An International Women’s Commission For a Just, Comprehensive, and Sustainable Peace in the Middle East
Bat Shalom and Jerusalem Center for Women, The Jerusalem Link Concept Paper, July 2003

Justification:

Over the years, women have developed a model of political dialogue and contributed significantly to peace making efforts on both sides of the conflict. Despite our role and accomplishments, we are absent in political decision making processes in both Palestine and Israel. Women have no voice in the negotiations related to our conflict, and are excluded by international bodies and states. These facts urge the prompt establishment of an on-going, tripartite women’s commission of empowered women of Israel, Palestine and the International Community. This International Women’s Commission (IWC), mandated with an oversight/advisory mission, will offer a vital gender perspective in ending the occupation, peace making, peace keeping, and foreign policy. An IWC will be one of the means to include a major sector of civil society on both sides in the formal process of peace making. Therefore, we ask the Quartet to recognize and endorse the International Women’s Commission and to integrate it into all applicable political frameworks according to the following objectives, ways and means, and participatory principles.

Objectives:

1) Provide a women’s perspective, voice, and experience to all peace planning and peace-making negotiations;

2) Provide measures and principles to enable and facilitate constructive engagement and sustainable objective-driven political dialogue/negotiations;

3) Ensure that the needs and issues of women affected by the Palestine-Israel conflict are raised and effectively addressed (as outlined in UN Security Council Resolution 1325);

4) Ensure that the appropriate frameworks and mechanisms are in place for ending the occupation and building a sustainable peace and eventual reconciliation process. IWC will contribute to a process of building a new kind of relationship that excludes all forms of discrimination;

5) Ensure popular participation in, legitimacy and acceptability of agreement/s to be signed from legal and political perspectives.

Ways and Means:

1) Review all existing documents (agreements signed and the Road Map) from a gender point of view.

2) Inject women’s perspectives, issues and experience on the Israel-Palestine conflict into official negotiations.

3) Handle all referrals from the Quartet on issues in which our experiences in reframing of divisive issues, in conflict mediation, and in facilitation of constructive political dialogue prove valuable.

4) Provide gender oversight through IWC participation in each of the monitoring groups (e.g. Security, Humanitarian, and Economic) in order to promote equality, human security, women’s rights and genuine empowerment of women.

5) Review all structures to ensure sufficient participation of women.

6) Incorporate the experiences of international women’s peace activists and organizations engaged in resolution of conflicts.

7) Develop an on-going mechanism to assess the progress of the IWC and to adapt to changing needs and circumstances.

IWC Participation:

Each side will select its participants based upon the political and personal standards and criteria determined by its own members, along with women of credibility and standing from the international community. The political principles of the Jerusalem Link constitute the foundation of this joint initiative.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S COMMISSION
DRAFT PROPOSAL
July 1, 2003

SUMMARY

The International Women's Commission (IWC) will be an on-going high-profile independent peace-building body comprising women representatives from the Israeli, Palestinian, and international communities in order create a gender-sensitive model of equal, fair, and symmetric peace-building parallel to current and future diplomatic initiatives such as the Roadmap. In light of the history of peace negotiations and women's initiatives, and the growing understanding of gender and conflict, both from a local and general perspective, we see the formation of the IWC as essential to an ultimately sustainable and just peace. See Appendix A: Background.
The IWC will function rigorously as an active policy-analysis, advisory, watchdog, and lobbying commission guided by the Jerusalem Link principles: ground rules of transparency, accountability, and fairness; international legal covenants; and customary norms of human rights. See Appendix B: Guiding Principles. While, the Jerusalem Link will be responsible for the preliminary stages of setting up the IWC, once institutionalized the IWC will be completely independent. It will strive to maintain fresh channels of communication with the official negotiating parties, the international community, and civil society.

The IWC will thus enjoy legitimacy by mobilizing a strong grassroots base of support in the Israeli and Palestinian public, as well as in the larger international civil society. Furthermore the IWC seeks endorsement from the "Quartet" , recognition by the negotiating parties, a strong relationship with the media, and NGO partnerships. The IWC is already mandated by numerous international legal instruments. See Appendix C: International Mandates Regarding Women and Conflict Resolution. In this way, the IWC will gain the political strength to contribute to and enhance the crucial Israeli-Palestinian peace-building process.
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OBJECTIVES

I. To monitor and review political agreements and legal frameworks made by the negotiating and other relevant parties from a gender-sensitive perspective

II. To make recommendations to the negotiating and other relevant parties on how to make political agreements and legal frameworks more gender appropriate

III. To consult with and sensitize the negotiating and other relevant parties on important women's and social issues

IV. To submit proposals for consideration in the development of political agreements and legal frameworks by the negotiating and other relevant parties

V. To lobby negotiators, technical staff, and diplomats for the inclusion of women's and social concerns

VI. To increase civil society engagement in the traditionally secretive peace process by providing new channels of representation, communication, and input

SCOPE

I. During the Roadmap

a. To act as an officially recognized third party to the interim and final status negotiations of the Roadmap process
b. To advise, monitor, and inform bilateral technical committees mandated by the Roadmap

II. Beyond the Roadmap

a. To continue monitoring commitments and addressing failures in reconciliation
b. To continue participating in bilateral dialogue (e.g. conferences, negotiations, and summits)

STRUCTURE

I. The IWC will be an on-going third-party body that:

a. Convenes in conferences parallel, but within temporal and spatial proximity, to the formal negotiations
b. Is guided by an internal body of rules to govern decision-making procedures; such as

1 meetings are facilitated by a fixed or rotating chairwoman who follows agreed-upon protocol for determining the agenda and order of speakers

2 general discussion is held to: review relevant political agreements and legal frameworks, develop recommendations and proposals to submit to the negotiating and other relevant parties, and develop further advisory strategies (see Case Study: sensitizations/consultations in the Liberian experience)

3 the general body of the committee can delegate the above, for appropriately complex and time-consuming issues, to a smaller subcommittee that reports back to the committee according to an agreed-upon deadline

4 a core executive committee elected annually by the general body may be assigned the daily decision-making and agenda-setting tasks

5 written reports, recommendations, and proposals are submitted to the committee for discussion and amendment, redrafted and resubmitted until a final approval is reached by consensus vote or rejected by mutual veto

c. Appoints fixed or rotating liaisons to interface with the negotiating and other relevant parties to present reports, recommendations, and proposals
d. Employs a Secretariat to aid in the drafting of reports, translation, transcription of proceedings; processing of public input and assessments; internet and mailed publicity; and other administrative duties outlined below
e. Is funded by through an international donor portfolio that allows it to remain financially secure and politically insulated

II. The IWC will ensure representation of civil society by:
a. Actively seeking to establish a strong network and base of support from governmental, non-governmental, and intergovernmental feminist, human rights, social justice and peace organizations
b. Granting observer status for and seeking consultation with any of the above-mention bodies
c. Instituting sessions that are open to public commentary/testimonials
d. Designing a website with an on-line forum for discussion and public commentary [see Case Studies: On-Line Working Group]
e. Organizing, when necessary, consultative hearings with technical experts and academics on complex social and legal issues
f. Undertaking periodic surveys that assess public needs and perceptions of the peace process

III. The IWC will ensure the transparency and accountability of its work by [see Case Studies: the Liberian experience]:
a. Forming a media team to manage public and media relations
b. Promptly publishing all reports, recommendations, and proposals on the website
c. Distributing a regular newsletter to all interested members of civil society
d. Archiving transcriptions of committee deliberations and public comments and making them available to the public
e. Developing its own internal and transparent review mechanisms

IV. Membership
a. The general body will be composed of 50 women (20 Pal, 20 Israelis, and 10 internationals) recruited on a periodic basis:

1. By an open process that accepts women according to their commitment to the basic (Jerusalem Link) principles in such a way as to ensure adequate representation of diverse (regional, religious, ethnic, socio-economic, professional, age) backgrounds as well technical expertise and political influence
2. As self-appointed representatives of local women’s groups
3. As regionally elected women representatives
4. As appointments by 3rd parties (such as the "Quartet" or negotiating parties) that are then confirmed by the Jerusalem Link (or vice verse)???

b. The executive body and chairwomen could be elected by the general body on an annual and rotating basis

LINKAGES

I. The IWC will simultaneously push for women to be involved in the formal peace process as negotiators or their technical staff; establishing relationships with these women may then increase the IWC effective influence

II. The IWC can also push for and use its base of support to promote needed internal institution-building and legal reform , much of which, in the case of the Palestinian side, is prompted by the Roadmap

STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION

I. To begin the process of establishing the IWC, it is envisioned that Jerusalem Link will begin the groundbreaking work including:

a. A campaign to mobilize the active endorsement of women’s organizations, NGOs, academic and religious institutions, public figures, and other civil society actors into a strong network of support in Israel, Palestine, and abroad; this could be achieved in part by a local conference that brings in prominent women and international women’s organizations so as to initiate public exposure
b. A campaign to establish long-term relationships with and endorsements by representatives of the "Quartet" and the negotiating parties
c. A media outreach effort that builds on these partnerships

II. Before the IWC can exist independently, the IWC will have to lay its institutional foundations by:

a. Finalizing the terms of reference, guiding principles, rules, and constitution, as well as the procedures for amending such documents once the IWC is independent
b. Establishing the necessary funding mechanisms to cover at least the initial costs of management
c. Recruiting the initial membership of the IWC
d. Employing the initial staff for the IWC Secretariat
e. Finding an appropriate venue and working schedule

III. The above tasks should carried out according to a timeline and delegated to working groups within the Jerusalem Link partnership with regular meetings of the joint team to review progress, discuss strategy, and initiate further action

IV. Once these preliminary stages are completed, the IWC should establish its autonomy and separate from the Jerusalem Link (with the exception of a potential performance assessment role)