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Committee Opinion | Doc. 14022 | 18 April 2016
Evaluation of the partnership for democracy in respect of the Palestinian National Council
Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination
A. Conclusions of the committee
(open)1. The Committee on Equality and
Non-Discrimination welcomes the report of the Committee on Political Affairs
and Democracy (rapporteur: Mr Jordi Xuclà). The committee refers
to the commitments undertaken by the Palestinian National Council
under Resolution 1830
(2011), namely “actively promoting equal opportunities for
women and men in political and public life; fighting all forms of
discrimination (in law and in practice) based on gender; ensuring
effective equality between women and men, including as regards marriage,
divorce, polygamy and inheritance law and, where necessary, initiating
a process of legislative revision; fighting all forms of gender-based
violence”.
2. The committee regrets that in the field of violence against
women, as in the others listed above, the situation has not much
evolved during the past two years. Despite the difficult circumstances,
the committee calls on the Palestinian National Council to step
up efforts to fulfil its voluntary commitments and hopes that by the
next assessment, the situation of women in Palestine will have improved.
B. Proposed amendment
(open)Amendment A (to the draft resolution)
In the draft resolution, at the end of paragraph 7.4 add: “and calls on the Palestinian authorities to take resolute action against this scourge, in co-operation with civil society and more specifically women’s organisations. Women’s economic empowerment and their participation in peace talks should also be encouraged;”
C. Explanatory memorandum by Ms Marit Maij, rapporteur for opinion
(open)1. General comments
1. I would first like to congratulate
Mr Jordi Xuclà on his detailed progress report on the implementation
of the commitments undertaken by the Palestinian National Council
in its request for partnership for democracy status with the Assembly.
2. I welcome the active participation of the Palestinian Partner
for Democracy delegation, especially that of Ms Najat Al-Astal,
who is a committed member of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination
and also of the Parliamentary Network Women Free from Violence.
3. In 2014, in her explanatory memorandum, my colleague, Ms Gülsün
Bilgehan, gave a detailed list of the areas that needed to be improved
according to the commitments undertaken by the Palestinian National Council
in Resolution 1830 (2011). In the light of the 2014 findings, the objective of
this opinion is to find out whether developments have occurred in
the past two years. I would like to thank Ms Suheir Azzouni, consultant on
gender issues and human rights in Palestine, for having helped to
gather information.
2. Actively promoting equal opportunities for women and men in public and political life (commitment undertaken by the Palestinian National Council, paragraph 12.5 of Resolution 1830 (2011))
4. Palestinian women remain under-represented
in decision-making bodies at various levels of public life. As there
have been no parliamentary elections since 2006, women’s representation
in parliament has not changed since the 2014 evaluation. The number
of portfolios held by women in the government (Women’s Affairs,
Tourism and National Economy) has not increased either. According
to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), in 2014,
15.6% of judges and 25% of journalists were female. Moreover, women ambassadors
accounted for only 5.8% and women represented a mere 3.4% in police
forces.
5. In July 2015, two women were appointed as marriage registrars
in Palestine. While such new appointments for women can be seen
as positive developments, women still have a long way to go.
6. Women have a key role to play in Palestinian society. Yet
they are still only marginally represented in key decision-making
posts. In this connection, the ratification in June 2015 by the
Palestinian Government of the national framework for the implementation
of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace
and security, aimed at protecting women during armed conflicts,
represents a positive development to foster women’s participation
and leadership in conflict resolution and state-building processes.
3. Fighting all forms of discrimination (in law and in practice) based on gender; ensuring effective equality between women and men, including as regards marriage, divorce, polygamy and inheritance law and, where necessary, initiating a process of legislative revision (commitment undertaken by the Palestinian National Council, paragraph 12.5 of Resolution 1830 (2011))
7. As stated already in 2014,
Palestinian women are discriminated against in matters of personal
status, especially when it comes to issues such as marriage, divorce,
child custody or their freedom of movement, a situation exacerbated
by the fragmentation of the Palestinian legal system where rules
applicable to women vary according to whether they live in the West
Bank or in Gaza. For instance, the problem of Palestinian women
being deprived of their inheritances in the Gaza Strip is widespread
and growing, especially among families who own land. In general,
Palestinian women struggle to access justice and tend to neither
trust the legal system nor believe in its ability to address women’s
needs or be attentive to women’s hardships.
8. With regards to education, Palestinian girls and young women
enjoy the same access to education as their male counterparts and
even account for over half of all enrolled pupils. In addition,
9.2% of males aged 15-29 hold a university or higher education diploma
compared to 13.1% of females in the same age group. However, despite the successful
enrolment of women, which generally correlates positively with female
work, Palestinian women’s labour force participation remains low
and does not necessarily translate into women’s improved social
status. Indeed, about half of women with 13 schooling years and
above are unemployed. In addition,
there is wage discrimination between the sexes: in 2014, the average
daily wage for females was NIS 80.9 compared to NIS 105.8 for males.
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the average daily
wage earned by women in the West Bank private sector amounted to
only 76% of that earned by their male counterparts. Resolute
measures should be taken to encourage women’s access to the employment market
and ensure equal pay for equal work, be it in the private sector
or in public administration.
4. Fighting all forms of gender-based violence (commitment undertaken by the Palestinian National Council, paragraph 12.5 of Resolution 1830 (2011))
9. The patriarchal system prevailing
in Palestinian society exposes women to a continuum of violence
in all spheres of life. Forced marriages of teenage Palestinian
girls in the Gaza Strip remain frequent. Some 28.6% of women aged
20 to 49 were married before the age of 18. To date, there are
no regulations that deter a parent from forcing his daughter to
marry under the legal age. At the same time, since the last evaluation, honour
killings have continued to make headlines. In May 2014, a Decree
Law amending Article 98 of the Penal Code, which allowed for mitigation
in sentencing of perpetrators of “honour” crimes, was issued by
President Mahmoud Abbas. However, this decree law left untouched
Article 99, which gives broad discretionary power to judges in the
application of mitigating factors. Legislative intervention is needed
to limit discretion in this regard to avoid a sense of impunity
on the part of those responsible.
10. One positive signal coming from government in the fight against
violence against women is the ongoing work on the ratification of
the Family Protection Act, which aims at increasing the protection
of women and children from domestic violence.
11. I seize the opportunity to congratulate the Palestinian National
Council which, under the initiative of my colleague Ms Al-Astal,
organised in December 2015 a workshop on the Council of Europe Convention
on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic
Violence (ETS No. 210, “Istanbul Convention”) with the participation
of members of the Palestinian National Council, the Head of the Independent
Commission for Human Rights and representatives of the Ministry
of Women’s Affairs and civil society organisations. This event was
an opportunity to encourage the government to ratify the convention
and call for additional activities related to women and children’s
issues. Indeed, the Istanbul Convention could be used as an incentive
for improving the Palestinian legal order and practices related
to the issue of violence against women.
5. Fighting racism, xenophobia and all forms of discrimination (commitment undertaken by the Palestinian National Council, paragraph 12.14 of Resolution 1830 (2011))
12. I was not informed of any specific
advancement with regard to the situation of persons with disabilities since
the last evaluation. I once again strongly encourage the Palestinian
authorities to use the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities as a frame of reference in order to bring
their legislation and practice into line with the relevant international
standards and counter the generally negative perception of disability
in Palestine.
6. Conclusions
13. Improving the status and situation
of women in Palestinian society requires a legislation that eradicates all
aspects of gender-based discrimination. Awareness raising and advocacy
efforts with regard to discriminating laws and practices against
women are also key for social and economic improvement. However, implementation
remains limited and the situation has not evolved much since the
last evaluation.
14. I am well aware that the political and legal situation makes
it difficult to achieve rapid progress. I therefore endorse the
recommendation by Mr Xuclà to maintain the partnership for democracy
with the Palestinian National Council and to make a new assessment
of the partnership when appropriate.