[women-rights] Prominent Israeli and Palestinian women leaders to hold unprecedented meeting at UN with women heads of state to initiate new Middle East peace negotiations

Delegation of Israeli, Palestinian and international women leaders achieve
historic agreement on principles for Middle East peace and urge
international support.

UNIFEM Press release 
18 September 2006 

United Nations, New York -- A delegation of top Israeli, Palestinian and
international women leaders arrive at the United Nations on September 20th
to meet with President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen, at a time
when Finland holds the Presidency of the European Union, in an effort to
marshal high-level political pressure to restart negotiations in the
region. Joining the President of Finland will be President Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Africa's first elected woman head of state,
who traveled to the occupied Palestinian territory in 2001 to hear the
stories of women living in conflict as part of the Independent Experts'
Assessment on the impact of war on women, commissioned by the United
Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). It is hoped that together
these leaders, representing both the North and the South, can begin to
focus international attention on the need to resolve the long-standing
Israeli-Palestinian conflict so as to prevent broader conflict in the
region. Taking advantage of the opening of the 61st Session of the UN
General Assembly, they are also meeting with Mr. Amr Moussa, who heads the
League of Arab States, and with critical foreign ministers, as well as
with high-level UN officials.

The International Women's Commission for a Just and Sustainable
Israeli-Palestinian Peace (IWC) convened in 2005 by Noeleen Heyzer, the
Executive Director of UNIFEM, at the urging of Israeli and Palestinian
women leaders, was established to ensure the meaningful participation of
women in mainstream peace negotiations. IWC maintains that implementing UN
Security Council Resolution 1325, which mandates women's involvement in
conflict resolution, is critical to restarting negotiations and improving
their outcomes. The IWC charter stresses the goal of bringing an end to
Israeli occupation through immediate final status negotiations, leading to
a viable sovereign Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel. Since
its inception, IWC has succeeded in joining women living in different
realities and experiences to speak out on the most difficult political
issues in one voice.

Leading the delegation to New York are Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, Member of the
Palestinian Legislative Council, and Dr. Naomi Chazan, former Deputy
Speaker of the Israeli Knesset and professor of political science, Hebrew
University of Jerusalem.

The IWC has agreed to the following principles, which will be presented to
the heads of state in New York:

* Civilian lives, especially those of women and children, must not be used
as bargaining chips in efforts to resolve the escalating conflict in the
region.

* Negotiations and mutual agreements are the only legitimate means to
bring about a just and sustainable solution. Unilateral measures will
undermine a two-state solution and never bring lasting peace.

* The Arab League Initiative of 2002 provides an appropriate framework for
the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and for comprehensive
peace in the region. This initiative could lead to the realization of "a
new Middle East" that the people in the region desire, rather than one
that would be externally imposed.

* The escalating crisis demands an international conference be held
immediately to launch permanent status negotiations based on relevant UN
resolutions and international law and to decide mechanisms for
implementation.

* In the interim, the international community must insist on a complete
cessation of hostilities and protection of people in both Lebanon and the
occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), according to international law. This
should be followed by the promotion of good will measures such as:
exchange of prisoners; free movement of people and goods and the cessation
of the construction of the separation wall in oPt to pave the way to
permanent settlement negotiations.

Members of the IWC at the UN meeting will include: Dr. Hanan Ashrawi,
Member, Palestinian Legislative Council; Ms. Zahira Kamal, former Minister
of Women's Affairs, Palestinian Authority; Ms. Samia Y.M. Bamieh, former
Director of European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Dr. Naomi
Chazan, Professor of Political Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem;
Ms. Aida Touma-Sliman, General Director, Women against Violence
Organization; Dr. Galia Golan, Professor Emeritus, Hebrew University of
Jerusalem; Ms. Leire Pajin Iraola, State Secretary for International
Cooperation, Spain; Ms. Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of UNIFEM; and
other prominent international figures from Europe and the United States.

In August, 2005 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recognized the IWC
through an official decree. Before leaving for the UN meeting, the
Palestinian delegation met with President Abbas to brief him and gained
his support. In Israel, the IWC launch coincided with the adoption in the
Knesset of a law calling for implementation of UN Security Council
Resolution 1325, giving credence to the IWC.

With support of its international members and facilitation of UNIFEM, an
IWC delegation visited Brussels in December 2005 to meet with EU
officials. A visit to New York and Washington took place in May 2006,
providing the IWC with a dialogue with high-level officials in the United
Nations and in Washington, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
and UN Under-Secretary for Political Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari.

Going forward, the IWC hopes to achieve a breakthrough in negotiations and
offer policymakers a stake in resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict with
fresh, incisive political analysis and innovative proposals from women
leaders for actions and strategies that can serve to advance the peace
process.

Media Inquiries: 
Nanette Braun, Communications Specialist, UNIFEM Headquarters, +1 
212-906-6829