Commission on the Status of Women – ECOSOC report/document (excerpts)

Commission on the Status of Women

Report on the sixtieth session

(20 March 2015 and 14-24 March 2016)

/…

Draft resolution II

Situation of and assistance to  women*

The Economic and Social Council,

Having considered with appreciation the report of the Secretary-General,¹

Recalling the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,² in particular paragraph 260 concerning  women and children, the Beijing Platform for Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women,³ and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”,⁴

Recalling also its resolution 2015/13 of 10 June 2015 and other relevant United Nations resolutions, including General Assembly resolution 57/337 of 3 July 2003, on the prevention of armed conflict, and Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000) of 31 October 2000 and 2122 (2013) of 18 October 2013 on women and peace and security,

Recalling further the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women⁵ as it concerns the protection of civilian populations,

Recalling the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,⁶ the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights⁶ and the Convention on the Rights of the Child,⁷ and reaffirming that these human rights instruments must be respected in the Occupied  Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Recalling also the relevant resolutions of the Human Rights Council,

Taking note of the accession by the State of Palestine to several human rights treaties and the core humanitarian law treaties,

Expressing deep concern about the grave situation of women in the Occupied  Territory, including East Jerusalem, resulting from the severe impact of the ongoing illegal Israeli occupation and all of its manifestations,

Expressing grave concern about the increased difficulties being faced by  women and girls living under Israeli occupation, including as a result of the continuation of home demolitions, evictions of s, the revocation of residency rights, arbitrary detention and imprisonment, as well as high rates of poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, inadequate water supply and unsafe drinking water, shortage of electricity and fuel, incidents of domestic violence and declining health, education and living standards, including the rising incidence of trauma and the decline in their psychological well-being, particularly in the Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian disaster continues to severely affect the situation of women and girls,

Deploring the dire economic and social conditions of  women and girls in the Occupied  Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the systematic violation of their human rights resulting from the severe impact of ongoing illegal Israeli practices, including the forced displacement and transfer of civilians, especially among the Bedouin community, and confiscation of land, particularly in connection with the construction and expansion of settlements and the wall, which continue to constitute a major obstacle to peace on the basis of the two-State solution based on the pre-1967 borders, and the continued imposition of closures and restrictions on the movement of persons and goods, including the permit regime throughout the Occupied  Territory, including East Jerusalem, which have detrimentally affected their right to health care, including access of pregnant women to health-care services for antenatal care and safe delivery, education, employment, development and freedom of movement,

Expressing grave concern about all acts of violence, intimidation and provocation by Israeli settlers against  civilians, including women and children, and properties, including homes, mosques, churches and agricultural lands, condemning acts of terror by several extremist Israeli settlers, and calling for accountability for the illegal actions perpetrated in this regard,

Gravely concerned by the tensions and violence in the recent period throughout the Occupied  Territory, including East Jerusalem, and deploring the loss of innocent civilian life, including among girls and women, as a result of excessive and indiscriminate use of force by Israeli occupying forces,

Condemning the military conflict in and around the Gaza Strip in July and August 2014 and the civilian casualties caused, including the killing and injury of thousands of  civilians, including hundreds of children, women and elderly persons, as well as the widespread destruction of homes and critical civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, water, sanitation and electricity networks, economic, industrial and agricultural properties, public institutions, religious sites and United Nations schools and facilities, as well as the internal displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians, and any violations of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law,

Taking note of the report and findings of the independent commission of inquiry established pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution S-21/1,⁸ and stressing the need to ensure accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in order to end impunity, ensure justice, deter further violations, protect civilians and promote peace,

Gravely concerned, in particular, by the persisting disastrous humanitarian situation and socioeconomic conditions in the Gaza Strip, including those resulting from the Israeli military operations in July and August 2014, as well as the long-term negative impact of Israeli military operations from December 2008 to January 2009 and in November 2012, and the continuing imposition of a blockade consisting of the prolonged closure of border crossings and severe restrictions on the movement of persons and goods, as well as the continued impeding of the reconstruction process by Israel, the occupying Power, which has detrimentally affected every aspect of the lives of the civilian population, especially women and children, in the Gaza Strip,

Stressing the need for measures to be taken to guarantee the safety and protection of the  civilian population throughout the Occupied  Territory, including East Jerusalem, consistent with the provisions and obligations under international humanitarian law,

Stressing also the importance of providing assistance, especially emergency assistance, to alleviate the dire socioeconomic and humanitarian situation being faced by  women and their families, and recognizing the essential efforts and support being provided by the United Nations agencies and other humanitarian aid organizations on the ground, particularly in response to the grave humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip,

Recalling the convening of the Cairo International Conference on Palestine: Reconstructing Gaza, on 12 October 2014, and urging the timely and full disbursement of pledges for expediting the provision of humanitarian assistance and the reconstruction process, which is essential for alleviating the distress of  women and their families,

Expressing grave concern that  women and girls continue to be held in Israeli prisons or detention centres under harsh conditions including, inter alia, unhygienic conditions, solitary confinement, extensive use of administrative detention of excessive duration without charge and denial of due process, and noting that women and girls also face gender-specific challenges, including inadequate access to medical care, risks associated with pregnancy and giving birth in prison and sexual harassment, Reiterating the importance of increasing the role of women in peacebuilding and decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and the peaceful resolution of conflicts as part of efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of all women in the region, and stressing the importance of women’s equal participation and involvement in all efforts for the achievement, maintenance and promotion of peace and security,

1. Reaffirms that the Israeli occupation remains the major obstacle for  women with regard to their advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development of their society, and stresses the importance of efforts to increase their role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution and to ensure their equal participation and involvement in all efforts for the achievement, maintenance and promotion of peace and security;

2. Calls upon the international community, in this regard, to continue to provide urgently needed assistance, especially emergency assistance, and services, bearing in mind, inter alia, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development⁹ and national priorities, in an effort to alleviate the dire humanitarian crisis being faced by  women and their families, in particular for addressing the humanitarian crisis and immense reconstruction and recovery needs in the Gaza Strip, and to help in the reconstruction of relevant  institutions, with the integration of a gender perspective into all of its international assistance programmes, commends the achievements of the  Government in constructing the institutions of an independent  State, as confirmed by international institutions, including by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations, and calls for continued support of these efforts;

3. Calls upon international donors to fulfil without delay all pledges made on 12 October 2014 at the Cairo International Conference on Palestine: Reconstructing Gaza, in order to expedite the provision of humanitarian assistance and the reconstruction process, which is essential for alleviating the distress of  women and their families;

4. Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,¹⁰ the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention IV of 18 October 1907, the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949¹¹ and all other relevant rules, principles and instruments of international law, including the International Covenants on Human Rights,⁶ in order to protect the rights of  women and their families;

5. Urges the international community to continue to give special attention to the promotion and protection of the human rights of  women and girls and to intensify its measures to improve the difficult conditions being faced by  women and their families living under Israeli occupation;

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

7. Urges the international community to make renewed efforts aimed at advancing and accelerating the conclusion of a peace treaty based on clear parameters and with a defined time frame to attain without delay an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 by resolving all outstanding issues, including all core issues, without exception, for a just, lasting and peaceful settlement of the Israeli- conflict, in accordance with the internationally recognized basis of the two-State solution, and of the Arab-Israeli conflict as a whole, for the realization of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East;

8. 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,² in particular paragraph 260 concerning  women and children, the Beijing Platform for Action³ and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”;⁴

9. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to review the situation, to assist  women by all available means, including those laid out in his report,¹ and to submit to the Commission on the Status of Women at its sixty-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.

__________

* For the discussion, see chap. III.

¹ E/CN.6/2016/6. 

² Report 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. 

³ Report 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. 

⁴ General Assembly resolution S-23/2, annex, and resolution S-23/3, annex. 

⁵ General Assembly resolution 48/104. 

⁶ See General Assembly resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. 

⁷ United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531. 

⁸ A/HRC/29/52. 

⁹ See General Assembly resolution 70/1. 

¹⁰ General Assembly resolution 217 A (III). 

¹¹ United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973. 

_________________