Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women – Commission on the Status of Women/ECOSOC – draft resolution

   Argentina* and Palestine:** draft resolution 

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

   Situation of and assistance to Palestinian 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 Palestinian women and children, the Beijing Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women³  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 2010/6 of 20 July 2010 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 resolution 1325 (2000) of 31 October 2000, 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 Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

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

 Expressing grave concern also about the increased difficulties being faced by Palestinian women and girls living under Israeli occupation, including the continuation of home demolitions, evictions of Palestinians and arbitrary detention and imprisonment, as well as high rates of poverty, unemployment and food insecurity, inadequate water supply, incidents of domestic violence, and declining health, education and living standards, including the rising incidence of trauma and decline in their psychological well-being, and expressing grave concern about the dire humanitarian crisis and insecurity and instability on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in particular in the Gaza Strip,

 Deploring the dire economic and social conditions of Palestinian women and girls in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the systematic violation of their human rights resulting from the severe impact of ongoing illegal Israeli practices, including 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, and the continued imposition of closures and restrictions on the movement of persons and goods, which have detrimentally affected their right to health care, including access for pregnant women to health services for antenatal care and safe delivery, education, employment, development and freedom of movement,

 Gravely concerned, in particular, about the critical socio-economic and humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, including that resulting from the Israeli military operations and the 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 importance of providing assistance, especially emergency assistance, to alleviate the dire socio-economic and humanitarian situation being faced by Palestinian women and their families,

 Emphasizing 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 their 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 Palestinian 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 in this regard upon the international community to continue to provide urgently needed assistance, especially emergency 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, with the integration of a gender perspective into all of its international assistance programmes, and affirming its support for the Palestinian Authority’s plan of August 2009 for constructing the institutions of an independent Palestinian State;

 3.  Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,⁸ the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention IV of 1907,⁹ the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,¹⁰and all other relevant rules, principles and instruments of international law, including the International Covenants on Human Rights, in order to protect the rights of Palestinian women and their families;

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

 5.  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;

 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,² in particular paragraph 260 concerning Palestinian 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 

 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 women,¹ and to submit to the Commission on the Status of Women at its fifty-sixth 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. 

______________

* On behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China.

** In accordance with rule 69 of the rules of procedure of the functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council.

Notes

¹ E/CN.6/2011/6.

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  See General Assembly resolution 48/104.

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

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

⁸  General Assembly resolution 217 A (III).

⁹  See Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Hague Conventions and Declarations of 1899 and 1907 (New York, Oxford University Press, 1915).

¹⁰ United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973.

____________