On International Women’s Day: Adalah Asks Attorney General to Send Translations and Instructions to Ministries to Implement UN Recommendations on Arab Women’s Rights
On International Women’s Day:
Adalah Asks Attorney General to Send Translations and Instructions to Ministries to Implement UN Recommendations on Arab Women’s Rights
- No translation or publication of these documents currently exists
- UN human rights treaty bodies issue recommendations following input from Adalah and other civil society organizations
- Main recommendations: fight girls’ drop-out rates in Arab schools; reduce infant and mother mortality gaps between Jews and Arabs; increase job opportunities for women; ensure equal pay for women
(Haifa, Israel) Yesterday, 7 March 2012, in advance of international women’s day, Adalah sent a letter to the Attorney General of Israel requesting that he issue directives to the Israeli government to translate the recommendations of United Nations human rights treaty bodies regarding the rights of women into Hebrew and Arabic, and that he ensure that the relevant ministries adopt them. The UN human rights bodies issue recommendations following reviews of Israel’s compliance with various international human rights treaties ratified by Israel. Israel is bound to respect and implement these conventions. Adalah Attorney SawsanZaher sent the letter.
UN human rights committees hold review sessions of State Parties to the conventions on a regular basis. Adalah submits reports to these committees on Israel’s compliance with these conventions regarding the human rights of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, and participates in these review sessions at the UN in Geneva. The concluding observations and recommendations issued by these committees often include information on Arab citizens of Israel put forward by Adalah. To date, the Israeli government has failed to comply with its duties under these conventions by not disseminating the information nationally and setting forth a practical, effective plan to implement the recommendations.
Key committee recommendations to Israel include the following:
UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW) – recommends taking the necessary measures to reduce the phenomenon of girls dropping out of school, especially Arab and Bedouin Arab girls in the Negev, in addition to working to increase the proportion of Arab women in higher educational institutions by creating targeted scholarships. The Committee also recommends that Israel focus on creating job opportunities for Arab women to increase their entry into “masculine” sectors. Other recommendations include working to reduce gaps in health between Arabs and Jews by creating health facilities for Arab citizens, and to reduce the gap in child and mother mortality rates between Arabs, especially Arab Bedouin, and Jews. The Committee expressed concern about the low percentage of women in public and political spheres, and urged Israel to increase the representation of women in decision-making processes.
UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND CULTURAL RIGHTS (CESCR) - expressed concern about the disparities between men and women in a number of areas. For example, the Committee urged Israel to take steps to ensure equal pay for men and women in the Arab and Jewish community. The Committee also recommended that Israel increase accessibility to health, education, and employment services for Arab Bedouin women in the Negev. Finally, the committee recommended that Israel provide services and create educational programs in sexual and reproductive health and childbirth for all sectors of society, including Arabs.
