UN Gender Equality Chief Briefs Security Council – Press Release (Excerpts)

8382ND MEETING (AM)
SC/13554
25 OCTOBER 2018

français

Nearly two decades after the Security Council’s adoption of a landmark resolution on women, peace and security, the head of the United Nations entity responsible for gender equality warned today of “systemic failure” to integrate women into such critical processes as peacekeeping, mediation and peace negotiations, as the 15-member organ convened its annual open debate on the issue.

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Randa Siniora Atallah, General Director of the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling, also briefed the Council on behalf of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security.  Noting that Israel’s occupation of Palestine and the resulting humanitarian crisis exacerbate existing gender inequalities, she said Palestinian women face daily attacks, threats, intimidation, discrimination and restrictions on their movement by the Israeli military.  The occupation reinforces the patriarchal structures of Palestinian society, she said, adding that political violence in the public sphere leads to spikes in violence in the private sphere.  She also noted that recent cuts in funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have had a disproportionate effect on the lives of Palestinian women.

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ANDA SINIORA, General Director, Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling, spoke on behalf of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security.  Noting that Israel’s occupation of Palestine and the resulting humanitarian crisis exacerbate existing gender inequalities, she said Palestinian women face daily attacks, threats, intimidation, discrimination and restrictions on their movement by the Israeli military.  Night raids, destruction of property and violence at checkpoints are also routinely committed by occupying forces.  Palestinian women lose their homes and cannot reunite with their families due to restrictions or denial of residency permits, she said, adding that they look on as their husbands and children are detained, attacked or killed in front of them.  The occupation reinforces the patriarchal structures of Palestinian society, she said, pointing out that they must earn a living on top of their responsibilities to care for the young, sick or injured, which often isolates them from their communities and from public life.

She went on to state that, in efforts to protect their families from violence or arrest, women often become prison guards to their own children.  Noting that political violence in the public sphere leads to spikes in violence in the private sphere, she emphasized that domestic violence is shockingly high, with femicide on the increase.  Women are also starved of resources with which to respond to abuses, she said, pointing out that the fragile conditions created by the occupation mean that Palestinian women lack access to justice.  Recent cuts in funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have had a disproportionate effect on the lives of Palestinian women, especially in terms of health and education, she said, stressing that the destruction of infrastructure has also had a devastating impact on the lives of women and girls by cutting off their access to food, water, sanitation, electricity and life-saving medical care.  Economic deprivation and unemployment have also made Palestinian women more vulnerable to violence, she added.

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JOANNA WRONECKA (Poland),…One factor that can help women to engage more actively is their economic empowerment, she said, describing an entrepreneurship project funded by Poland in the State of Palestine, which targets women in the West Bank by providing sustainable irrigation systems.

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ESHAGH AL HABIB (Iran) said the major threats to the security of women in his region are foreign occupation, military invasion and terrorism.  In Palestine, foreign occupation is the most severe threat, particularly in Gaza, where women and children are the main victims of an inhumane and illegal blockade as well as Israel’s periodic bombing and shelling.  Foreign invasion has had a similar impact on women in Syria and other countries in the region, with air strikes on residential areas, hospitals, schools and even wedding ceremonies mostly affecting women’s lives.  If the Council is serious about addressing threats to the security of women in the Middle East, it should compel Israel to end the occupation of Palestine, remove the Gaza blockade and, ultimately, stop Israeli crimes and brutalities against women and girls.  He added that, as a victim of aggression, foreign military invasion and terrorism, Iran attaches great importance to the role that women can play in building a secure, stable and prosperous society.  “The outstanding role of women in Iran is incontestable,” he said, adding that Iranian women’s achievements have come despite hostile United States policies and illegal sanctions that make no distinction between men and women.

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For information media. Not an official record.