Palestinian women – Commission on the Status of Women – ECOSOC draft resolution

Nigeria:* draft resolution

The situation of and assistance to Palestinian women

The Economic and Social Council,

Having considered with appreciation the section concerning the situation of Palestinian women and assistance provided by organizations of the United Nations system of the report of the Secretary-General1/ on follow-up to and implementation of the Beijing Declaration2/ and Platform for Action,3/

Recalling the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,4/ in particular paragraph 260 concerning Palestinian women and children, and the Beijing Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women,

Also recalling its resolution 1999/15 of 28 July 1999 and other relevant United Nations resolutions,

Further recalling the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women5/ as it concerns the protection of civilian populations,

Stressing the need for full implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum of 4 September 1999 and full compliance with the existing agreements, as well as the need for the conclusion of the final settlement by the agreed time of September 2000,

Concerned about the continuing difficult situation of Palestinian women in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, and about the severe consequences of continuous illegal Israeli settlement activities, as well as the harsh economic conditions and other consequences for the situation of Palestinian women and their families resulting from the frequent closures and isolation of the occupied territory,

1. Calls upon the concerned parties, as well as the entire international community, to exert all the necessary efforts to ensure the continuity and success of the peace process and its conclusion by the agreed time of September 2000 and the achievement of tangible progress in the improvement of the situation of Palestinian women and their families;

2. Reaffirms that the Israeli occupation remains a major obstacle for Palestinian women with regard to their advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development planning of their society;

3. Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,6/ the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention of 19077/ and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,8/ in order to protect the rights of Palestinian women and their families;

4. 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;

5. Urges Member States, financial organizations of the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations and other relevant institutions to intensify their efforts to provide financial and technical assistance to Palestinian women, especially during the transitional period;

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, in particular paragraph 260 concerning Palestinian women and children, and the Beijing Platform for Action;

7. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to review the situation and to assist Palestinian women by all available means, and to submit to the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-fifth session a report on the progress made in the implementation of the present resolution.

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* 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.

1/ E/CN.6/2000/2, sect. III.A.

2/ eport 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 I.

3/ Ibid., annex II.

4/ 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.

5/ General Assembly resolution 48/104.

6/ General Assembly resolution 217 A (III).

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

8/ United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973,