Palestine Update - March 2010

Consultation with Women Leaders from Inclusive Security’s Roster of Palestinian Women Experts
Building on a consultation held in November 2009 - during which women leaders began to identify priorities for increasing their participation in peace negotiations and Palestinian governance - on March 20-21, 2010, The Institute and MIFTAH reconvened a group of female experts from Inclusive Security’s roster of Palestinian women experts. This March workshop, with 15 participants from a variety of backgrounds, engaged participants to develop concrete recommendations to elevate women’s voices in the peace process.

Building on the November 2009 consultation in Ramallah, consultation participants were introduced to global examples of women working together in informal national coalitions to advance women's priorities. The group then discussed what it would mean for Palestinian women to work together in such a coalition and, if they did, where they should focus their work. After discussing at length where they could be most effective, participants decided to work as a coalition and to focus their efforts to increase women's influence in three key issue areas:

• women’s participation in negotiations,
• implementation of and accountability to UNSCR 1325,
• and protection of women on the ground.

To advance their efforts as a coalition, participants also identified three audiences for their advocacy: the United Nations, international conveners of negotiations - including the Quartet, and international civil society organizations.

The women experts then divided into two groups and began to develop specific recommendations for each of these audiences to address their identified priorities. These recommendations outlined concrete strategies for policymakers to better involve women and their priorities in negotiations and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and increase women’s leadership in peace and security in Palestinian society. The women experts then identified specific next steps, which included the finalization of recommendations, before Inclusive Security returns to the region in the summer to support the coalition in developing a strategic plan for advocacy.

Research
While in Palestine, Inclusive Security conducted interviews to research the history and influence of Palestinian women on the negotiations. Staff met with: 

• Lucy Nusseibeh, long-time Palestinian Women Waging Peace Network member and founder of Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy.
• Hiba Husseini, chair of the legal committee for the Palestinian Negotiations Support Unit.
• Naila Ayesh, Women Waging Peace Network member and director of the Gaza Women’s Affairs Center, and Jamal Zakout, senior advisor to Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
• Muzna Shihabi Barthe, communications adviser to the Palestinian Negotiations Support Unit
• Aida Touma-Sliman, director of Women Against Violence
• Zahira Kamal, director of the Palestinian Women Research and Documentation Center and former Minister of Women's Affairs

For more information on the March 2010 trip or Inclusive Security's work in Palestine, please contact Allison Shean or Rebecca Miller.