Advancement of women/Pal statement – GA Third Cttee debate – Summary record (excerpts)

Third Committee 

Summary record of the 11th meeting 

Held at Headquarters, New York, on Tuesday, 11 October 2011, at 10 a.m. 

 Chair:  Mr. Haniff ………………………………………………………………….  (Malaysia) 

Contents 

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Agenda item 28: Advancement of women (continued) 

(a)  Advancement of women (continued) 

(b)  Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women and of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly (continued) 

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26.  Ms. Barghouti (Observer for Palestine) said that Israel’s military occupation and oppressive practices against the Occupied Palestinian Territory had had severe consequences for Palestinian women, affecting not only their daily lives, but also hampering the implementation of programmes geared towards their advancement. The continued illegal seizure of land by Israel over the past year — which had involved the demolition of homes, an extension of the apartheid Wall and the detention and imprisonment of Palestinian people — had worsened the economic and social conditions in the territory. The escalating violence against Palestinian women emanating from the occupation and the continuation of armed conflict was also an issue of great concern. 

27.  Strengthening the role of women and eradicating all forms of discrimination against them was therefore a main pillar of the Palestinian national project. The Palestinian Cabinet had recently endorsed a nine-year plan to combat violence against women, which responded directly to the objectives of Millennium Development Goal 3. The plan, which had been developed by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in cooperation with UN-Women, approached violence against women as a development issue with broad implications for the Territory’s political, social and economic systems. 

28.  Palestine’s submission of an application for admission to membership in the United Nations on 23 September had given the Palestinian people hope for the realization of their right to self-determination and their aspirations for peace in their own sovereign State with East Jerusalem as its capital. That historical moment was also viewed as progress towards achieving the equality and empowerment of Palestinian women. It was time for the States Members of the United Nations to shoulder their responsibility in standing firm in their support of the Palestinian people and helping them to achieve their long overdue independence. 

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The meeting rose at 1.05 p.m.