2017-10-05

Gaza

Gaza

His Excellency Dr. Ahmad Bahar/ Gaza,

Ombudsman Office

Subject: Discrimination against Women in Holding Public Office

MUSAWA – The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession extend their warmest greetings, noting that we received a written complaint on 25/09/2017 from a citizen named Huda Tayseer Adwan, stating that she applied for the job of magistrate judge in accordance with the requirements and conditions of the advertisement, published in May 2017. The complaint said that the complainant passed the written exam and the interview, coming second amongst the successful candidates who applied for the said job.

The complainant added that she was the only woman to match the required qualifications, from a total of six women who applied for the job, and that her name was listed in the official employment record on 12/09/2017, which was sent for authentication to the Legislative Council, Tuesday 20/09/2017.

The complainant also stated that she was surprised at the removal of her name from the official record. She spoke with the High Judicial Council and the Ministry of Justice in Gaza and asked them for the reasons behind her exclusion from the said employment, and the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers told her that it was because she is a woman and women are unwanted for work in the judicial field.

As an independent non-governmental watchdog organization, MUSAWA sees that the contents of the complaint, if true, address a violation represented by excluding a woman from employment as magistrate judge merely because she is a woman, without any legal justification. This represents a blatant deviation from the provisions of the Basic Law, particularly Article (9) which indisputably states that “Palestinians shall be equal before the law and the judiciary, without distinction based upon race, sex, color, religion, political views or disability”, as well as paragraph 4 of Article (26) which states that “Palestinians shall have the right to participate in political life, both individually and in groups.  They shall have the following rights in particular: 1…… 2...... 3…… 4- to hold public office and high-ranking positions, in accordance with the principle of equal opportunities, 5……”

We stress that women have the right to hold public office as part of the constitutional rights they are entitled-to by the Basic Law and the international conventions, agreements and declarations, particularly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Not to mention that it has a direct connection to citizenship rights, pursuant to the Declaration of Independence, and it is guaranteed by the various international laws.

We believe that excluding the complainant, as mentioned above, is an unlawful act that does not conform to the principle of equal opportunities for the applicants and successful candidates to serve as magistrate judges in Gaza. Such an act discriminates among candidates and represents abuse of power, worsening the discrimination amongst citizens on the basis of sex, which is illegal and contradictory to the Basic Law as well as the existing laws which prohibit any kind of discrimination between men and women when it comes to holding public office.

We see that this action warns of a serious matter, which requires actual and practical commitment to the rights and freedoms guaranteed to all citizens under the Basic Law and the international legislation, foremost of which is the right to citizenship, dignity and equality in holding public office. Women have the right to hold public office and occupy positions of all levels.

Accordingly, we ask your Excellency to act upon our memo by retracting the decision of excluding the complainant and duly giving her the opportunity to occupy the position of magistrate judge.

With all due respect,

Issued on 05/10/2017

MUSAWA

Attachments:

- A copy of the complaint of Huda Adwan.

- A copy of the recruitment decision.

- A copy of the decision to exclude the complainant.