Madam Chair,
At the outset, please allow me, on behalf of the delegation of the State of Palestine, to congratulate you on your election to the presidency of this important commission. We wish you and all members of the Bureau all success.
I would also like to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for his report regarding “the Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women” (E/CN.6/2015/5), in which the tragic situation of Palestinian women is addressed. The report stated: “expressed deep concern about the grave situation of Palestinian women in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the critical socioeconomic and humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.” Moreover, it emphasized that: “Restrictions on movement and access, increased settlement expansion and settler violence, demolitions of Palestinian infrastructure and displacement, the fragmentation of the territory and the closure of the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly the Gaza Strip, continue to have a negative gender differentiated impact on the lives of Palestinian women and their families.” My delegation considers this report to be very important however, we would like to express our concern regarding how this tragic situation was portrayed as the result of a conflict between two equal parties, Israel and Palestine, rather than taking into consideration that the Palestinian people have been suffering for more than 48 years under Israel’s illegal colonial military occupation and its oppressive and racist practices. [Read more…]
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