Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women – SecGen report

COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

Thirty-second session

Vienna, 14-23 March 1988

Item 4 of the provisional agenda^* 

MONITORING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE

NAIROBI FORWARD-LOOKING STRATEGIES

FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN

The situation of Palestinian women living within and outside the 

occupied Arab territories 

Report of the Secretary-General 

Summary 

The present report has been prepared in response to Economic and Social Council resolutions 1984/18 and 1986/21 and Council decision 1987/121.  The report describes the situation of Palestinian women living within and outside the occupied Arab territories in the period from 15 October 1985 to 30 September 1987.

_____________

^*E/CN.6/1988/1.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1.  This report has been prepared in pursuance of Economic and Social Council resolutions 1984/18 of 24 May 1984 and 1986/21 of 23 May 1986.

2.  In paragraph 2 of its resolution 1984/18, the Council requested the Secretary-General to prepare a comprehensive report on the situation of Palestinian women living within and outside the occupied Arab territories and to submit it to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-second session.  In paragraph 3 of the same resolution, the Council requested the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission at its thirty-first session, an interim report (E/CN.6/1986/6) on the preparation of the comprehensive report.  In paragraph 1 of the same resolution, the Council also requested the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission, at its thirty-first session, an updated version (E/CN.6/1986/7) of the report on the situation of Palestinian women and children in the occupied Arab territories that had been submitted to the Commission at its thirtieth session.1/

3.  On the recommendation of the Commission on the Status of Women, at its thirty-first session, the Economic and Social Council, in its resolution 1986/21, requested the Secretary-General, in preparing the comprehensive report, to focus on the identification of the main humanitarian needs of Palestinian women.

4.  The present comprehensive report has been prepared in accordance with the interim report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/1986/6).  It is composed of two chapters and conclusions derived therefrom.  In pursuance of paragraph 4 of the interim report, chapter one is a further update of the updated report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/1986/7) and deals with the situation of Palestinian women living within the occupied Arab territories.

5.  In pursuance of paragraph 5 of the interim report, chapter two contains information on the situation of Palestinian women living outside the occupied Arab territories.  In keeping with established procedure, this chapter focuses on the situation of Palestinian women living in the host countries as defined by United Nations practice, namely, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic.

6.  The Secretary-General, in his Note Verbale of 26 February 1987, invited the Governments of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic, as the host countries, and the Government of Israel, as the occupying power, to provide the Secretary-General with appropriate information on the situation of Palestinian women living in the host countries and the occupied territories. The invitation to provide the information on the situation of Palestinian women by 1 August 1987, for the completion of the report, was reiterated by the Secretary-General in his second Note Verbale of 12 June 1987 to the same Governments.  At the time of preparing the present report, replies had been received from the Governments of Egypt and the Syrian Arab Republic.  These replies are attached to the present report.

7.  In a letter of 19 February 1987, the Secretariat invited the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to provide information required for the report. The invitation was reiterated by the Secretariat in its letter of 9 June 1987. The reply, which is annexed to the present report, and four publications reached the Secretariat on 15 October 1987.  Owing to time constraints and the limitation of the length of the present report to 24 pages, the contents of these publications could not be incorporated in the present report.

8.  The present report has, accordingly, been based exclusively on United Nations documents concerned with the situation of Palestinian people. Analyses of these documents, issued by numerous United Nations bodies and agencies during the period under review, namely from 15 October 1985 to 30 September 1987, provided little specific information concerning Palestinian women.  For example, it was not possible to determine the total number of Palestinian women living within and outside the occupied Arab territories.

9.  Only reports of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) contained data on assistance provided by UNRWA to Palestinian women.  That data, however, did not cover those Palestinian women who were not registered with UNRWA and did not provide any information on assistance provided to Palestinian women by institutions other than UNRWA (i.e. Governments, charity organizations etc.).  The present report, therefore, reflects mainly information from UNRWA on the situation of Palestinian women registered with it.

10.  The difficult living conditions of the Palestinian people are, however, generally known.  Some broad conclusions can be drawn from the overall picture of the situation of Palestinian women that emerges from literature on the subject.

11.  Palestinian women, like the rest of the Palestinian people, have for four decades been subjected to a life of deprivation and hardship.  They have been expelled from their homes and faced the separation of their families.  Most Palestinian women today live either under occupation or in exile.  Some have been living in daily terror or harassment, arrest and imprisonment.  Those who have been separated from their male family members have often had to assume the function of head of household, which has compelled them to take decisions and sometimes to seek employment for which they have not been adequately prepared.  For some, this has meant putting their children in nurseries or kindergartens, thereby foregoing some of their traditional duties.  The disruption of family life has led in some cases to emotional disturbance and conflict within the family, which has added to the difficulties of adapting to life in the camps, under occupation or in the countries of exile.

12.  Various charity organizations and women's associations have tried to help Palestinian women to improve their living conditions and to undertake their new responsibilities.  Some of them have tried to promote, through their activities, the new roles of Palestinian women and to make them properly understood and socially accepted.

13.  Palestinian women living in refugee camps have been confronted with special hardship and instability.  The daily life in camps has meant for women a struggle against dust and mud, fetching water from distant stand-pipes, patching up walls and leaking roofs, washing the clothes of a family of eight or more, baking bread, coping with all the diseases that arise from leaking drains, filthy streets, poor quality of food and squalid housing conditions.  Women in camps, therefore, have experienced not only difficult living conditions, but also insecurity of life inside the camp, deprivation of freedom (often because of being without passports) and lack of prospects. Under conditions of war or in attacks against Palestinian camps, women have been deprived of adequate protection and often have been among the killed or wounded.  They have often had to flee from one camp to another and have suffered from lack of food, water and medical aid.

I.  SITUATION OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN LIVING WITHIN THE

OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES

A.  Background information 

14.  In 1985, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip had a total estimated population  of 1,380,000.2/ In 1987, according to the report of the Commissioner-General  of UNRWA, there were 373,586 refugees registered with UNRWA in the West Bank,  and in the Gaza Strip, 445,397 (A/42/13)3/

B.  Political and social matters 

1.  Political matters 

15.  Examples of oppressive practices by the military authorities in the occupied territories continued to be reported by the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories (A/41/680)4/ and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (A/41/35).5/ During the period under review, the Special Committee expressed its concern with regard to the "iron fist" policy, which had been revived in 1985 by the Israeli authorities, and the reinstatement of the emergency regulations of 1945. The iron fist policy caused an escalation of violence and resulted in an increasing number of administrative punishments, such as arrest and detention, including short-term detention without trial, as well as large scale expulsion, deportation and collective punishment, including demolition and sealing of houses (A/41/680, paras. 41-47; annex III, paras. 11-25, 30-53 and 83; A/41/35,  paras. 21-23).  Prevailing tension in the occupied territories continued to affect the daily life of Palestinian people, men, women and children alike, leading to demonstrations, disturbances at schools and universities, and numerous incidents with Israeli settlers.  In preparing the present report,  only those examples that directly related to women were extracted.

16.  In the period under review, the Special Committee heard extensive testimony on harsh treatment of suspects and detainees.  The attention of the Committee was drawn to the severe conditions prevailing in Israeli investigation centres, detention camps and prisons, including one prison for women in Neve Tirtza.  Most of the prisons were reported to be overcrowded; medical care inadequate, security prisoners were often put together with criminal prisoners and punitive action, such as prolonged solitary confinement, denial of visits, withholding of educational, cultural or information materials and deprivation of hot water, had been applied.  There were alleged instances of torture and physical violence (A/41/35, para. 22; A/41/680, annex III, para. 356).  These conditions had caused protest actions, including demonstrations and hunger strikes of Palestinian female prisoners at the Neve Tirtza prison (A/41/680, annex III, paras. 348 and 373).

17.  On some occasions, protest actions by prisoners were supported by  demonstrations and protests by their family members.  For example, on 17 October 1985, dozens of women, mothers, sisters and wives of administrative detainees reportedly held a sit-in strike at the Red Cross offices at East Jerusalem, in protest against the alleged ill-treatment and harsh prison conditions of the detainees (A/41/680, annex III, para. 350).

18.  The Special Committee drew attention to reports of torture and inhuman treatment of young detainees (A/41/680, annex III, paras. 352 and 357).

2.  Social matters 

(a)  Employment and working conditions 

19.  When preparing the present report, no data or information were available on the demographic trends in the territories and on the employment of women.  During the period under review, the overall situation was characterized by economic stagnation (a decline in private investment and a slow-down in public investment, an increase in taxes), expropriation and confiscation of Palestinian land, exploitation of land resources, insecurity and restrictions on freedom of movement (A/41/35, paras. 21-26).  In 1984/86, fragmented internally and dependent externally, the economy of the territories began to be affected more than it had ever been since 1967 by the downturn of the economy in Israel and in other countries of the region.6/ Agriculture continued to decline and the Palestinian industrial sector was unable to withstand Israeli competition.  A low overall employment rate prevailed (affecting approximately one third of the working-age population) and to some extent this resulted from the very low employment rate of women, which was partly caused by local traditions and customs.7/ Unemployment remained highest among graduates from higher educational institutions. 8/

20.  During the period under review, there was no major change in the level of irregular employment in Israel of workers from the occupied territories, despite efforts by the Israeli authorities to combat this type of employment, which related to the generally difficult living conditions in the occupied territories and to family needs.9/  Those employed unofficially included women and children working in seasonal agriculture and in small enterprises.

(b)  Education 

21.  Information presented in this section relates exclusively to the education and training services UNRWA provided for women.10/

22.  In 1986/87, as far as UNRWA schools were concerned, enrolment in elementary and preparatory classes in the West Bank totalled 40,088 pupils (40,221 in 1985/86) and 86,906 in the Gaza Strip (86,928 in 1985/86).  There were 98 schools in the West Bank served by 1,304 teachers (98 and 1,290 respectively in 1985/86) and 145 schools in the Gaza Strip served by 2,405 teachers (145 and 2,360 respectively in 1985/86) (A/41/13, table 5; A/42/13, table 5).  Many schools of UNRWA and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip operated on a double shift.  The double-shift system was generally recognized as detrimental to the children's development.  Also, the much shorter school day made life more difficult for mothers, particularly in the many cases where children from the same family attended different shifts, but it was not possible to discontinue this system because of shortage of funds.

23.  Detailed information on the distribution of refugee pupils receiving education in 1985/86 and 1986/87 is given in table 1 below.

24.  The major problems faced during the period under review were posed by overcrowded classrooms and unsuitable school premises.  Owing to a number of donations enabling the necessary repairs and new constructions to be carried out, however, some progress was noted in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (A/41/13, paras. 57, 59, 60; A/42/13, paras. 36-37).  Some of these investments covered the construction of new schools for girls, such as Biddo Preparatory Girl's School and the girl's school at Rummaneh in the West Bank.

Table 1.  West Bank and Gaza Strip distribution of refugee pupils

Sources:  Excerpted from Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, 1 July 1985-30 June 1986 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-first Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/41/13)), table 5; and ibid., Forty-second Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/42/13), table 5).

25.  During the period under review, the situation of pre-school, elementary, preparatory and secondary education remained basically unchanged from previous years (A/41/680, para. 65).  Despite the teaching process being affected by numerous incidents and disturbances, specifically in the early months of 1987, and an increasing number of resignations or dismissals of teachers (A/41/680, paras. 60-64, 313-316), the UNRWA education programme continued to run at all levels without major interruption (A/41/13, para. 56; A/42/13, para. 36).

26.  The vocational training centres attended by women functioned without major interruption.  In the Ramallah Women's Training Centre in the West Bank, which was the only women's training centre run by UNRWA in the occupied territories in 1985/86, 288 female graduates completed post-preparatory and post-secondary levels of training in technical, commercial and para-medical fields.  They qualified as laboratory technicians and in the fields of dressmaking, clothing production, home and institutional management and hairdressing.  In 1986/87 the number of graduates was 328.  Three hundred and fifty female graduates completed pre-service teacher training in 1985/86 and 300 in 1986/87 (A/41/13, table 6; A/42/13, table 6).  In order to reduce the discrepancy in training opportunities given to men and women, UNRWA plans to extend the level of training for women and to introduce new courses.

27.  During the period under review, the restrictions on academic freedom, textbooks, programmes and staff led to continuous dissatisfaction among professors and students.  Numerous incidents occurred, including the arrest and transfer of male and female students and professors, and their expulsion from universities (A/41/680, annex III, paras. 297-312).

28.  In the academic year 1986/87, out of 63 university scholarship holders in the West Bank there were 13 females:  3 in engineering, 1 in medical and paramedical and 9 in the arts and sciences (A/42/13, table 7).

(c)  Health 

29.  This section concentrates on the health services UNRWA provided to women.  UNRWA medical-care services were provided through a network of health centres/points, maternal and child health clinics, specialist and special care clinics, dental clinics, central and clinical laboratories, rehabilitation centres, maternity centres and beds reserved in private or voluntary hospitals under contractual agreements.

30.  According to the annual reports for 1985 and 1986 of the Director of Health of UNRWA,11/ the health conditions of the Palestinian population (men, women and children in the occupied territories) were closely linked to socio-economic conditions and remained unfavourable and basically unchanged. Inadequate sanitation, nutrition and water supply, insufficient access to medical facilities and the high cost of medical care in Israel continued to constitute the main health problems of Palestinian people (A/41/35, para. 27).  Although they affect the population as a whole, health conditions have a greater significance for women, who bear and rear the children and look after the health and nutrition of the family.  In 1985 and 1986, there was a higher percentage of adult women than of men in the occupied territories.

31.  A certain amount of progress was noted during the period under review with regard to medical personnel, basic biochemical tests and dental care services, including the provision of dental services to schoolchildren, pregnant women and nursing mothers, and the construction of UNRWA health premises.  Communicable diseases showed a decrease, except those linked to environmental sanitation (A/41/13, para. 71; A/42/13, para. 52).  Medical supplies were, in general, satisfactory (A40/INF.DOC./5, annex, para. 74; A/42/13, para. 47).  Although acute malnutrition among refugee children, nursing and pregnant women had declined since 1978, except in the Gaza Strip, chronic malnutrition and anaemia prevailed during the period under review (A/41/13, para. 88; A39/INF.DOC./2, para. 95).  Deterioration of the mental well-being of the population continued, including mental disorders and problems of psychosocial development among children, who could not be properly treated by the existing services (A39/INF.DOC./2, para. 39; A40/INF.DOC./5, paras. 102-103; A/41/13, para. 79).  The improvements made in the health services were far from adequate to meet the needs of the growing Palestinian population and the demand for UNRWA medical care services (A/42/13, para. 48).

32.  UNRWA continued to provide maternal and health services, pre-natal, natal, infant and child care at its health units, supported by specialist and hospital referral services.  Maternal care provided by UNRWA clinics consisted of regular health supervision, nutritional support and treatment of anaemia throughout pregnancy and the nursing periods.  In 1985/87 there were six maternity wards attached to the UNRWA health centres in the Gaza Strip and two in the West Bank (A39/INF.DOC./2, annex, para. 36; A40/INF.DOC./5, annex, para. 56; A/42/13, para. 50).  To increase the coverage of the service through the expansion of community outreach programmes, a second mobile health team was established to service the six maternal and child health care sub-centres in Gaza (A/42/13, para. 53).

33.  Details of the maternal, child health and preventive services provided by

UNRWA  are  set  out  in  tables  2,  3  and  4  below.

Table 2.  UNRWA health facilities

Sources:  Excerpted from World Health Organization, "Health conditions of the Arab population in the Arab territories, including Palestine" (A39/INF.DOC./2), appendix 3, part B, p. 24, and ibid. (A40/INF.DOC./15), appendix 3, part B, p. 27.

^a  Excluding six maternal child health sub-centres operating in Gaza.  

Table 3.  Maternal and child health-care services provided by UNRWA

Sources:  Excerpted from World Health Organization, "Health conditions of the Arab population in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine" (A39/INF.DOC./2), appendix 3, part C, p. 25, and ibid. (A40/INF.DOC./5), appendix 3, part C, p. 28.

Table 4.  Preventive services

(As of 30 June 1987)

Source:  Excerpted from Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, 1 July 1986-30 June 1987 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-First Session, Supplement No. 13  (A/42/13)), table 9.

^a  Health was monitored monthly for the age group 0-1 year; bimonthly for the age group 1-2 years; and trimonthly for the age group 2-3 years.

34.  Successful monitoring of the health of children, pregnant women and nursing mothers was continued during the period under review.  In the West Bank  camps, where infant mortality statistics have been closely monitored for over two decades, the infant mortality rate in 1986 declined to 27 per thousand compared with 84 per thousand ten years ago.  To increase further the effectiveness of the health monitoring programme, a new maternal and child health-care intervention strategy was implemented in the West Bank (A39/INF.DOC./2, para. 57; A40/INF.DOC./5, para. 91; A/42/13, para. 53).

35.  The decrease in infant mortality rates in the West Bank is reflected in the figure below.

Infant mortality rates, West Bank camp population, 1975-1986

Rate per 1,000

Source:  Excerpted from Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, 1 July 1986-30 June 1987 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-First Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/42/13), chart 3.

36.  Family planning services continued to be provided, on request, in some health centres in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank (A/41/13, para. 77).  In Gaza, the programme also included family-life education in the preparatory schools for girls of 12-15 years of age.  Nurses took part in this programme by giving lessons and demonstrations in mother- and child-health care in the schools (A39/INF.DOC./2, para. 54; A40/INF.DOC./5, para. 86; A/42/13, para. 54).

37.   UNRWA provided preventive and curative oral health services, as well as nutrition and supplementary feeding services (A40/INF.DOC./5, paras. 66, 149 and 158; A39/INF.DOC./2, paras. 94 and 100).  Two major improvements were introduced in the UNRWA programme of immunization:  tetanus immunization of pregnant women and rubella immunization of 11- and 12- year old schoolgirls and of non-pregnant women of child-bearing age (A39/INF.DOC/2, annex; para. 55; A40/INF.DOC./5, annex, para. 89)education of mothers and families was carried out by maternal and child health-care clinics (A40/INF.DOC./5, para. 87).

38.  Nursing activities were central to the on-going health-care services of UNRWA.  Nurses were directly involved in therapeutic, preventive, curative, and primitive care services; delivery, maternal and child health-care services, and nutrition and supplementary feeding services.  They also provided supportive and supervisory services in other areas, namely, environmental health services, health education, epidemiology and control of communicable diseases, special care and rehabilitative services (A39/INF.DOC./2, para. 70; A40/INF.DOC./5, paras. 116, 122 and 127; A/41/13, para. 81).  UNRWA nurses also organized meetings with selected women from the camps, for the purpose of gaining their co-operation and assistance in providing education on health and family life to families in camps, as well as in promoting relevant health-care activities. The initial results of these meetings were encouraging (A/42/13, para. 56).  In some of the UNRWA health centres, dayahs (traditional birth attendants) received training and were used for natal and post-natal care because of the inadequate number of fully qualified nursing staff.  In many camps, dayahs performed home deliveries and were supervised by health-centre nursing staff, constituting an important link between the health services and the community services (A/41/13, para. 82; A39/INF.DOC./2, para. 71).

39.  Qualified nurses were provided with post-basic education in midwifery or community health on a continuing basis.  The upgrading of nursing staff continued to be a major goal of the nursing programme (A39/INF.DOC./2, para. 72). In the period under review, one senior staff nurse from Gaza completed in December 1985 a 10-month training course in community health nursing at Cumberland College, Sydney, Australia (A39/INF.DOC./2, para. 23) and another completed a similar 12-month diploma course in December 1986 (A40/INF.DOC./5, para. 40; A/41/13, para. 90).  A senior staff nurse of the Rafah Health Centre, Gaza, who had been awarded a one-year scholarship to pursue a post-basic training course in public health nursing at the University of Cairo, completed it in November 1986 (A40/INF.DOC./5, para. 40).

40.  With regard to environmental health, some developments were noted.  The water augmentation schemes aimed at providing indoor water taps to refugee shelters and sewage schemes were carried out in some camps in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  Refuse collection and removal facilities were also gradually improved.  Chemical control of rats, mice and domestic flies was carried out selectively.  The focus was on general cleanliness (A40/INF.DOC./5, paras. 143 and 145-147; A/42/13, paras. 57 and 59).  Hygiene education programmes, covering the situation in homes, schools, shops, slaughterhouses and food storage, was expanded (A39/INF.DOC./2, para. 80). Despite improvements in this programme during the period under review, a number of problems remained.  These included the provision of an adequate indoor water supply, construction of sewage systems, mechanization of refuse disposal, renovation and replacement of dilapidated school latrines and augmenting the work-force of sanitation staff (A39/INF.DOC./2, para. 90).

C.  Assistance to Palestinian women within the occupied Arab territories 

41.  During the period under review, United Nations bodies and specialized agencies continued to provide assistance to Palestinian people, including special programmes of assistance for Palestinian women and children in the occupied Arab territories (A/41/319-E/1986/72)12/

42.  UNRWA continued to provide both regular and emergency programmes of assistance to eligible refugees.  Education services were provided in co-operation with UNESCO, and health services in co-operation with the World Health Organization (WHO).  Health monitoring of children, pregnant women and nursing mothers was the major component of the UNRWA health programme.  The relief programme concentrated mainly on providing assistance to the most needy groups, including widows and orphans.  UNRWA also initiated special projects to improve environmental health conditions and school premises (A/41/319-E/1986/72, paras. 15, 18, 19 and 25-27).

43.  Considerable progress was noted with respect to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) programme of co-operation in the West Bank and Gaza.  The programme consisted of three elements:  primary health care, pre-school stimulation and the promotion of child development centres.  It aimed at promoting a cost-effective approach to the survival and development of Palestinian children and mothers through the prevention, early detection and treatment of childhood disabilities and through the development of innovative approaches to early child care.  Within the programme, 28 village health workers in the Hebron District were trained in simple preventive, primitive and curative tasks relating to maternal and child health.  Twenty-five kindergartens were renovated and 30 sets of basic kindergarten furniture provided.  Every kindergarten in the West Bank and Gaza Strip was provided with an Arabic language teacher's manual.  Three new child development centres were opened in Hebron, Jenin, and in Gaza (A/41/319-E/1986/72, paras. 36-38).

44.  The International Labour Organisation (ILO) provided the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with an expert in the vocational training of women to implement a UNDP project of assistance to Palestinian women's institutions, aimed at expanding vocational training opportunities offered by these institutions and by Palestinian community development centres.  ILO also announced its intention to formulate, with UNDP, projects to provide assistance to Palestinian women in its area of competence, such as long-term facilities for vocational training at a higher level, promotion of vocational training courses in income-generating activities for women's organizations, and support to craft-production activities (A/41/319-E/1986/72, para 65).

45.  The assistance of UNESCO to the Palestinian people concentrated mainly on the award of university fellowships and the provision of educational supplies and equipment.

46.  WHO provided assistance to Palestinian people, and in particular women and children, in the areas of primary health care, environmental health, and the training and education of health personnel.  Two centres were designated as WHO Collaborating Centres in Primary Health Care Research:  the Ramallah Health Services Research Centre on the West Bank and the Gaza Health Services Research Centre.  The Ramallah Centre placed special emphasis on the monitoring and evaluation of an expanded primary health care programme, the evaluation and supervision of the work of dayahs, and a review of infant and child mortality (A/41/319-E/1986/72, paras. 72-76).

47.  Some development projects for improving the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories were elaborated at the Seminar on the Living Conditions of the Palestinian People in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which was held at Vienna from 2 to 6 March 198713/

II.  SITUATION OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN LIVING OUTSIDE THE OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES

A.  Background information 

48.  On 30 June 1987, in Lebanon there were 278,609 refugees registered with UNRWA, in the Syrian Arab Republic 257,989, and in Jordan 845,542 (A/42/13, table 1).

49.  At the time of preparing the present report, no information was available on the legal and political status of Palestinian women outside the occupied Arab territories and their situation regarding employment.  The information on education and health below is based exclusively on UNRWA reports.

B.  Political and social matters 

1.  Political matters 

50.  Special attention should be given to the situation in Lebanon and the critical situation of Palestinian refugees, including women, under the emergency conditions prevailing during the period under review (A/41/35, para. 1 A/42/13, paras. 19-34).  Ongoing fighting and renewed attacks against Palestinian in the refugee camps of Rashidieh, Shatila and Burj el-Barajneh caused a number  casualties among the civilian population, who had inadequate protection.  Some Palestinian camps were particularly affected by prohibition of entry or exit, frequent blockades of food and humanitarian aid, and the severing of water and electricity supplies.  In some besieged camps (such as Rishidieh camp) only women and children were allowed out to bring some supplies to ensure the minimum of  services.  The lives of the women in the refugee camps, like those of the men, changed dramatically, because of hunger, lack of water, destruction of houses, lack of oil and gas, bombardments and extreme deterioration of the sanitary situation.  In addition, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Right of the Palestinian People expressed its grave concern at air raids carried out the Israeli Air Force against Palestinian refugee camps near Sidon (A/42/35).50/

51.  In 1987, because of the difficulty of maintaining a distinction between Palestinian refugees affected directly by the fighting and other refugees whose living conditions were rapidly deteriorating, UNRWA emergency assistance was extended to all Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, including those not registered with UNRWA.

2.  Social matters 

(a)  Education 

52.  In 1986/87, as far as UNRWA schools were concerned, enrolment in elementary and preparatory classes in Lebanon totalled 34,002 pupils (33,959 in 1985/86), 51,653 in the Syrian Arab Republic (51,914 in 1985/86) and 135,990 in Jordan (136,202 in 1985/86).  There were 82 schools in Lebanon served by 1,199 teachers, 114 in the Syrian Arab Republic and 196 in Jordan with 1,539 and 3,702 teachers respectively.

53.  Detailed information on the situation of refugee pupils receiving education in 1986/87 is given in table 5 below.

Table 5.  Distribution of refugee pupils receiving education

in UNRWA schools ^a/

(As of October 1986)

Source:  Excerpted from Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, 1 July 1986-30 June 1987 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-second Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/42/13)), table 5.

a/ Excluding 102,637 refugee pupils attending elementary, preparatory and secondary government and private schools.

b/ Including non-eligible children attending UNRWA schools, who, in October 1986, numbered 42,619.  Of these, 16,818 were in the Gaza Strip, where all refugee children have always been regarded in practice as eligible for education services.

c/In October 1986, no enrolment figures were received for the Tyre area.  This figure comprises the actual figures for the whole of Lebanon excluding Tyre and an estimate for the Tyre are

54.  Although in the period under review, progress was made in school construction in Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic, overcrowded classrooms and some unsuitable school premises continued to be a problem in UNRWA schools (A/42/13, paras. 36-37).  Schools in Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic operated normally throughout 1986/87.  In Lebanon, the teaching process was seriously affected by the prevailing emergency situation, which led in some instances to an interruption of school services, restriction on movement making schools inaccessible, and occupation of schools by displaced refugees.  

55.  Although UNRWA continuously tried to provide the same education and training to Palestinian men and women, the discrepancy in vocational training opportunities for men and women prevailed.  Detailed information on training places in UNRWA centres is provided in table 6 below.

Table 6.  Training places for males and females in UNRWA training centres

(Academic year 1986/87)

Source:  Excerpted from Report of the Commissioner General of the Unit Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, 1 July 1986-30 June 1987 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-second Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/42/13)), table 6.

^a  Centre was inoperative throughout 1986/87.  Trainees shown above attended courses off the premises.

^b  Courses were offered to post-preparatory-level students in the mechanical, metal, electrical and building trades.

^c  Courses were offered to post-secondary-level students in the technical, commercial, electronics and paramedical fields.

56.  Training at UNRWA centres in Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic proceeded normally throughout 1986/87; in Lebanon, however, the training process was disrupted by the hostilities.

57.  Some students received university scholarships to study abroad.  More information on the distribution of these scholarships in 1986/87 is given in table 7 below.

Table 7.  Female and male university scholarship holders,

by faculty and country of study

(Academic year 1986/87)

Source:  Excerpted from Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, 1 July 1986-30 June 1987 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-second Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/42/13)), table 7.

^a  Other countries were:  Algeria (one male student), Democratic Yemen (one male student), Iraq (three male and two female students), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (one male and one female student) and Turkey (four male students).

(b)  Health 

58.  During the period under review, UNRWA continued to provide health services to the eligible refugee population outside the occupied Arab territories.  Table 8 below provides exact information on the Palestinian population eligible for health services.

Table 8.  Population eligible for health services

Sources:  Excerpted from World Health Organization, "Health conditions

59.  In the period under review, the major tendencies characterizing health services and the health status of the Palestinian refugee population corresponded with those in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  A certain degree of progress was noted with regard to health infrastructure and equipment in Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic.

60.  Maternal and child health-care services continued to be the important area of the health activities of UNRWA.  Tables 9, 10 and 11 below provide detailed information.

Table 9.  UNRWA health facilities ^a 

Sources:  Excerpted from World Health Organization, "Health conditions of the Arab population in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine" (A39/INF.DOC./2), appendix 3, part B, p. 24; and ibid. (A40/INF.DOC./5), appendix  3,  part  B,  p.  27.

^a  UNRWA does not operate hospitals in Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic.

Table 10.  Maternal and child health-care services provided by UNRWA

Sources:  Excerpted from World Health Organization, "Health conditions of the Arab population in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine" (A39/INF.DOC./2), appendix 3, part C, p. 25, and Ibid. (A/40/INF.DOC./5), appendix 3, part C, p. 28.

Table 11.  Preventive services

(As of 30 June 1986)

Sources:  Excerpted from Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, 1 July 1985-30 June 1986 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-first Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/41/13)), annex I, table 9.

^a  Health was monitored monthly for the age group 0-1 year, bimonthly for the age group 1-2 years and trimonthly for the age group 2-3 years.

61.  In collaboration with family planning associations, family planning services continued to be provided, upon request, in some health centres in Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic.  In the Syrian Arab Republic, the family planning services were provided in maternal and child health-care clinics in the Damascus area.  In Jordan, the family planning services consisted of advisory services provided by health centre staff with designated family planning clinics (A39/INF.DOC./2, annex, para. 54).  Training of staff was completed to expand these services to the additional health centres in the Syrian Arab Republic (A/41/13, para. 77).

62. Nursing activities were central to the ongoing health-care services of UNRWA.  During the period under review, therefore, various forms of training were offered to qualified nurses.  Scholarships for nursing education were donated by voluntary and non-governmental agencies.  In 1985/86, in Jordan, a 27-month basic midwifery course was offered at the College of Nursing. Eighteen practical nurses from Jordan received on-the-job training in community nursing at Amman New Camp, Zarqa and Irbid camps in December 1986 (A39/INF.DOC./2, paras. 11 and 19).  A community nursing programme was implemented in all camps in Jordan to enhance community awareness and involvement.  Nurses assisted by carrying out tasks, which went beyond the traditional ones, such as collection of family and community data, identification of health or health-related problems, and assistance in solving or reducing these problems with the family or other staff (A40/INF.DOC./5, paras. 131-134).  A senior staff nurse from the Syrian Arab Republic was offered a scholarship to pursue a one-year diploma course in community health nursing at Cumberland College, Sydney, Australia and completed it in December 1986.  All qualified nurses at Damascus attended a six-week training course in community nursing at the rate of one full-day session per week, which started in October 1986.  One UNRWA-employed dayah at North Shouneh Health Point attended a two-week refresher course at the Government Maternal and Child Health Clinic, Irbid, in October 1985.  In Lebanon, a senior practical nurse was awarded a scholarship to pursue a one-year course in public health nursing at the University of Cairo, which she completed in 1986 (A/41/13, paras. 90-91 and A40/INF.DOC./5, annex, chap. II, para. 40).

63. In other areas of UNRWA activities, developments can be noted.  In the period under review, immunization of pregnant women with tetanus toxoid, which was carried out in Lebanon, was extended to other fields of operation (A39/INF.DOC./2, annex, para. 53); the nutrition survey for Jordan was concluded with results similar to those for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (A39/INF.DOC./2, annex, para. 95); in Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic more teachers were enrolled in an in-service training programme on health education and oral health (A/41/13, para. 78).

64. In view of the generally deteriorating mental and sociological conditions of the Palestinian population, and children in particular, a pilot project to assess the mental health of refugee children was initiated in refugee camps in Jordan (A/41/13, para. 79; A/42/13, para. 55).  Also in Jordan, two community projects to assist mentally retarded and physically disabled children were started (A/40/13, para. 105).  As in previous years, a summer camp was organized jointly by UNRWA and the Young Men's Christian Association for refugee orphans at the UNRWA training centre at Amman (A39/INF.DOC./2, annex, para. 40).

65. During the period under review, the situation in Lebanon adversely affected the delivery of UNRWA health services, particularly in the refugee camps.  Compared to previous years, the utilization of UNRWA medical services decreased, owing to the security situation and limited accessibility of refugees to UNRWA services (A39/INF.DOC./2, annex, para. 29; A/42/13, para. 48.  Also, the implementation of nutritional support programmes and supplementary feeding was frequently interrupted in Lebanon because of continuous fighting (A40/INF.DOC./5, annex, para. 155).  Feeding centres became inaccessible for certain periods of time (A39/INF.DOC./2, annex, para. 97) and hospitals and clinics in the besieged camps were shelled and seriously damaged.

With regard to environmental health, in a number of camps in Jordan and Syrian Arab Republic, owing to government, municipal and UNRWA efforts, refugee shelters were provided with indoor water taps, and water and sewage schemes were completed.  Because of the ongoing hostilities, there was little progress in improving sanitary conditions in Lebanon (A/42/13, para. 60).

C.  Assistance to Palestinian women outside the occupied Arab territories 

During the period under review, United Nations organizations continued to provide assistance to the Palestinian people, including special assistance to women and children in the countries outside the occupied Arab territories.

UNRWA continued to provide regular assistance to eligible refugees, in all as of its activities.  It also extended emergency relief services to all refugees in Lebanon (A/41/319-E/1986/72, paras. 16 and 20).

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) implemented its programmes aimed at rehabilitation and provision of assistance to Palestinian mothers and children, despite deteriorating conditions in Lebanon.  The programmes were reported by non-governmental organizations and Palestinian philanthropic societies.  With regard to women's income-generating activities, UNICEF organized an embroidery workshop for women.  Some progress was also made in primary education, to upgrade the quality of kindergarten teachers (A/41/319-E/1986/72, paras. 28 and 31).  In Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic, UNICEF continued to strengthen the expanded UNRWA programme of immunization activities and maternal and child health-care services, and assisted in financing the training of nurses and dayahs (A/41/319-E/1986/72, para. 33).  In Jordan, UNICEF significantly supported the training of dayahs, midwives and the home-visiting programme by nurses and paramedical personnel (A/41/319-E/1986/72, para. 34).

The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) undertook surveys on the economic and social conditions of Palestinian people in refugee camps in the Syrian Arab Republic in January 1986.

ILO participated in the formulation of two projects in the fields of labour and training to be implemented by UNDP.  One of the projects, concerning the promotion of vocational and technical education, should expand the existing vocational training facilities offered by UNRWA centres, government services or private institutions (A/41/319-E/1986/72, para. 64).  An ILO expert in the national training of women was made available to UNDP to implement a project of assistance to Palestinian women's institutions (A/41/319-E/1986/72, para. ___

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) continued its assistance in the field of training.  Palestinian families of the ___line and Ramadan refugee camps in the Syrian Arab Republic were instructed how to improve the cultivation and yield of crops and livestock through the provision of facilities, knowledge, skills, material inputs and technical leadership for demonstration and training work (A/41/319-E/1986/72, para. 70).

UNESCO continued its assistance in education, including the provision of fellowships and educational supplies and equipment (A/41/319-E/1986/72, para. 71).

In Jordan, WHO sponsored a Workshop on Community Needs for Health Care delivery.  Fifteen nurses from UNRWA and six from the Ministry of Health participated (A/41/319-E/1986/72, para. 74).

III.  CONCLUSIONS

75.  The difficult living conditions of Palestinian women described in the present report indicate the need for special attention and assistance, particularly for those women living under occupation and in the camps.  At present, the assistance provided to the Palestinian people by the United Nations system does not focus adequately on the needs of women.  In order to provide Palestinian women with more appropriate help in specific areas, their needs should be ascertained, if possible through special missions.  Programme of assistance should be designed to go beyond the mere delivery of services and take into consideration also ways and means and the cultural context of the delivery.  It is necessary to analyse thoroughly the obstacles and barriers that might prevent Palestinian women from having full access to existing services.

76.  With regard to the specific needs of Palestinian women linked to their gender, the hypothesis can be made that they are related to the new roles that Palestinian women now have to perform.  These roles include the maintenance of national and cultural traditions in order to perpetuate the values of the Palestinian people.  Also the roles imply that women should go out of their homes to study, to work, to seek medical or legal help, and to take part in social, economic and political activities.

77.  These circumstances create many new needs and demands, which should also be addressed, namely, respect for women's dignity, self-determination and choices; support for the development of women's talents; enhancement of their aspirations; encouragement for their participation in social, political and economic life; and provision of help to women heads of households.

78.  The situation of Palestinian women living within and outside the occupied Arab territories calls for assistance aimed at meeting their specific needs is all forms and at all levels by the relevant parts of the United Nations system whenever possible through existing projects, namely as listed in document A/42/183-E/1987/53, annex, chapter III.  As noted above, the present report has been based on United Nations sources, which, unfortunately, do not provide much specific information on women.  For the elaboration of programmes of assistance that would focus on the specific needs of women, more data would be necessary.

Notes 

     ¹  "The situation of women and children living in the occupied Arab

territories and other occupied territories:  Report of the Secretary-General"

(A/CONF.116/6, 30 October 1984).

     ²  International Labour Office, Report of the Director-General: 

Appendices, International Labour Conference, 73rd session, 1987 (Geneva),

appendix III, "Report of the situation of workers of the occupied Arab

territories", para. 13.

     ³  Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-second Session, 

Supplement No. 13 (A/42/13), table 1.

     ⁴  "Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices

Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories, Not

by the Secretary-General" (A/41/680, 20 October 1986), annex III, paras. 54-57

      ⁵  Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-first Session, 

Supplement No. 35 (A/41/35).

     ⁶  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, "Recent economic

developments in the occupied Palestinian territories:  A review of the work

completed by the Special Economic Unit (Palestinian People)" (TD/B/1102,

30 June 1986); "Israeli economic practices in the occupied Palestinian and

other Arab territories:  Note by the Secretary-General" (A/42/341-E/1987/78,

16 June 1987), paras. 2-6.

     ⁷  Report of the Director-General …, paras. 13-15.

     ⁸  Ibid., para. 19.

     ⁹  Ibid., paras. 22-24; "Recent economic developments in the occupied

Palestinian territories …".

    ¹⁰  Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-first Session 

Supplement No. 13 (A/41/13); and ibid., Forty-second Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/42/13).

    ¹¹  World Health Organization, "Health conditions of the Arab population

in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine" (A39/INF.DOC./2,

7 May 1986); and ibid. (A/40/INF.DOC./5, 8 May 1987).

    ¹²  See "Assistance to the Palestinian people:  Report of the

Secretary-General" (A/41/319-E/1986/72).

    ¹³  "Living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied

Palestinian territories:  Report of the Secretary-General"

(A/42/183-E/1987/53), annex, chap. III.

    ¹⁴  Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-second Session, 

Supplement No. 35 (A/42/35), paras. 35 and 38.

Annex I 

REPLY FROM THE ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT

Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt                       Vienna

                                                             29/UN

    The Permanent Mission of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations

Office at Vienna presents its compliments to the Centre for Social Development

and Humanitarian Affairs and with reference to the Secretary-General's note of

26 February 1987 regarding the information available on the status of the

Palestinian women living in Egypt, has the honour to enclose herewith the

required information.

    The Permanent Mission of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations

Office at Vienna avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Centre for

Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs the assurances of its highest

consideration.

Enclosure                                                Vienna, 6 May 1987

To the

Centre for Social Development

  and Humanitarian Affairs

United Nations Office at Vienna

Vienna                                                   Seal of the Embassy

Memorandum 

Between 15,000 and 20,000 Palestinian women reside in the Arab Republic of

Egypt.  About 115 of them are employed by the public sector and the

Government.  A small percentage, about a thousand, are engaged in

commercial activities (part ownership and management of supermarkets,

management and operation of weaving factories).  The majority, that is to

say about 7,000 Palestinian women, are housewives or unemployed.

Palestinian women are strongly inclined towards marriage to members of the

Palestinian community resident in the country, although a weakening of

this tradition has been noticed recently, as the women seek family

stability through marriage to Egyptians, in order to obtain residence

permits and to acquire Egyptian nationality.  About 1,357 Palestinian

women are married to Egyptians.

Palestinian women resident in the country may be divided into three

categories of standard of living:

     First category:  Below average; about 65 per cent of the total

     number, residing in the provinces;

     Second category:  Average; about 25 per cent of the total.  This

     group is composed of the wives and daughters of PLO personnel in the

     country and abroad;

     Third category:  Above average and superior.  This group consists of

     the wives and daughters of Palestinian capitalists in the country.

There are about 8,000 female Palestinians enrolled at the various levels

of education (schools, universities, institutions of higher learning).

Problems faced by Palestinian women resident in the country are mainly the

lack of job opportunities and the high cost of higher education at

university level.  The latter is particularly relevant where their parents

are employed by the public sector or the Government.

Annex II 

REPLY FROM THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC

Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic

  to the United Nations

820 Second Ave., 10th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10017

  Tel:  (212) 661-1313

SO/SW – 137

    The Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations

presents its compliments to the Secretariat of the United Nations and with

reference to His Excellency's note no. SD 3012/22 dated 12 June 1987 has the

honour to transmit herewith information on the situation of Palestinian women

living within and outside the occupied Arab territories in preparation of a

comprehensive report by the Commission on the Status of Women at its

thirty-second session in 1988.

    The Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations

avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Secretariat of the United

Nations the assurances of its highest consideration.

                                                 New York, 9 October 1987

                                                 Signed

Secretariat of the United Nations

United Nations

New York

Annex III 

REPLY FROM THE PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION

Palästinensische

  Befreiungsorganisation

Vertretung Wien

Wambachergasse 10

A-1130 Wien

Nr. AK/UN/10

Datum: 15 September 1987

Mrs. Chafika Sellami-Meslem

Director

Branch for the Advancement of Women

Centre for Social Development

  and Humanitarian Affairs

Vienna International Centre

P.O. Box 500

A-1400 Vienna

Madam,

    I have the honour to refer to your letter of the 9th of June 1987

concerning information about the situation of Palestinian women living within

and outside the occupied territories.

    I have to apologize for the late answer due to communication difficulties

with the concerned department within the Palestine Liberation Organization.

In the meantime I refer to the following studies and research material which I

hope will be of use for your report:

"Women in the Middle East"

Published by Khamsin – Z – Books 1987

This book contains two informative studies with the following subtitles:

– "Palestinian Women and the National Liberation Movement" by Hamida Kazi

– "A Palestinian Woman in Prison" by Laila Al-Hamdani

"Women in Emergency Situations:  Palestinian Women under Occupation" by the

Association of Women Committees for Social Work; Jerusalem, Occupied

Territories, 1985

"The Women's Role in the Palestine National Struggle"

Published by the P.L.O., Department of Information and National Guidance

"Fighting on Two Fronts:  Conversations with Palestinian Women"

Soraya Antonius

"…… ein befreites Leben"

A manuscript prepared by Barbara Debus and Maria Spieker

Please accept the assurance of my highest consideration.

                                                 Daoud Barakat