General Union of Palestinian Women

The National Strategy for the Advancement of Palestinian Women 

II.  Strategic Components

1. In the Political Realm:

A. Challenging occupation and struggling towards attaining  national independence:

Objectives

1. To implement international resolutions that ensure the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people the right of return, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital.

2. To develop the various methods of Palestinian women's participation in the national, political and social struggle in Palestine and abroad, in order to fulfill the Palestinian aims.

3. To provide support for Palestinian Jerusalemite women to preserve their full rights in Jerusalem.

4. To free unconditionally all political prisoners in Israeli jails.

5. To support Arab women's struggle and resistance of occupation and sieges.

6. To consolidate global coordination with women in their struggle for peace, equality and development.

Procedures:

1. To mobilize Palestinian, Arab and international public opinion to exert pressure on Israel to comply with international legitimacy and signed agreements with the PLO and  the PA, guaranteeing an end to the occupation and the preservation of the integrity of Palestinian land  and ensuring  the sovereignty  of the Palestinian people over their land.

2. To work towards eliminating settlements and putting an end to Israeli land expropriation and control over water resources.

3. To exert pressure on Israel to put an end to closures and  sieges  and the pursuit and the persecution of Palestinian youth.

4. To oblige Israel to free all Arab prisoners unconditionally in accordance with the signed agreements.

5. To ensure active participation of Palestinian women in the various solidarity activities of Arab women in their struggle to free the Golan Heights and Southern Lebanon and towards lifting the siege imposed on Iraq, Libya and Sudan.

6. To urge women in peace movements world-wide to hold activities within their societies for the support of Palestinian women's demands for ending the Israeli occupation and for the implementation of the international legitimate decisions.

B.  Ensuring the Return of Refugee Women:

Description of Problems:

When the Zionists occupied Palestinian lands, most of the Palestinian people were forced to leave their country.  Since 1948 Israel has disregarded all International resolutions concerning the rights of Palestinian people, particularly, resolution 194, which states the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland. Thus, more than half of the Palestinian people continued to live in various host countries that have different political, economic and social systems and varying circumstances. Members of   Palestinian families were dispersed, which led to the loss of the familial element of security, in addition to social and political security. These losses had a tremendous negative impact on women refugees both within their country and abroad.

Objectives:

1. To use all the possible means to pursue the implementation of the United Nations resolution No. 194 which guarantees the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

2. To maintain UNRWA's full services for the Palestinian refugees until their return and to refuse all attempts at naturalizing them in their host countries.

3. To ensure the reunification of Palestinian families and their repatriation in accordance with the Human Rights Declaration.

4. To guarantee the civil rights of Palestinians in the Diaspora i.e. their right to work and freedom of movement and travel.

5. To ensure the participation of refugee women in committees and bodies that organize the life and affairs of refugee camps until their return.

6. To implement all signed agreements concerning the refugee right of return.

Procedures:

1. To exert pressure on Israel on both the Arab and International fronts to obligate it to comply with UN Resolution 194

2. To call upon the United Nations member countries to abide by their commitment to finance UNRWA in order for it maintain and improve its medical, educational and social services in refugee camps until the return of the refugees.

3. To exert pressure on Israel in order to comply with and implement the agreements signed with the PLO concerning the right of return for Palestinian refugees and the reunification of dispersed Palestinian families.

4. To develop and consolidate the role of the General Union of Palestinian Women in the Diaspora and to provide the necessary resources required for rehabilitation and training of women living in  camps, and resources for small and medium - size projects that women supervise with the aim of improving the living conditions of Palestinian families.