Women – Third Cttee debate – Summary record (excerpts)

Third Committee

Summary record of the 12th meeting

Held at Headquarters, New York, on Thursday, 14 October 1999, at 3 p.m.

Chairman: Mr. Galuška  ………………………………………………………….(Czech Republic)

Contents

Agenda item 109: Advancement of women* (continued)

Agenda item 110: Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women* (continued)

Agenda item 106: Social development, including questions relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family (continued)

* Items which the Committee has decided to consider together.

The meeting was called to order at 3.10 p.m.

Agenda item 109: Advancement of women (continued) (A/54/3, A/54/38/Rev.1 (Suppl.), A/54/98, A/54/123-E/1999/66, A/54/124, A/54/156-E/1999/102, A/54/156/Add.1-E/1999/102/Add.1, A/54/224, A/54/225, A/54/341, A/54/342, A/54/352, A/54/405)

Agenda Item 110: Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women (continued) (A/54/124, A/54/264, A/54/354)

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34. Ms. Barghouti (Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine) said that the twentieth anniversary of the Convention and the adoption of the Optional Protocol should inspire the international community to take practical action towards the advancement and empowerment of women. Her delegation wished to stress that all twelve critical areas of concern set forth in the Beijing Platform for Action must receive equal attention, among them “the effects of armed or other kinds of conflict on women, including those living under foreign occupation”.

35. In addition to discrimination, violence and poverty, Palestinian women faced the harsh oppressive reality of the Israeli occupation on a daily basis: the construction and expansion of illegal Israeli colonial settlements, the confiscation of land and water, and the recurrent closing of the borders of the occupied Palestinian Territory, which included Jerusalem. The political situation uniquely determined the status of women in that territory, and affected the level of their advancement. It should also be noted that more than half the Palestinian population was made up of refugees, displaced persons and disintegrated families.

36. The Platform for Action and the results of the Arab Ministerial Conference held in Amman in 1996 had together formed the basis for a national strategy aimed at satisfying the particular needs, priorities, and resource constraints of Palestinian women. That strategy was founded on the principles of the Palestinian national programme, which called for the attainment of the inalienable rights of Palestinians, including the right to self-determination, the right to return to their homeland, and the establishment of an independent State. The peace process — which hinged on the Israeli Government’s willingness to respect and implement agreements concluded on the basis of international law — had a profound effect on the lives of Palestinian women. Palestine hoped that the signing of the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum would propel the peace process forward and strengthen the ability of Palestinian women to participate in decision-making and development.

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46. Mr. Al-Shamsi (United Arab Emirates) …

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48. He wished to express the gravest concern over what Palestinian and Arab women and their families were subjected to daily inside the occupied territories. The occupying Israeli forces carried out acts of violence and oppression, demolished houses, imposed curfews, expropriated land and made arbitrary arrests in violation of international law and the fourth Geneva Convention. The international community must demand that the Israeli Government comply with the provisions of international conventions and halt such aggressive practices.

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The meeting rose at 6.40 p.m.

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Corrections will be issued after the end of the session, in a separate corrigendum for each Committee.