which consultative arrangements are made, and, on the other hand, to enable international, regional, sub-regional and national organizations that represent important elements of public opinion to express their views according to ECOSOC resolution 1996/31, part II, paragraph 20.

NGOs with Consultative Status can work with the United Nations Secretariat, programmes, funds and agencies in various ways, including in consultation with Member States. They can also contribute to a number of activities including information dissemination, awareness raising, development education, policy advocacy, joint operational projects, participation in intergovernmental processes and in the contribution of services and technical expertise

An NGO with consultative status can attend international conferences and events, make written and oral statements at these events, organize side events, enter United Nations premises, and have opportunities to network and lobby.

MIFTAH considers obtaining this Consultative Status timely and paramount to begin organizing its participation through the Council's sessions during 2021.

Ramallah – MIFTAH and the Norwegian Representative Office to the PA signed on Monday, November 26 a new one-year cooperation agreement in a ceremony held in Ramallah.

Head of the Board of Directors, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, signed on behalf of MIFTAH while Norwegian representative, Ms. Hilde Haralstad signed on behalf of the Norwegian Representative Office.

During her speech at the signing, Dr. Ashrawi said, "For the past 18 years the Norwegian Representative Office has been one of the oldest and most significant of MIFTAH's supporters in its efforts towards promoting the principles of democracy and good governance in Palestine”. She also said this support was a continuation of the crucial work at this stage in supporting and empowering young leaders and women as change-makers, saying it gives this sector the ability to influence and change, especially in light of the difficult circumstances and challenges of the current political stage. Ashrawi also reiterated the importance of collective efforts in a coordinated and holistic manner between the various parties, which inevitably lead to change.

Dr. Ashrawi reaffirmed the Norwegian support for the Palestinian cause, expressing hope that Norway and other likeminded countries continue to stand on the right side of human rights and good governance and recognize the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, freedom, justice and statehood. She concluded her speech by expressing sadness for Ms. Haralstad's departure from Palestine, where she has served since 2016.

Meanwhile, Ms. Haralstad confirmed Norway's continued support for Palestine in its quest for statehood and human rights. She said she was proud to have partnered with an institution that supports the principles of democracy and good governance and which works for women's and youth issues such as MIFTAH. She also stressed on the important role Palestinian civil society institutions play in supporting the Women's Peace and Security agenda and expressed her sadness for leaving Palestine, saying she would continue to support the Palestinian cause.

The signing was attended by women's and rights institutions in addition to MIFTAH board members, representatives from the General Union of Palestinian Women and representatives from other MIFTAH funders and partners.

Ramallah – In line with national efforts to support and promote the stability of Palestinians on their land through improving health services, a coalition of Palestinian civil society organizations (MIFTAH, ARIJ, AMAN) recently launched a campaign entitled, “Right to Health (R2H)”.

This campaign was launched after the aforementioned institutions prepared the necessary reports to assess the availability of services offered to citizens, especially in isolated residential areas known as “Area C.” The reports included government revenue analysis and identified government spending priorities, which contribute to improving services in the social sector in general and the health sector in particular. The reports provide evidence and killer facts that support relevant parties to advocate towards better access to health services for citizens in isolated and marginalized areas.

The campaign addresses facts and figures, most significantly pertaining to the weakness of health services, especially in Area C and in regards to tax exemptions granted to big corporates of up to NIS50 million annually. Hence, the campaign R2H presented solutions for the government to benefit from these exemptions by redirecting the money to the benefit of the Ministry of Health to improve health services.

Furthermore, the reports pointed out that the Ministry of Health suffers from a shortage of nurses and midwives in Palestine by 33% and that only 4% of the medical staff serves nearly 720,000 citizens living in rural areas.

The R2H campaign seeks to increase the budget allocations of the Ministry of Health to reinsure the right of all citizens to health care in accordance to the international Human rights treaties and conventions, in addition the R2H campaign contributes to shedding light on means for implementation of the 2017-2022 national policies agenda which includes “Comprehensive and quality health care available to all.”

The R2H campaign is expected to mobilize citizens’ to pressure the Ministry of Finance and Planning to increasing government’s expenditures on health programs and services that target citizens in marginalized areas, therefore improving their access to better health care through providing sufficient medial staff, equipment and medicines.

October 28 – Women leaders from the Arab Regional Network on Women, Peace, and Security (ARNWPS) lobbied for women’s participation, inclusion and protection at high-level discussions on the impact of conflict of women worldwide at the United Nations in New York. They concluded that fifteen years after adopting Security Council Resolution 1325 (SCR1325) on women, peace and security, critical gaps are still preventing achievement of sustainable peace in the Arab region.

In meetings with senior figures at the UN and a side event, the ARNWPS delegates set out the group’s four practical recommendations for the women, peace and security agenda:

1. Efforts to increase women’s political and diplomatic participation need to be strengthened by the introduction of enforceable quotas.
2. Women human rights defenders too often become the targets of violence; courageous women like Salwa Bughaighis and Fariha Al-Berkawi in Libya have been assassinated. The Security Council and international bodies must treat such targeted violence against women as a crime against humanity.
3. International bodies should provide greater support and partnership at the community level.
4. The global trade in arms fuels conflict and violence against women; the flow of weapons needs to be stemmed.

“Governments lack the political will to implement SCR1325 and women are dying as a result,” said Karama Founder and CEO, Hibaaq Osman. “If all the resolutions on women, peace and security were implemented, we would not be seeing the violence that is currently devastating women’s lives across the Arab region. The ARNWPS has presented recommendations that can have a positive impact on women’s lives.”

While SCR1325 has been a pivotal document in acknowledging the integral role of women in peace and reconciliation processes, its aims have not been fulfilled through action. The delegation met with international policymakers and media in New York in order to raise awareness of the situation for women living in conflict and under occupation and to build support for its four main recommendations.

"Sustainable peace requires us to address the root causes of conflict. Women have proven to be best at dealing with these issues and providing solutions,” said Jetteke Van Der Schatte Olivier, Manager of the Women on the Frontline Programme. “The international community should make women's rights part and parcel of their foreign and security policies, ensuring women are no longer overlooked, nor sidelined.”

Women across the region are facing horrible conditions as a result of conflict and occupation. “Women are denied all the rights they have as mothers in terms of hygiene, healthcare. Women are not in control of their own mobility,” shared Dr. Lily Feidy of the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy.. “If men are dead or the men are imprisoned or they are lost in action, it’s the women who suffer.”

Protection and rehabilitation are paramount in progressing toward long-term development and peace says Dr. Sima Bahous, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau of Arab States. “Governments must make firm commitments that those who target women and girls with violence in wars do not go with impunity, no matter how long it takes. We need to invest in the rehabilitation of women so they are reintegrated into society and we can ensure the social cohesion of society and ensure its development.”

Members of the ARNWPS from Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Sudan emphasized the urgency of this situation from October 13-16 on the occasion of the high-level review of fifteen years of implementing SCR1325 throughout the globe. The delegation joined with representatives from Hivos’ Women on the Frontline Programme and Equality Now in discussing the impact of conflict on Arab women with President of the General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Helen Clark. They also participated in side events hosted by the League of Arab States (LAS), the UNDP and the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the UN.

"Action to protect human rights defenders is paramount. We will follow up with the UN to ensure that what was discussed is put into action,” said Shelby Quast, Americas Director for Equality Now. “The women in this delegation face threats and intimidation every day, yet they persevere to champion peace and equality in their countries.”

Integral to forward progress are these deeper partnerships between international and regional bodies and local communities, a call that was reiterated by Ambassador Ahmed Fathalla of the LAS at the International Forum on Gender and Conflict, where Ambassador Fathalla noted, “We know we cannot move on this issue of women, peace and security only as governments or international organizations. We should always have the support of NGOs.”

Dr. Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, Under Secretary General of the LAS added, “The Arab League commends the efforts of the Arab Regional Network on Women, Peace and Security. It is important now for women to find new mechanisms to bring together the efforts of women’s organizations that contribute to peace and security."

While critical of the progress in implementing SCR1325, the ARNWPS delegation was optimistic about the dialogues they were able to engage in New York. Ms. Osman said, “The Global Study on SCR1325 demonstrates the necessity of women’s political and diplomatic participation. For anyone who might think that improving the lives of women is simply a matter of passing resolutions, the firsthand testimony of Arab women living through conflict will have left them in no doubt of the need for action to back up the good intentions. It should not be so unusual to see Arab women address the Security Council, to see them lead discussions on the conflicts facing their countries, for them to meet with senior figures at the UN. The way to make women’s participation and the goals of SCR1325 a reality is for groups like ARNWPS to bring women to the table.”

Karama launched the Arab Regional Network on Women, Peace and Security in 2013, in partnership with the UNDP and LAS, in order to foster greater commitment to measurable, timebound actions in the achievement of peace and equality. To date, only three countries in the region have launched National Action Plans, and credible forward progress has yet to be achieved on the ground.

“This peace and security network was birthed because of a need. Women were excluded from negotiations, statebuilding, all the dialogues taking place. We are the ones who live on an everyday basis in the conflict,” shared Fatima Outaleb, Director of the Women’s Shelter at Union for Women’s Action in Morocco. “Arab women hold the real message and we should not be excluded.”