Ramallah – In a meeting held at the Red Crescent Society headquarters in Al Bireh, The National Coalition for Implementing UNSCR 1325 in Palestine along with a group of human rights experts presented its strategic advocacy plan for implementing the resolution, which focuses on the security and protection of Palestinian women and on achieving a just and comprehensive peace.
Opening speeches
The meeting was opened by Intisar Al Wazir, President of the General Union of Palestinian Women (GUPW). Al Wazir thanked all the members of the Coalition’s Secretariat who participated in formulating the plan. She also thanked OXFAM-Novib for its support in realizing this plan through MIFTAH’s project: Institutionalizing UNSCR 1325 to achieve peace and security for Palestinian women. Al Wazir showed her appreciation for the participatory efforts between the Coalition’s organizations, which she said constituted the first steps towards achieving protection for Palestinian women and supporting their national cause.
Dr. Feidy: The plan belongs to the National Coalition
MIFTAH CEO Dr. Lily Feidy reaffirmed that MIFTAH’s role in the coalition is part of the organization’s strategy in supporting Palestinian institutions . She said the strategic plan was up for discussion and belonged to the National Coalition. Feidy explained that this was part of MIFTAH’s continuous support to empower the status of Palestinian women. “Based on MIFTAH’s belief in the need for concerted efforts between civil society institutions in the quest for achieving integration, especially in regards to women’s rights and her systematic integration into decision-making positions, MIFTAH seeks to enact its membership in the National Coalition for Implementing UNSCR 1325 in Palestine,” Feidy said.
She went on to say that the gathering to discuss the plan is part of a series of activities MIFTAH is implementing in full coordination with the GUPW in its capacity as a coordination body of the coalition. The meeting was also in accordance to the memorandum of understanding signed between the two parties for 2014-2015 within MIFTAH’s project to institutionalize UNSCR 1325, she said.
MIFTAH considers the activation of its membership in national coalitions and alliances as part of its strategic plan and supports the strategic plans of these coalitions, said Feidy, adding that she hoped the discussions would enrich the strategic plan.
Presentation of the plan’s components
The speeches were followed by a presentation given by Lamya Shalaldeh, a women’s activist and expert in the field in women’s protection under international laws. She presented the components of the Coalition’s strategic advocacy plan to the audience, saying it was the product of a purely Palestinian effort. Shalaldeh explained that the plan was based on international and local legal references and was an ambitious plan aimed at first activating UN Resolution 1325 and eventually reaching an end to the Israeli occupation.
Shalaldeh said the plan represented a specific part of the resolution pertaining to women under occupation, adding that everything related to the plan was defined by this specification, which includes ending the occupation and holding criminals accountable for their crimes.
The overall executive framework for the plan, as presented by Shalaldeh, is based on several points including: participation, protection and accountability, and prevention.
Presentations
Following presentations described the plan as comprehensive and based on legal foundations. However, they said it did not address the internal conflict, represented in the division, reconciliation and to the armed internal conflicts. The participants noted that women should be included in this file, indicating that the plan needed development in this regard.
The presentations called for broader participation by women in resolving conflicts, in national negotiating committees and in the public freedoms and the social reconciliation committees. They also called for creating legislation that guarantees the protection of women’s rights, something which can only be achieved if there is a Legislative Council resultant from new and free elections. They stressed on: the need for participation in holding the occupation accountable and also the international community in taking other measures to hold it accountable; promoting the boycott campaign against the occupation and withdrawing investments from it; investing in the CEDAW agreement, whether via the government or the community; Israeli violations against Palestinian women; and documenting the experience of women in peace and political negotiations.
The speakers pointed out that the plan was still in need of execution tools in addition to the need for qualified women who could document violations, including documenting issues on prisoners.
Recommendations
The recommendations were recapped by Ms. Amal Khreisheh, Director of the Palestinian Women Working Society for Development (PWWSD) as follows:
- The need to address the national reconciliation file and to exert pressure towards women’s participation in all of the committees formed in this regard; to give this file more attention in the plan given its relation to civil peace.
- The importance of how current developments reflect on political action, in particular the recognition of Palestine as a state under occupation with observer status at the UN, and joining several international treaties particularly the International Criminal Court; the need for the plan to adopt the issue of the coalition’s representation in the National Committee for the ICC, which was established by presidential decree.
- The need to synchronize the coalition’s vision regarding human security with definitions and concepts according to UN literature indicated in the plan.
- The need to focus on Article 30 of the CEDAW agreement regarding the status of women in conflicts and under occupation and to use it in the realm of accountability, which was overlooked by UNSCR 1325. Likewise, focus should not be put on the CEDAW points in the plan because they need special tools and mechanisms that could be used in other platforms.
- The need for activities clearly linked with BDS as a tool of accountability against Israel so it does not escape punishment.
- The need to specifically indicate pressure on Israel and pressure on European and international parties to develop a political will regarding the rights of Palestinian women to live in security and a just peace and in order to recognize the right to self-determination.
- The plan addressed all points of UN Resolution 1325
- The need to concentrate on women’s participation in negotiations and in the political arena at the level of decision-making.; the need to develop indicators that will reflect a national and women’s perspective and the actual needs that express women’s interests , not only from a quantitative but a qualitative perspective.
- The need for the plan to fall back on specific mechanisms and tools; action towards developing an executive plan with clear outputs.
- Refraining from a mechanical separation between international humanitarian law and agreements regarding women’s participation in peace making and in the issue of the effects of war on women, especially in terms of the last Israeli aggression on Gaza in the summer of 2014. This calls for the use of all available mechanisms such as a fact-finding mission into the events in the occupied territories between June until the end of August, 2014, all of which can be used as tools of accountability.
- The importance of documentation and giving it more weight in the plan
- The need for the plan to reflect the rights of Palestinian women everywhere and not just in the occupied territories; that is, while there is a focus on refugees in the plan, it is also important to indicate to the interests and rights of Palestinian women in all places in the Diaspora.
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.
