Palestinian women, assistance – CSW action, resolution – 50th session report

Commission on the Status

of Women

  

    Report on the fiftieth session

(22 March 2005, 27 February-10 March

and 16 March 2006)

  

 

 

Economic and Social Council 

Official Records, 2006

Supplement No. 7

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B. Draft resolutions for adoption by the Council

2. The Commission on the Status of Women recommends to the Economic and Social Council the adoption of the following draft resolutions:

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Draft resolution II

Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women**

The Economic and Social Council,

Having considered with appreciation the report of the Secretary-General on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women,¹ 

Recalling the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,² the Beijing Platform for Action⁴ adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women, and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”,⁵

Recalling also its resolution 2005/43 of 26 July 2005 and other relevant United Nations resolutions,

Recalling further the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women⁶ as it concerns the protection of civilian populations,

Recalling the importance of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 57/337 of 3 July 2003, on the prevention of armed conflict, and Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) of 31 October 2000, on women and peace and security,

Expressing the urgent need for the full resumption of negotiations within the Middle East peace process on its agreed basis and towards the speedy achievement of a final settlement between the Palestinian and Israeli sides,

Concerned about the grave situation of Palestinian women in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, resulting from the severe impact of ongoing illegal Israeli settlement activities and the unlawful construction of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, as well as the severe consequences arising from Israeli military operations on and sieges of civilian areas, which have impacted detrimentally their social and economic conditions and deepened the humanitarian crisis faced by them and their families,

Welcoming the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights⁷ on the issue of Palestinian pregnant women giving birth at Israeli checkpoints owing to denial of access by Israel to hospitals, with a view to ending this Israeli practice,

Recalling the advisory opinion rendered on 9 July 2004 by the International Court of Justice on the Legal consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory⁸ and recalling also General Assembly resolution ES-10/15 of 20 July 2004,

Recalling also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,⁹ the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights⁹ and the Convention on the Rights of the Child,¹⁰ and affirming that these human rights instruments must be respected in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Expressing its condemnation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction, especially the excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians, many of them women and children, resulting in injury and loss of human life,

1. Calls upon the concerned parties, as well as the international community, to exert all the necessary efforts to ensure the full resumption of the peace process on its agreed basis, taking into account the common ground already gained, and calls for measures for tangible improvement of the difficult situation on the ground and the living conditions faced by Palestinian women and their families;

2. Reaffirms that the Israeli occupation remains a major obstacle for Palestinian women with regard to their advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development planning of their society;

3. Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,¹¹  the Regulations annexed to The Hague Convention IV of 18 October 1907¹² and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949,¹³

 in order to protect the rights of Palestinian women and their families;

4. Calls upon Israel to facilitate the return of all refugees and displaced Palestinian women and children to their homes and properties, in compliance with the relevant United Nations resolutions;

5. Also calls upon the international community to continue to provide urgently needed assistance and services in an effort to alleviate the dire humanitarian crisis being faced by Palestinian women and their families and to help in the reconstruction of relevant Palestinian institutions;

6. Requests the Commission on the Status of Women to continue to monitor and take action with regard to the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,³ in particular paragraph 260 concerning Palestinian women and children, the Beijing Platform for Action⁴ and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”;⁵

7. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to review the situation, to assist Palestinian women by all available means, including those laid out in the report of the Secretary-General on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women2 and to submit to the Commission on the Status of Women at its fifty-first session a report, including information provided by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, on the progress made in the implementation of the present resolution.   

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** For the discussion, see chap. II, paras. 65-71.

²E/CN.6/2006/4.

³Report of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, Nairobi, 15-26 July 1985 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.85.IV.10), chap. I, sect. A. in particular paragraph 260 concerning Palestinian women and children.

⁴Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 4-15 September 1995 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.IV.13), chap. I, resolution 1, annex II.

⁵See General Assembly resolutions S-23/2 and S-23/3.

⁶See General Assembly resolution 48/104.

⁷A/60/324.

⁸See A/ES-10/273 and Corr.1.

⁹General Assembly resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.

¹⁰United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531.

¹¹General Assembly resolution 217 A (III).

¹²See Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Hague Conventions and Declarations of 1899 and 1907 (New York, Oxford University Press, 1915).

¹³United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973.

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Chapter II

Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women

and to the special session of the General Assembly

entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development

and peace for the twenty-first century”

1. The Commission considered item 3 of the agenda at its 2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 13th and 14th meetings, on 27 February, 1, 2, 3, 8, 10 and 16 March. It had before it the following documents:

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(c) Report of the Secretary-General on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women (E/CN.6/2006/4);

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Action taken by the Commission

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Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women

65. At the 11th meeting, on 8 March, the representative of South Africa, on behalf of States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China and Palestine, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women” (E/CN.6/2006/L.4).

66. At the 13th meeting, on 10 March, the Commission was advised that the draft resolution contained no programme budget implications.

67. At the same meeting, the representative of South Africa orally revised the eighth preambular paragraph of the draft resolution by replacing the words “and the report’s goal of ending this inhumane Israeli practice” by the words “ with a view to ending this Israeli practice,”.

68. Also at the same meeting, statements were made by the representative of the United States of America and the observer for Israel.

69. At the 13th meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women, as orally revised, by a recorded vote of 41 to 2, with 1 abstention (see chap. I, sect. B, draft resolution II). The voting was as follows:*

In favour:

Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, China, Congo, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Guinea, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania.

Against: 

Canada, United States of America.

Abstain: 

Nicaragua.

70. After the adoption of the draft resolution, statements in explanation of vote were made by the representatives of the United States of America and Canada.

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* The representative of Guatemala indicated that had her delegation been present at the time of the vote, it would have voted in favour of the draft resolution.

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