Ramallah – 1/6/2022 – MIFTAH, in partnership with “Kayan” organization and cooperation with the General Union of Palestinian Women, the coordinating body for The Civic Women’s Coalition for the Implementation of CEDAW, held a two-day workshop for coalition members. The workshop revolved around courses for action in international advocacy and lobbying for the protection of Jerusalemite women in a bid to encourage Jerusalemite institutions at the local and international levels to share facts regarding Palestinian women in the city and Israel’s discriminatory and racist measures and policies against them.
The courses of action were determined in three tracks as follows: continuous inflow of facts and data on violations against Palestinian women and girls in Jerusalem; increasing preparedness among Jerusalemites institutions in providing documentation and reports; disseminating data in accordance with local and international standards; broadening the circle of networking and alliance-building to support international advocacy efforts by the Coalition’s institutions, especially those working in Jerusalem.
This workshop is part of ongoing efforts to support CEDAW coalition institutions. In this regard, the Jerusalem-based institutions released several reports on the status of Jerusalemite women vis-à-vis rights included in CEDAW, with a focus on the right to health, education, economic rights, personal status, family reunification and the right to political participation. Documentation and testimonials were collected on Israeli-government violations against Jerusalemite women in the city. Currently, the institutions are working on merging the documentations and analytical data into one shadow report to be used by Civic Coalition institutions in statements, positions and releases in conjunction with relevant committees, including the CEDAW follow-up committee on Israel’s report, reports by special UN rapporteurs and related EU missions.
In the opening session, the three partner institutions, MIFTAH, Kayan and GUPW, pointed to the importance of collective action and concerted efforts by institutions to widely disseminate Israeli occupation violations against the Palestinian people, women in particular. MIFTAH representative, Lamis Shuaibi, stated that support for institutions in their international advocacy efforts is part of MIFTAH’s strategy in disseminating the Palestinian narrative. She said this was achieved though shedding light on factual evidence on Israeli violations and its policy of systematic racial discrimination towards the Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory, with a focus on Jerusalem. These are all challenges to the Palestinians, including Palestinian women, Shuaibi maintained, in their quest for self-determination, peace and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.
Kayan representative, Alhan Nahhas also stressed on the importance of Jerusalem-based institutions in collecting data and documentation on violations, which help to support the data and information to be used later in responding to Israel’s CEDAW committee report.
GUPW representative and CEDAW Civic Coalition coordinator Muna Khalili pointed to the achievements of member institutions, including releasing reports and following up with committees on the implementation of CEDAW, both at the local or international level. She said the Coalition was currently following up on international mechanisms and standards developed for CSO responses to member-state reports. She said they were currently developing a ‘list of issues” for follow-up as an alternative to shadow reports, maintaining that this requires support from the coalition institutions in preparing documents to respond to Israel’s report and to support efforts by Palestinian institutions in their international advocacy efforts.
The workshop included a presentation of factsheets and a summary of reports addressing five focal points within CEDAW and its implementation in Jerusalem. It also addressed UN and international mechanisms for supporting the Coalition’s efforts in international lobbying and advocacy with specialized committees and rapporteurs on human rights, women, violence and racial discrimination in the occupied Palestinian territory. Furthermore, the sessions included the formulation of strategic approaches that determine courses of action within lobbying and advocacy efforts for Palestinian women’s issues in occupied Jerusalem. The three tracks formed the basis of action plans for practical interventions within the scope of international mechanisms available at the level of the HRC, branch committees, special EU missions and European parliament delegations. They also aim to give more media visibility to the Coalition’s member institutions and invest in social media platforms in releasing and disseminating facts, data and information.
Meanwhile, Kayan representative and international litigation expert in UN agencies, Dr. Mohammed Zeidan, said the workshop was part of similar efforts focusing on the practical aspects of the litigation process, including the best way to formulate strategic foundations for litigation on issues pertaining to Palestinian women’s rights in Jerusalem.
Zeidan stated that the next move was to invest in the various strategies and proposals to formulate a draft document for litigation before formulating a unified final strategy to work with the UN, EU and international community.
Najwa Odeh, member of the GUPW Secretariat said the field workers were given training on how to fill out documentation surveys according to international standards, resulting in accurate results that closely portray the reality on the ground.
The second stage of the training, Odeh maintained, is focused on ways to employ these reports in lobbying and advocacy campaigns to expose Israeli occupation measures and violations.
Director General of “Shams”, Fadwa Khader, said the workshop gave the participants the tools on how to use this information in international advocacy campaigns to expose Israeli violations against women in Jerusalem and how to sustain these efforts for the ultimate purpose of holding Israel accountable for these violations.
Khawla Odeh Abu Diab, consultant for “Juthur”, said the workshop “enhanced our abilities and concepts and provided us with valuable information in the area of human rights; now I have much more knowledge and understanding of rights in areas such as education, health, economics and community participation.”
She also stressed on the need for the training process to be ongoing and sustainable that information and knowledge could be more widely shared among all institutions and activists in the field.
ضمن مشروع 'تطبيق اتفاقية 'سيداو' في القدس': ورشة عمل ل 'مفتاح' لبلورة توجهات استراتيجية مناصرة ومرافعة دولية لحماية حقوق النساء الفلسطينيات في القدس المحتلة على المستويين المحلي والدولي
تاريخ النشر: 06/06/2022
بقلم: مفتاح
رام الله – 1/6/2022 – عقدت المبادرة الفلسطينية لتعميق الحوار العالمي والديمقراطية "مفتاح" بالشراكة مع المؤسسة الفلسطينية "كيان"، وبالتعاون مع الاتحاد العام للمرأة الفلسطينية، الجسم المنسق للائتلاف الأهلي لتطبيق اتفاقية مناهضة كافة أشكال التمييز ضد المرأة، ورشة عمل خاصة عقدت على مدار يومين ضمت المؤسسات الأعضاء في الائتلاف الأهلي لاتفاقية "سيداو"، وتم خلالها تحديد مسارات العمل الاستراتيجية للضغط والمناصرة لحماية حقوق النساء المقدسيات في القدس المحتلة في خطوة تجاه تعزيز حضور المؤسسات المقدسية على المستويين المحلي والدولي بمشاركة الحقائق حيال ما تواجهه النساء الفلسطينيات في القدس المحتلة من ممارسات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي الإرهابية وسياساته التمييزية والعنصرية. وجاءت مسارات العمل على النحو التالي: تغذية مستمرة للبيانات والحقائق حول الانتهاكات الممارسة بحق النساء والفتيات الفلسطينيات في القدس ورفع جاهزية المؤسسات المقدسية في توفير الوثائق والتقارير المتخصصة، ونشر البيانات ضمن المعايير الدولية محلياً ودوليا، وتوسيع دائرة التشبيك وبناء التحالفات لدعم جهود المناصرة والمرافعة الدولية من قبل مؤسسات الائتلاف الأهلي وخاصة العاملة في القدس.
تأتي هذه الورشة استكمالاً لدعم جهود مؤسسات الائتلاف الأهلي لتطبيق اتفاقية "سيداو" حيث عملت مؤسسات الائتلاف العاملة في القدس على إعداد وإصدار عدد من التقارير المتخصصة، والتي عكست وضعية المرأة المقدسية بالنسبة لمجموعة الحقوق المنضوية في اتفاقية "سيداو" بالتركيز على الحق في الصحة والحق في التعليم والحقوق الاقتصادية والأحوال الشخصية ولم الشمل والحق في المشاركة السياسية، من خلال جمع التوثيقات والإفادات حول جملة الانتهاكات التي تمارس بحق النساء المقدسيات في القدس المحتلة من جراء الممارسات التمييزية لحكومة الاحتلال الإسرائيلي. ويتم العمل حالياً على دمج التوثيقات والبيانات التحليلية في تقرير واحد "تقرير الظل" لتقوم مؤسسات الائتلاف الأهلي بمشاركتها من خلال مواقف وبيانات ونشرات مع اللجان المختصة ومنها لجنة "سيداو" الخاصة بمتابعة تقرير إسرائيل والمقررين الخاصين لدى الأمم المتحدة والبعثات ذات الصلة في الاتحاد الأوروبي.
وكانت المؤسسات الشريكة الثلاث "مفتاح" و"كيان" والاتحاد العام للمرأة، قد أشارت في افتتاح أعمال ورشة العمل إلى أهمية عمل المؤسسات بشكل جمعي لما فيه من تكاتف جهود في نشر انتهاكات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي بحق الشعب الفلسطيني وبشكل خاص تجاه المرأة الفلسطينية. وأكدت "مفتاح" من خلال ممثلتها لميس الشعيبي على أنّ دعم المؤسسات في جهود المناصرة والمرافعة الدولية يأتي استكمالا لمسار العمل الاستراتيجي ل"مفتاح" في نشر الرواية الفلسطينية من خلال تسليط الضوء على الحقائق والوقائع لجملة الانتهاكات الممارسة من قبل الاحتلال الإسرائيلي ولسياسة التمييز العنصري الممنهجة المتبعة تجاه الفلسطينيين في الأرض الفلسطينية المحتلة بالتركيز على القدس مما يشكل تحدياً أمام الفلسطينيين والمرأة الفلسطينية في تحقيق المصير وإحقاق السلام وإقامة دولة فلسطين مستقلة ذات سيادة. وفيما أشارت مؤسسة كيان من خلال ممثلتها الأستاذة ألحان نحاس، إلى أهمية العمل الذي تقوم به مؤسسات الائتلاف الأهلي في القدس من جمع بيانات وتوثيق انتهاكات بما يشكل داعمة في توفير بيانات ومعلومات سيتم الاستناد إليهاً لاحقاً في مواجهة إسرائيل للرد على تقريرها أمام اللجنة المختصة بتطبيق اتفاقية "سيداو" عند تقديم إسرائيل تقريرها للجنة. فيما أشارت ممثلة الاتحاد العام للمرأة ومنسقة الائتلاف الأهلي لاتفاقية "سيداو" الأستاذة منى الخليلي إلى حجم الإنجازات التي تقوم بها مؤسسات الائتلاف في إصدار التقارير ومتابعة اللجان المختصة بتطبيق الاتفاقية سواء على المستوى المحلي أو الدولي، وأنّ الائتلاف الأهلي يقوم حالياً بمتابعة آليات العمل الدولية والمعايير التي تم تطويرها تجاه ردود المجتمع المدني على تقارير الدول بحيث يتم الآن العمل على تطوير "قائمة المسائل" للمتابعة كبديل عن تقارير الظل، ما يستوجب مساندة مؤسسات الائتلاف بتجهيز وثائقها الخاصة بالرد على تقرير دولة الاحتلال الإسرائيلي ودعم جهود المؤسسات الفلسطينية بالمرافعة الدولية عبر المنصات الدولية.
وتناولت جلسات الورشة استعراضاً لأوراق الحقائق وموجز التقارير المفصلة التي تناولت خمسة محاور ضمن اتفاقية سيداو وتطبيقاتها في القدس، وكذلك استعراض آليات الأمم المتحدة والاليات الدولية لدعم جهود الائتلاف الأهلي في المناصرة والمرافعة الدولية أمام اللجان المختصة والمقررين الخاصين بقضايا حقوق الإنسان في الأرض الفلسطينية المحتلة والمرأة والعنف والتمييز العنصري وغيرها من ذات الاختصاص بحقوق الانسان دولياً. كذلك تخللت الجلسات العمل على صياغة توجهات استراتيجية تحدد مسارات العمل ضمن جهود الضغط والمناصرة لقضايا المرأة الفلسطينية في القدس المحتلة، والتي شكلت بمساراتها الثلاث ركيزة لخطط عمل تنفيذية تتناول تدخلات عملية ضمن الآليات الدولية المتاحة على مستوى مجلس حقوق الإنسان، وجلساته واللجان المنبثقة عن أعمال المجلس، والبعثات المختصة داخل الاتحاد الأوروبي والوفود البرلمانية الأوروبية، وتفعيل الظهور الإعلامي لمؤسسات الائتلاف، واستثمار منصات التواصل الاجتماعي في إصدار ونشر الحقائق والبيانات والمعلومات.
كما أشارت مؤسسة كيان من خلال د. محمد زيدان المتخصص في مجال المرافعة الدولية في مؤسسات الأمم المتحدة واستغلال آليات حقوق الإنسان الدولية، إلى أن ورشة العمل تلك جاءت مكملة لورشات سابقة لتركز على الجوانب العملية من عملية المرافعة من خلال استعراض الخطوات لتنفيذ المرافعة وعرض قوس متكامل من الإمكانيات، وما هو أفضل ومناسب لوضع أسس استراتيجية المرافعة في قضايا حقوق المرأة الفلسطينية في القدس. أضاف:" أهمية هذه الورشة تكمن في تطوير قدرات المؤسسات القيادية ضمن هذا المشروع وإيجاد قاعدة معلومات وقاعدة خبرة يمكن استغلالها في كل المشاريع والحقوق على اختلاف مسمياتها".
وأشار زيدان، إلى أن الخطوة التالية ستكون تجاه استئمار مقترحات الاستراتيجيات ومقترحات من قبل المجموعات المختلفة ليتم صياغة مسودة لاستراتيجية مرافعة، ومن ثم تبني استراتيجية واحدة ختامية، والعمل مع الأمم المتحدة والاتحاد الأوروبي، والمجتمع الدولي بمفهوم المؤسسات والمجتمع المدني.
من ناحيتها، قالت نجوى عودة، عضو الأمانة العامة للاتحاد العام المرأة الفلسطينية، أن تنفيذ المشروع استغرق شهوراً طويلة حيث تم تدريب باحثات ميدانيات وفق المعايير الدولية على تعبئة استمارات عملية التوثيق، ولأول مرة تم الخروج بنتائج حقيقية دقيقة من الواقع.
ووصفت عودة ما تم تحقيقه على هذا الصعيد بأنه تجربة غنية ورائعة خلص الجميع منها بخبرات جديدة في التعامل مع ما يجري مع النساء المقدسيات وما يرتكب بحقهن من انتهاكات، أما المرحلة الثانية من التدريب، فتشمل كيفية توظيف ما جاء في التقارير الموثقة في حملات الدعم والمناصرة وفضح ممارسات الاحتلال وانتهاكاته.
في حين، وصفت فدوى خضر، مدير عام جمعية عباد الشمس لحماية الإنسان والبيئة، الورشة التدريبية بأنها كانت غنية جداً وتعلمت المشاركات فيها على كيفية استخدام المعلومات التي وثقتها تقارير المجموعات، وكيفية الاستفادة منها في المرافعات الدولية، وفضح ممارسات الاحتلال على المستوى الدولي من خلال إبراز ما تتعرض له نساء القدس من انتهاكات، ومن ثم تحقيق الاستدامة في تسليط الضوء عليها وصولاً إلى محاسبة إسرائيل على ممارساتها اليومية بحق النساء المقدسيات.
الشيء ذاته، عبرت عنه خولة عودة أبو ذياب المستشارة في مؤسسة جذور، حيث أكدت أن الورشة كانت ضرورية من حيث أنها تنمي قدراتنا ومفاهيمنا وتعطينا المعلومات لتثرينا تلك المعلومات في مجال حقوق الإنسان. أضافت:" أصبح لدي اليوم معرفة ودراية في كل الحقوق سواء أكانت في التعليم، أو الصحة والاقتصاد، أو في المشاركة المجتمعية".
وأكدت أبو ذياب، على ضرورة تعميم الفائدة من هذه التدريبات، واعتبار عملية التدريب معرفة مستمرة ومستدامة تصقل المعرفة وتنشرها على نطاق أوسع في كل المؤسسات ولدى جميع العملين فيها بحيث لا تظل في نطاق الاحتكار".
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.
