2019-12-24

West Bank and Gaza Strip

Human Rights Defenders / West Bank / Gaza / Announcement / position paper

MUSAWA Demands the Government to Retract Its Latest Statement on CEDAW

His Excellency Prime Minister, Dr. Mohammad Ishtayya, 

MUSAWA- the Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession extends its warmest greetings to your Excellency, expressing its deepest regret over the wording of the opening statement of the session held by the Council of Ministers on 23/12/2019, which included that: "Our religious and national values rise above everything, in accordance with the decision of the Constitutional Court and the Declaration of Independence, and safeguard our honor, the unity of our society and the rule of law," and that the government will continue to preserve those principles and values and will not consider anything inconsistent with them.

Mr. Prime Minister, we hope that you will accept our openness with indulgence and that you consider our view regarding the grave dangers threatening the legitimacy of Palestine's membership in the international community, which requires the Member State's commitment to the constitutional and legal principles that guarantee, protect and adhere to human rights, on the premise that human rights are universal and indivisible, that the adherence to them is not subject to debate, instead, they shall be guaranteed and implemented, as human rights shall are not subject of discussion, but rather shall be preserved, and any violation against them shall be repelled, and those who violate them shall be held accountable. 

We remind you Excellency of the contents of article 9 of the Basic Law that constitutes a social contract and a legal basis governing the powers of the State of Palestine and the rights of its citizens, which provides that Palestinians shall be equal before the law and the judiciary, without distinction based upon race, sex, color, religion, political views or disability, and the contents of article 10 of the same law, which provides that basic human rights and liberties shall be protected and respected, and obliged the Palestinian National Authority to work without delay to become a party to regional and international declarations and covenants that protect human rights. 

Recalling that the definition of a human being is not subject to discrimination, and includes both male and female citizens, as provided in article 26 of the Basic Law, which proves that Palestinians –males and females - shall have the right to participate in political life, both individually and in groups, and guaranteed them the rights to form, establish and join political parties, to form and establish unions, associations, societies, clubs, and popular institutions, to vote, to nominate candidates and to run as candidates for election, and to hold public office and positions, with full equality between women and men. In addition, we recall article 29 of the Basic Law, which considers maternal and childhood welfare as national duties, and article 32 of the same law, which criminalize any violation of any personal –women and men- freedom, of the sanctity of the private life of human beings, or of any of the rights or liberties that have been guaranteed by the preamble of the Basic law or in its second title, which address the public in the capacity of citizenship and without discrimination between men and women, since housing, education, work, and health are among the basic rights of all citizens as provided by the constitutional principles and rights contained therein.

Mr. Prime Minister, we express our shock at the statement of the Council of Ministers, as it makes an arbitrary distinction between the values of our people, the principles of their religions, and the human rights enshrined in international covenants and conventions, including the CEDAW Convention, which serves as a guide for the acceding States, including the State of Palestine, to embody the principle of equality between men and women in all spheres of life, and urges them to work diligently to reflect that equality in legislation, resolutions, and culture. Our shock stems from our firm belief that the principles of religion and the identity of our people, which are mentioned in the introduction of the Basic Law and constitute an integral part of it, and our national struggle for liberation, self-determination, and the establishment of an independent State with Jerusalem as its capital, and our international and humanitarian discourse, through which we earned the membership of the State of Palestine in the United Nations, would not have succeeded without the international community’s belief that the State of Palestine is committed to international legitimacy and human rights, which loses the legitimacy and legitimacy of its membership in the international community. Therefore, any deviation from this approach would undermine the international confidence in the State of Palestine and would lead it to lose the legitimacy of its membership in the international community.

Mr. Prime Minister, with all due respect for all those in the public service, we note that the statement issued by your Government is based on one of the jurisprudences of the Constitutional Court, in clear contradiction with the previous jurisprudences of the same court, which is still subject to societal controversy in terms of formulation, legitimacy and performance, not to mention that this jurisprudence, which has been refuted by Egyptian, Jordanian, and Palestinian experts in constitutional law, does not justify the issuance of positions or statements that would undermine international confidence in the State of Palestine and would help the enemies of the Palestine in their endeavor to diminish international support for our people and for their national cause, which would amount to labeling it with attributions of terrorism, and abrogating its membership in the institutions of the international community, by using different claims, including that our people do not adhere to the constitutional principles that guarantee human rights and that they are committed to them, and by notifying the countries of the world that the Palestinian people are not qualified to build their state and attain independence under the same pretexts and reasons, the foremost among which is the failure to implement the international conventions to which the State of Palestine is a party, including the International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which was adopted at the General Assembly 40 years ago today.

Mr. Prime Minister, as we note that many presidential and judicial decisions have complied with the principles of the Convention and taken serious, concrete, and announced steps towards observing them, we believe that all governmental bodies should embark on embodying equality between Palestinian men and women, by reviewing, suspending and developing discriminatory legislation against women, ensuring that they realize the principle of equality, and by taking all necessary measures to promote the Communitarian Culture and relations between citizens to embody equality and exclude any discrimination therein. Recalling that when the President signed the instruments of accession to a number of international covenants and conventions, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, he signed them in his capacity as the President of the State of Palestine and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the presence of the representatives of the State and factions and before the media, thereby confirming the morals and values of the State of Palestine by accession and adherence to international conventions on human rights, while being attentive to the fact that the Palestine Liberation Organization commitment to respect human rights and the equality of male and female citizens is the reason for the receiving the international recognition represented in the membership in the United Nations in 1974, and enshrined in the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988.

We, therefore, call upon your Excellency and the honorable Government members to reverse the statement and to publish the international conventions and treaties to which the State of Palestine is a party in the Official Gazette of the State of Palestine and to adopt a comprehensive national plan to realize the principle of equality between women and men, emphasizing that any committee or official body charged with implementing that plan shall be obligated to implement the conventions and obligations of the State of Palestine, and to respect their binding effect, wishing you success and success.

With All Due Respect,

Issued on 24/12/2019

MUSAWA