{"id":316152,"date":"2026-03-18T11:45:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T15:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?p=316152"},"modified":"2026-04-10T11:22:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:22:50","slug":"427th-committee-meeting-18-march-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/427th-committee-meeting-18-march-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"427th Committee Meeting on “Discriminatory Laws and Policies against Palestinian Women and Girls under Israeli Occupation” \u2013 18 March 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

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On 18 March 2026, the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People convened its 427th meeting on \u201cDiscriminatory Laws and Policies against Palestinian Women and Girls under Israeli Occupation: Justice Demands Accountability\u201d held on the margins of the seventieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women at United Nations Headquarters. However, four of the participants spoke by video from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, due to a combination of United States visa restrictions on Palestinian passports, and the unpredictable airspace in the Middle East.
\nIn her opening remarks\u00a0Mona Al-Khalil<\/strong>, Minister for Women\u2019s Affairs for the State of Palestine, stressed that Palestinian women have always been a fundamental pillar of resilience as mothers, community leaders, teachers and healers. \u00a0In the current Israeli aggression, \u201cdaily life for Palestinian women has become much more difficult, while the responsibilities within families and societies have multiplied\u201d.\u00a0 Women\u2019s economic empowerment is one of the \u201ckey elements of Palestinian society\u2019s recovery\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n

The meeting examined how Israeli occupation policies affect Palestinian women\u2019s rights, particularly their access to justice and essential services. Speakers highlighted how conflict, displacement and legal barriers disproportionately affect women in Gaza and the West Bank, stressing the need to end impunity for human rights violations. \u201cI am speaking to you today\u201d from \u201ca Gaza Strip that is without justice\u201d, Amal Syam<\/strong>, Director of the civil society organization Women Affairs Centre, said, addressing the gendered impact of the war on Gaza. \u00a0Access to justice requires a fair legislative environment and supportive social and economic structures so that women can enjoy their rights without fear of destruction or displacement. \u00a0But international laws and human rights conventions failed to protect the 33,000 women, including 9,000 mothers, killed by Israel, or the hundreds of thousands who now live in overcrowded, unsanitary camps, she said.<\/p>\n

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The Committee also heard from two human rights lawyers who addressed access to justice and accountability, including through reparations and restitutions.<\/p>\n

Sawsan Zaher<\/strong>, speaking from Haifa, stressed that the Israeli legal system was intentionally created to allow for impunity, as repeatedly demonstrated through various military campaigns against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. \u00a0It has never been neutral. Citing several specific cases that failed to bring about accountability, she declared: \u201cThe system is basically built to defend any operation of the [Israeli] army.\u201d Grave violations that continue to go unpunished include rape, taking humiliating pictures of women and their intimate clothing and looting Palestinian homes.\u00a0 Meanwhile, she said, the Israeli High Court, the only body able to provide judicial review over the Army, refuses to engage with international fact-finding missions or intervene in such cases.<\/p>\n

Speaking from Ramallah, human rights lawyer Lina Fattom<\/strong> highlighted the need for reparations \u2014 a mechanism well-enshrined in international law to restore a situation to how it would have been without the wrongful act. The primary form of reparations has been \u201crestitution\u201d, and this can take many forms, including the return of people to their land. \u00a0When restitution is not available, it can take the shape of compensation and rehabilitation \u2014 including medical, psychological and legal \u2014 among others. She went on to detail the many different types of violations in the West Bank and identify possible reparations. \u00a0For instance, reparations for the violation of the right of return are restitution, compensation for losses and guarantees of non-repetition. \u00a0\u201cWhile reparations can happen during a peace treaty, they can also happen through justice mechanisms such as courts,\u201d she pointed out, adding that third States can and must enable Palestinians access to justice through international or State-based courts. Reparations must be gender-sensitive and consider the heightened harm women and girls experience in occupation, she added. \u00a0Loss of property disproportionately affects them because they often bear the burden of maintaining families. \u00a0They also face increased risk of sexual violence and exploitation during displacement and detention.<\/p>\n

Along similar lines, Carol Daniel-Kasbari<\/strong>, Senior Associate Director for Conflict Resolution at the Carter Center, stressed the need to bring a gender lens to current political initiatives for the reconstruction of Gaza.\u00a0 This is not just about including women, but about helping them have a real voice in shaping the future, she said. \u00a0She cited a recently released Palestinian detainee who described feeling as through she \u201chad disappeared into a system where no one could see or hear us\u201d. \u00a0\u201cThat invisibility is, in itself, a form of discrimination,\u201d she said. She detailed how detention, movement restrictions and loss of documents impact Palestinian women in ways that are both political and personal. \u00a0\u201cLosing papers is not symbolic,\u201d she said \u2014 without records, people cannot prove land ownership, unify family members or access public services. \u00a0For female-headed households, this causes prolonged legal uncertainty. \u00a0The implementation of General Assembly resolution\u00a0ES-10\/24<\/a> is key because it will impact how political and administrative arrangements are designed, she said. \u00a0It will shape the institutions that shape recovery and if the gender lens is ignored, \u201cinequalities risk being built into the system\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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