The UN’s 45-member Commission on the Status of Women singled out Israel today as the only country in the world subjected to a condemnatory resolution concerning women’s rights.
The Jewish state was harshly and repeatedly condemned in the resolution for allegedly being the “major obstacle” for Palestinian women “with regard to their advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development of their society.”
The resolution made no mention of how Palestinian women’s rights are impacted by Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, or their patriarchal society, nor were Palestinian victims of “honor killings” mentioned.
The UN commission ended the session by ignoring the world’s major abusers of women’s rights, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, and many others.
Here is the resolution adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women on March 24, 2016, and then subsequently ratified by its parent body, the Economic and Social Council. The vote in the CSW was 20 to 2 (Israel & USA opposing), with 11 abstentions (and 12 apparently absent).
The protocols of the meeting:
At the 13th meeting, on 23 March, the observer of Thailand, on behalf of the States that are members of the Group of 77 and China, taking into account also the provisions of General Assembly resolution 52/250 of 7 July 1998, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women” (E/CN.6/2016/L.3)
At the 14th meeting, on 24 March, the Commission was informed that the draft resolution contained no programme budget implications.
At the same meeting, Turkey joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.Also at the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution by a recorded vote of 20 to 2, with 11 abstentions, and recommended it to the Economic and Social Council for its final adoption (see chap. I, sect. B, draft resolution II). The voting was as follows:
In favour:
Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russian Federation, Sudan, Tajikistan, Uruguay.
Against:
Israel, United States of America.
Abstaining:
Albania, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Finland, Germany, Japan, Liechtenstein, Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland.
Before the vote, statements were made by the representatives of Israel, Finland (also on behalf of the Member States of the European Union), Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Switzerland.
After the vote, statements were made by the representatives of the United States of America and Japan.
After the vote, a statement was also made by the observer of the State of Palestine.
(Source: CSW report on the 60th session)
