Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of Palestinian People (CEIRPP)
This United Nations committee was created in 1975, by General Assembly (GA) resolution 3376, and its main aim was to recommend a “program of implementation to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights to self-determination without external interference, national independence and sovereignty; and to return to their homes and property”[1]. Lately, the GA has enlarged committee’s mandate and established the Division for Palestinian Rights as its secretariat.
Nowadays, the members of the Committee are: Ambassador Paul Badji (Senegal) as Chairman, Ambassador. Ravan Farhâdi (Afghanistan) and Ambassador Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz (Cuba) as Vice-Chairmen, and Ambassador Victor Camilleri (Malta) as Rapporteur.
The topics established on CEIRPP are the following: 1. the impact on Israel’s separation barrier on Palestinian Livelihoods; 2. Palestinian Women and Decision Making; 3. The Right to Basic Human Rights of the Palestinian Children.
About first topic, Relief Web (a web page administered by UN office for Humanitarian Affairs, and dedicated to launch information on humanitarian issues) published a special report named “The impact of Israel’s separation barrier on affected West Bank communities”, which indicates separation wall will affect Palestinians economic activities, social services, and commercial exchange, contributing as well to impoverish those Palestinian groups established on Israel-facing side of the barrier (according to UN estimations).
Topic two, Palestinian Women and Decision Making, is another issue concerning international community. In order to attend this requirement, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in its recent report presented in February 2006 “Arab Women in Public Life and Decision Making”, assumed there is some progress on gender equality on Arabs territories, but many women have been facing several obstacles to obtain jobs, to participate on public offices and mass media, for example[2].
On The Right to Basic Human Rights of the Palestinian Children, topic three of the committee, Human Rights Watch has published a special investigation called “Discrimination Against Palestinian Arab Children on Israeli Schools” which indicates as one of the conclusions: a big disparity between Arab school system and Jewish system (in Israel there are two school systems), for example: Israeli Education Ministry invests less per student in the Arab system than in the Jewish school system, Palestinian Arab teachers on average have lower qualifications and receive lower salaries than non-Palestinian Arab teachers; many Palestinian Arab students who might otherwise have academic or professional aspirations are excluded from higher education by an examination system established firstly for the Jewish majority's school system--the point at which the two unequal systems converge.
Although these topics are quite important for CEIRPP and its activities for Arab Palestinians rights, there is an issue regarding to economic situation on West Bank and Gaza Strip, as The World Bank Group (WBG) has recalled in its recent publication: “West Bank and Gaza Update”. The WBG said these regions are facing the worst economic crisis in their histories, and if this situation continues throughout 2006, the report predicts the average of Palestinian’s incomes will fall between 40% and 67% by the end of the year. So, economic crisis on Palestinian areas should be the fourth topic to discuss on UN Committee, in order to evaluate and provide effective solutions in this regard.
[1] http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/qpalnew/committee.htm
[2]http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/1ce874ab1832a53e852570bb006dfaf6/046c1ef30a509daa852571840053230a/$FILE/escwa%20scu06pamphlet1.pdf
Nowadays, the members of the Committee are: Ambassador Paul Badji (Senegal) as Chairman, Ambassador. Ravan Farhâdi (Afghanistan) and Ambassador Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz (Cuba) as Vice-Chairmen, and Ambassador Victor Camilleri (Malta) as Rapporteur.
The topics established on CEIRPP are the following: 1. the impact on Israel’s separation barrier on Palestinian Livelihoods; 2. Palestinian Women and Decision Making; 3. The Right to Basic Human Rights of the Palestinian Children.
About first topic, Relief Web (a web page administered by UN office for Humanitarian Affairs, and dedicated to launch information on humanitarian issues) published a special report named “The impact of Israel’s separation barrier on affected West Bank communities”, which indicates separation wall will affect Palestinians economic activities, social services, and commercial exchange, contributing as well to impoverish those Palestinian groups established on Israel-facing side of the barrier (according to UN estimations).
Topic two, Palestinian Women and Decision Making, is another issue concerning international community. In order to attend this requirement, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in its recent report presented in February 2006 “Arab Women in Public Life and Decision Making”, assumed there is some progress on gender equality on Arabs territories, but many women have been facing several obstacles to obtain jobs, to participate on public offices and mass media, for example[2].
On The Right to Basic Human Rights of the Palestinian Children, topic three of the committee, Human Rights Watch has published a special investigation called “Discrimination Against Palestinian Arab Children on Israeli Schools” which indicates as one of the conclusions: a big disparity between Arab school system and Jewish system (in Israel there are two school systems), for example: Israeli Education Ministry invests less per student in the Arab system than in the Jewish school system, Palestinian Arab teachers on average have lower qualifications and receive lower salaries than non-Palestinian Arab teachers; many Palestinian Arab students who might otherwise have academic or professional aspirations are excluded from higher education by an examination system established firstly for the Jewish majority's school system--the point at which the two unequal systems converge.
Although these topics are quite important for CEIRPP and its activities for Arab Palestinians rights, there is an issue regarding to economic situation on West Bank and Gaza Strip, as The World Bank Group (WBG) has recalled in its recent publication: “West Bank and Gaza Update”. The WBG said these regions are facing the worst economic crisis in their histories, and if this situation continues throughout 2006, the report predicts the average of Palestinian’s incomes will fall between 40% and 67% by the end of the year. So, economic crisis on Palestinian areas should be the fourth topic to discuss on UN Committee, in order to evaluate and provide effective solutions in this regard.
[1] http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/qpalnew/committee.htm
[2]http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/1ce874ab1832a53e852570bb006dfaf6/046c1ef30a509daa852571840053230a/$FILE/escwa%20scu06pamphlet1.pdf
posted by AnaMeli at 7:10 PM
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