ECOSOC Resolution 2005/43 Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women
The Economic and Social Council, Having considered with appreciation the report of the SecretaryGeneral on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women,1 Recalling the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,2 in particular paragraph 260 concerning Palestinian women and children, the Beijing Platform for Action3 adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twentyfirst century",4 Recalling also its resolution 2004/56 of 23 July 2004 and other relevant United Nations resolutions, Recalling further the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women5 as it concerns the protection of civilian populations, Expressing the urgent need for the full resumption of negotiations within the Middle East peace process on its agreed basis and towards the speedy achievement of a final settlement between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, Concerned about the grave situation of Palestinian women in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, resulting from severe impact of ongoing illegal Israeli settlement activities and the unlawful construction of the wall, as well as the severe consequences arising from Israeli military operations on and sieges of civilian areas, which have detrimentally impacted their social and economic conditions and deepened the humanitarian crisis faced by them and their families, Recalling the advisory opinion rendered on 9 July 2004 by the International Court of Justice on the "Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory",6 and recalling also General Assembly resolution ES-10/15 of 20 July 2004, Recalling also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,7 the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights8 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child,9 and affirming

E/CN.6/2005/4. Report of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, Nairobi, 15-26 July 1985 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.85.IV.10), chap. I, sect. A. 3 Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 4-15 September 1995 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.IV.13), chap. I, resolution 1, annex II. 4 See General Assembly resolution S-23/2 and S-23/3. 5 See General Assembly resolution 48/104. 6 See A/ES-10/273 and Corr.1. 7 General Assembly resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. 8 General Assembly resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. 9 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531.
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that these human rights instruments must be respected in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, Expressing its condemnation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction, especially the excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians, many of them women and children, resulting in injury and loss of human life, 1. Calls upon the concerned parties, as well as the international community, to exert all the necessary efforts to ensure the full resumption of the peace process on its agreed basis, taking into account the common ground already gained, and calls for measures for tangible improvement of the difficult situation on the ground and the living conditions faced by Palestinian women and their families; 2. Reaffirms that the Israeli occupation remains a major obstacle for Palestinian women with regard to their advancement, selfreliance and integration in the development planning of their society; 3. Demands that Israel, the occupying power, comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,10 the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention IV of 18 October 190711 and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949,12 in order to protect the rights of Palestinian women and their families; 4. Calls upon Israel to facilitate the return of all refugees and displaced Palestinian women and children to their homes and properties, in compliance with the relevant United Nations resolutions; 5. Calls upon the international community to continue to provide urgently needed assistance and services in an effort to alleviate the dire humanitarian crisis being faced by Palestinian women and their families and to help in the reconstruction of relevant Palestinian institutions; 6. Requests the Commission on the Status of Women to continue to monitor and take action with regard to the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,13 in particular paragraph 260 concerning Palestinian women and children, the Beijing Platform for Action14 and the outcome documents of the special session of the General Assembly entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twentyfirst century";15 7. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to review the situation, to assist Palestinian women by all available means, including those laid out in the report of the Secretary-General entitled "Situation
General Assembly resolution 217 A (III). See Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Hague Conventions and Declarations of 1899 and 1907 (New York, Oxford University Press, 1915). 12 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973. 13 Report of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, Nairobi, 1526 July 1985 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.85.IV.10), chap. I, sect. A. 14 Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 4-15 September 1995 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.IV.13), chap. I, resolution 1, annex II. 15 See General Assembly resolution S-23/2 and S-23/3.
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of and assistance to Palestinian women" Commission on the Status of Women at its including information provided by the Commission for Western Asia, on the implementation of the present resolution.

and to submit to the fiftieth session a report, Economic and Social progress made in the

39th plenary meeting 26 July 2005