Palestine adopted its first National Action Plan (NAP) in for the period 2017-2019. The NAP was developed by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs as the head of the Higher National Committee for the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 and integrates the directions of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Advocacy Strategy, which was developed by the National Coalition for Implementing UNSCR 1325 in 2015.
Palestine adopted its most recent National Action Plan (NAP) for the period 2020-2024. Development was led by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA), in close consultation with members of the National Committee for the Implementation of UNSCR 1325. This NAP focuses on four pillars: prevention and protection; accountability; participation; relief and recovery. Palestine’s second NAP echoes its first in protecting women and girls from the impacts of occupation and conflict, holding the Israeli occupation accountable, and enhancing the participation of Palestinian women in local and international decision-making processes. It also responded to changing priorities such as the need to include interventions focusing on women and girls in the Jordan Valley and other areas affected by Israeli annexation, as well as women’s participation in COVID-19 recovery and rehabilitation efforts.
Palestine reported on the implementation of its NAP, as well as WPS commitments, in its national reporting for Beijing+25 and in preparation for CSW64. Specifically, Palestine provided the following updates, among others:
- Commitments related to women, peace, and security have been integrated in frameworks of policies, planning and monitoring at national level and inter-ministerial levels. (p. 57)
- The Council of Ministers approved the National Strategic Framework for Resolution 1325. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs in August 2016, through the National Committee for the Implementation of Resolution 1325, launched the National Implementation Plan for Implementation of Resolution 1325. To integrate the commitments of women, peace and security into policy and planning frameworks, the Council of Ministers issued clear instructions to all Government institutions to integrate the activities of the Executive Plan of Resolution 1325 into the programmes of the relevant ministries. (p. 57)
- Capacity of service providers has been built on how to deal with cases of affected women. For example, 200 service providers (75 in the Ministry of Interior, 100 in the Ministry of Health and 25 in the Ministry of Social Development) were trained out of 375 planned during the implementation years of the plan. Fifty employees of the security establishment were trained on the concept of the decision and the mechanism of integration in the plans, programmes and budgets for implementation purposes. Another 50 people were trained on the mechanism of documenting violations of the occupation such as abuse of women and children. Twenty five employees of social service providers were trained on dealing with women victims of occupation violence. (p. 59)
Palestine has been under long-lasting Israeli occupation, including several waves of military and political aggression, beginning with the 1948 war to the 1967 occupation of the West Bank and Gaza as well as the settlement building and the ongoing instability across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Over 5.1 million Palestinians live under Israeli occupation, with increasing threats of mass evictions in areas such as Sheikh Jarrah. The occupation has had a disproportionate impact on women as well as spillover effects, with Palestinian refugees living in neighboring countries, including Lebanon and Jordan.