Preface

The Report was prepared, as in previous years, following high-level missions to Israel and the occupied Arab territories (the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Syrian Golan) and to the Syrian Arab Republic. The missions enjoyed once more the full cooperation of the interlocutors, reaffirming the support for the ILO’s efforts to contribute to building peace and security in the region through monitoring and assessing economic and social development in our fields of competence.

A new climate of dialogue prevails among Israelis and Palestinians, opening up new prospects. Conditions of life for workers and their families in the occupied Arab territories nevertheless continue to be extremely hard. The intricate linkages between economic, social and political development on the one hand, and peace and security on the other, have to be at the forefront of our thinking in addressing the pervasive and continued problems of daily life faced by the people of the occupied Arab territories. This is the underlying premise behind ILO efforts in the region and elsewhere: economic and social security is a condition of lasting peace. As the United Nations Secretary-General puts it in his report entitled In larger freedom: “We will not enjoy development without security, we will not enjoy security without development, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights.” 1 The rights of Palestinian workers and their families are a fundamental component of human rights and therefore constitute one of the building blocks on the path towards socio-economic development, security, peace and enhanced freedom in the occupied Arab territories. This is why the Governing Body of the International Labour Office and the International Labour Conference have ascribed a constructive role to the ILO in helping, through its programmes, to improve the lives of working men and women and their families in the region. In this respect, the enhanced programme of technical cooperation with our constituents in the occupied Arab territories enjoys the widespread support of all regions and groups in the Governing Body. The ILO has always held that security was never only a military matter. The ILO Constitution’s statements that “poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere” and that “lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice” are extremely relevant in today’s Middle East.

Human security is in deficit on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides of the unresolved conflict. The Government of Israel emphasizes physical security for its citizens. The Palestinian Authority stresses the economic and social insecurity as well as the physical security of Palestinians living under occupation. Security in all its aspects – physical, social and economic – in Israel on the one hand cannot be separated from security for the Palestinian people living in the occupied territories on the other. The comprehensive security of both peoples is inextricably intertwined. There is a shared responsibility to address the full range of issues jointly.

The mission this year has witnessed a new climate of confidence and dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians nurtured by the consolidation and democratization of Palestinian institutions, a new political base of the Israeli Government, a lower degree of violence, and renewed dialogue between the two sides at the political and operational levels. There has been a moderate decrease in the intensity of closures, and a major decision by Israel to withdraw settlements and military forces from inside the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.

This willingness to engage in dialogue was also apparent among the social partners on both sides during the mission. One recent example is the meeting organized by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in Brussels on 14 April 2005, which brought together Israeli and Palestinian trade unions. The organizations agreed to move forward quickly on finalizing a joint cooperation agreement, which would address some key issues such as access for Palestinian workers to employment in Israel, relief funds for Palestinian workers and their families, action to prevent and resolve cases of exploitation of Palestinian workers, implementation of a March 1995 Cooperation Framework, and prospects for future cooperation between the two organizations. This is indeed a welcome development.

A first round of local elections (with record participation of women both as candidates and as voters) was held in the occupied Arab territories in December 2004 and January 2005. This was to be followed by a second round in May 2005. The death of the President of the Palestinian Authority, H.E. Yasser Arafat, in November 2004 was a loss to the Palestinian people and a watershed in Palestinian affairs. In January 2005, presidential elections generally acknowledged as fair and orderly gave a clear and undisputed majority to H.E. Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen).

Elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council are expected to take place in July 2005. These have clearly been important contributions to Palestinian institution building and political reform in general, as well as to the establishment of conditions in which the social justice and rights dimensions which are at the centre of the ILO’s concerns – beginning with freedom of association and non-discrimination – might be advanced. Business associations are in the process of holding elections, which they have not done for 14 years, pending the adoption of the chamber of commerce law in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Local trade union elections have started taking place for the first time in nearly ten years. And they are heading for a national congress and national elections by the end of 2006. I wish that these congresses could take place in the Palestinian territories, bringing members from the West Bank and Gaza together with full freedom of movement.

A further positive step is the recent appointment by the Quartet (the European Union, the Russian Federation, the United Nations and the United States) of James D. Wolfensohn as Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement. The Quartet mandated the Special Envoy to “work with the Palestinians on specific reforms and steps to promote economic recovery and growth, democracy, good governance and transparency, job creation and improved living standards”. I welcome Mr. Wolfensohn’s appointment and his mandate, and pledge the ILO’s support for his work.

The new configuration of the Israeli Government with supporting representation in the Knesset may also enhance the possibilities of wider backing for complex decisions thatneed to be taken.

To View the Full Report as a PDF File