Ramallah -- As part of its project, “Institutionalizing UN Resolution 1325 to achieve peace and security for Palestinian women”, in partnership with Oxfam Novib, MIFTAH capped off a series of seminars on national and international lobbying and advocacy mechanisms and tools including international laws and UN Resolutions pertaining to promoting peace and security for women.
The first meetings held late November 2014, were facilitated by Dr. Vanessa Farr from South Africa and attended by MIFTAH’s team and media representatives. Presentations explored the history of the global women’s movement since the 1950s and until the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), linking it with (GR30), UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 (2000), 2122 (2013) which recommits to the consultation of women in peace talks, and the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) (2013) especially Article (7.4) stating if those arms will be used to harm women and children, arms transfer must be stopped. Discussions highlighted the relevance of these documents to the Palestinian struggle.
The meetings focused on advocacy mechanisms through social networking and the importance of voicing unified messages in order to garner solidarity with the Palestinian people, especially women. This is achieved through shedding the light on human rights violations against Palestinian women and girls by the Israeli occupation and ensuring that the Palestinian narrative is credibly disseminated. It is also important that international public opinion is addressed on the basis of international agreements and resolutions.
Another seminar was organized for Secretariat members of the National Coalition for Implementing UNSCR 1325 in Palestine, and representatives from the General Union of Palestinian Women (GUPW) district branches.
Two experts, Lamia Shalaldih and Fatina Wathaefi, actively participated in the meetings. Both have worked on formulating a strategic plan for the National Coalition to put international resolutions and treaties related to peace and security for Palestinian women into action. A lobbying and advocacy plan resulting from the seminars will be included in this strategy, which the coalition, representing a number of women, media and human rights leading organizations, will implement over a three-year period. The plan will be drawn up through discussions with the members of the Secretariat.
Fatina Wathaefi: planning and gender expert
Wathaefi pointed to the importance of the interactive workshop saying: “It gives us information and ideas on how to support our efforts in addressing the international community towards protecting women and holding Israel, the occupying power, accountable for its crimes and oppression against women in particular.” She explained that the workshop focused on international treaties and resolutions on women, peace and security such as CEDAW, 1325, 2122, and the ATT. She pointed out the overlapping components between these resolutions and treaties and how to use them towards promoting protection for women and holding violators of Human Rights Laws and International Humanitarian (IHL) Laws accountable. This includes becoming familiarized with the tools that could be used to achieve this goal.
In this regard, Wathaefi said: "the importance of the seminars lies in how much one can benefit from these tools including the use of social networking such as Twitter and Facebook to connect with institutions, liberation movements and global women’s solidarity groups, therefore gaining their support and solidarity". She said the groups worked together in a series of workshops and came up with lobbying and advocacy directions to be put into action at the international level, ultimately to mobilize support for an international demand to end the occupation, all forms of violence against women and to secure women's protection.
Khitam Saafeen: General Union of Palestinian Women
Khitam Saafeen, member of the general board of the GUPW and President of the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, said: "the goal of the workshops was to focus on formulating a plan for the National Coalition to lobby and advocate in support of the Palestinian cause for freedom and Palestinian women, peace and security agenda, especially given the escalated violations by the Israeli occupation". She said participants reached consensus to unify the efforts of Palestinian women towards implementing an agenda for peace and security including protection of women, ensuring their participation in peace-making and holding rights violators accountable for their violations. “We need to revive our capabilities in the field of social media and impact,” she said. While she acknowledges there are local initiatives to this effect, there is still a need for enhancing the tools and methods used so they leave a bigger impact through advocacy and lobbying campaigns. She concluded that the first draft of the national coalition’s plan will be completed after the seminars with the participation of women’s legal and media organizations that advocate for women's rights and justice.
Lamia Shalaldeh: Women’s Center for Legal and Social Counseling (WCLAC)
Shalaldeh feels the strength of the seminars lies in its unification of advocacy mechanisms between women’s rights institutions. It also contributed to the formulation of a workplan for regional and international advocacy in order to provide protection for Palestinian women and to hold their violators accountable, namely Israel, the occupying power.
Shalaldeh pointed out that 14 years have gone by since the passing of UNSC Resolution 1325, saying it has been through ebbs and flows over the years. In the last year and a half however, it has been brought back to the fore of discussions in terms of how it can be invested, especially after the Israeli aggression on Gaza, escalating violence in Jerusalem and Hebron and the continued settlement encroachment in east Jerusalem and the rest of the Palestinian areas. Still, she says, “The resolution is only a means, a mechanism. Our point of strength is consensus between the institutions on how to use these international mechanisms.”
Shalaldeh pointed out the importance of working at the strategic level in terms of activating Resolution 1325 in terms of linking the violations against women with the military aspect, which in this case are Israel’s occupation soldiers. “Today there is the ATT, which we can be used against countries that supply Israel with arms. We can use these treaties to hold these countries accountable for the harm and impact of using illegal weapons furnished to the Israeli occupation and used against Palestinians at the hands of Israeli army.”
MIFTAH releases 2021-2022 comparative actual spending reports for the social and security sectors, including social justice and gender indicators
Date posted: April 04, 2023
By MIFTAH
MIFTAH recently released 2021-2022 comparative actual spending reports for the social sector (health, education, higher education and scientific research, social development and labor), and for the first time, the security sector (Ministry of Interior and National Security). The reports were based on annual financial data released by the Ministry of Finance in Palestine for 2021-2022 and on an accrual basis.
The data showed that the Ministry of Interior and National Security had the highest percentage of actual spending in 2022, accounting for 22.8% of overall public expenditures, or ILS3.68 billion. This was a slight increase from the Ministry’s share in 2021. Meanwhile, actual spending on the education sector (Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research) stood at 21.5% of overall public expenditures, or ILS3.48 billion. This was also an increase from the education sector’s share in 2021, which was 20.6% of public expenditures.
Moreover, actual spending on the Ministry of Health also increased in 2022, comprising 15% of overall public expenditures, at a sum of ILS2.4 billion. This was higher than in 2021, where its share was 14.4%. As for the Ministry of Social Development, actual spending was still low, amounting for 6.2% of overall public expenditures in 2022, compared to 5.8% in 2021. The Ministry of Social Development’s actual spending in 2022 was approximately ILS1 billion. As for the labor sector, actual spending on this sector in 2022 was 0.31% of overall public expenditures, while in 2021 it was 0.28%. Actual spending on the labor sector in 2022 was ILS50.1 million.
Upon review of actual spending reports of the targeted ministries from a gender and social justice perspective, it is clear that actual spending on the Ministry of Social Development does not coincide with the scope of its responsibilities as the forerunner of the social sector in Palestine, including its programs for combatting poverty and the protection of poor and marginalized social sectors. Moreover, non-compliance to the disbursement of payments for poor families within the CTP continued according to estimates, whereby only two of four installments for 2022 were disbursed, one at minimum value. This adversely affected the financial security of the most underprivileged and marginalized sectors of society, in addition to the insufficient estimated budget and actual spending on the social protection program, in spite of its importance in providing protection and social services to battered women, children, special-needs persons and the elderly.
The data also pointed to the low percentage of women working in the security sector, which stood at 6% of the total number of workers in this sector, while they comprised 46% of the civil sector. This shows a gap in actual spending on the security sector from a gender perspective, given that the lion’s share of actual spending in 2022 was on salaries and wages. Hence, women only benefited very little from these allocations, which were nearly ILS2.9 billion in 2022.
The data also indicated that the development expenditures for the Ministry of Labor were only ILS4.5 million in 2022, even though planned development expenditures were ILS32 million, which is much higher. This casts a shadow on gender-related programs and projects, which were allotted sizeable budgets within development expenditures, such as creating sustainable opportunities as alternatives for Palestinian men and women working in settlements, for which ILS10 million were earmarked.
Even though there was an increase in actual spending in 2022 at the targeted ministries in general, this increase was mainly concentrated on salaries and wages. In spite of the importance of providing a decent life for employees, there is still a need to increase spending on development expenditures, since they are at the forefront of developing government services, including the nationalization and institutionalization of various social services.
MIFTAH concludes town hall meetings on political participation and citizens’ rights for women and youth
Date posted: January 09, 2023
By MIFTAH
Ramallah – 29/12/2022 – Within its efforts to promote democratic values and the peaceful transfer of power within the Palestinian government system, MIFTAH’s field advisory team completed over 100 town hall meetings in the second half of 2022. The meetings were held in coordination and cooperation with CSOs, LGUs and grassroots organizations and targeted women and youth in several West Bank and Gaza Strip districts. The objective of these meetings was to raise awareness among the electorate on the electoral system in Palestine and on civil society demands to increase women and youth participation in local and general elections as candidates and voters, on the premise that this boosts their presence in decision-making levels and involves them in public affairs.
The town hall meetings included several exchange visits between LGU members in the various districts. The women shared the experiences and challenges they faced after becoming council members. The meetings focused on the concept of citizenship within a broader definition of the various forms of political participation and the importance of involvement from youth and women in public life. They also pointed to the different forms of democracy and the main pillars of the democratic society Palestinians seek to create. The participants furthermore discussed the various forms of electoral systems and shed light on the gaps in electoral laws regarding the presence of women and youth.
The participants pointed to the importance of periodic legislative and presidential elections and the danger of the ongoing absence of the PLC on matters pertaining to civic peace. They also warned against the absence of oversight and accountability, maintaining that the defunct PLC has contributed to shrinking civic space and public freedoms and therefore, the ability or desire to become involved in political life, especially for women and youth. In most of the meetings, the participants also indicated that the absence of a regular democratic process in Palestine contributed to the overall exclusion of youth from participation and to the marginalization of the role of women in Palestinian political decision-making.
The town hall meetings stressed on the importance of pressing for legislative, presidential and local elections in all West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip districts. They also endorsed the demand for equality in electoral laws, starting with raising the women’s quota to a minimum of 30%, raising the candidacy age and lowering the threshold. They urged Palestinian factions to assume a key role in the process of inclusion for women and youth in the public sphere and to prevent the progression of tribalism in the democratic process. The attendees emphasized the importance of monitoring the performance of LGUs in their interaction with local communities and the consistency of their meetings. Finally, they said female council members must be given the opportunity to exercise their role in their respective councils as equals to their male counterparts.
MIFTAH holds town hall meetings on an annual basis as part of its awareness campaign on citizens’ rights and the promotion of the democratic approach for a peaceful transfer of power, in addition to the involvement of women and youth in elections as both candidates and voters. Each year, through these town hall meetings, MIFTAH aims to reach the widest possible segment of the electorate and the different social sectors in all parts of Palestine.
MIFTAH completes training workshop in the Gaza Strip on family protection and advocacy
Date posted: January 05, 2023
By MIFTAH
Gaza – 2/1/2023 – MIFTAH recently completed a training workshop on measures and regulations on family protection in the Gaza Strip. The workshop was part of MIFTAH’s strategic objectives to prioritize family issues in communities and to support local institutions in increasing awareness on citizenship and constitutional rights for Palestinian women and on combatting all forms of GBV and discrimination in Palestinian society.
The workshop’s objectives included providing institutions with important information on the legislations, laws and measures for family protection in effect in the Gaza Strip, in a bid to enhance the oversight role of CSOs in holding accountable official parties responsible for enforcing these measures and legislations. The training also included offering institutions the necessary mechanisms for managing digital and media campaigns to press for the ratification of laws and legislation that protect women’s rights.
The discussions focused on a number of points, including legal (including sharia law) rebuttals to claims from parties opposing legislation, including the Family Protection Law. They also discussed how applicable this law would be in the Gaza Strip once ratified by the President.
The participants unanimously agreed that they supported adoption of the law, giving no credence to the claims of more extreme elements in Gaza on the Family Protection Law. They called on MIFTAH to hold general, open meetings with the public to introduce them to the law and its importance, so that they could defend themselves from the extremist discourse surrounding it.
Opinions and impressions
One of the participants, Latifa Shatat, said such training workshops were crucial for every Palestinian, male and female. “It is great we are pressing for protection laws such as the Family Protection Bill. This law will have tremendous impact on society as a whole. I can say from experience as a social and mental health worker that protection is the most important element in our work, especially in cases involving women and children, who are the most vulnerable social sectors. I commend MIFTAH and anyone who participates in spreading a culture of nonviolence, protection, justice and equality.”
Meanwhile, Haifa Al Araj said the training offered important details about the Family Protection Law and also ways of conducting initiatives and activities that could produce positive results in mobilizing support it.
Another participant, Hatem Abu Ta’a, said the training was a new starting point for him as an institution director in terms of integrating the demand to implement the Family Protection Law in all advocacy and lobbying activities and programs. He said he became more aware of the impediments to the law’s implementation at the official and social level, saying, “This training reminds us to renew our calls to demand implementation and ratification of the law at the official level.”
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abu Rabee said ratification of the Family Protection Law would be a huge step, for women and children especially. “This law will amplify women’s voices and their ability to access help with stronger and more supportive centers throughout the homeland. As a strong supporter of this bill, I want to stress on the importance of civil society institutions explaining the clauses in the bill pertaining to CEDAW and to also focus on working with parties that oppose the law in particular.”
The training workshop is part of MIFTAH’s “Policy dialogue and Good Governance” Program, which aims at influencing public policies and legislation in favor of protection for citizens’ rights in Palestinian society, based on the principles of social justice and respect for human rights.
