PLO 'opposed' to violence against women

Headline: “Erekat: Joining the CEDAW agreement is a national achievement”

“PLO Executive Committee Secretary [and Fatah Central Committee member Saeb Erekat] said yesterday [Dec. 24, 2019] that joining the global [UN] Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is a pure Palestinian national achievement, which constitutes a pinnacle of the efforts and struggles of the historical Palestinian women’s and human rights movements to strengthen the human rights in Palestine, and particularly the rights of women, the partners in our struggle for freedom and independence.

Erekat emphasized in a statement that the promise of the right of equality for women in all areas of life is not a deviation from the tradition, but rather a legal, humanitarian, and moral obligation that is consistent with the document of independence (i.e., the Palestinian declaration of independence; see note below), the Palestinian constitution, and international laws.”

Saeb Erekat also serves as PLO Chief Negotiator.

Palestinian declaration of independence - On Nov. 15, 1988, before the Palestine National Council (PNC), the Palestinian parliament in exile in Algeria, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Yasser Arafat declared the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Although the borders were not specified in the declaration, it recognized the UN partition plan of 1947, which called for the creation of a Jewish state and an Arab state in the former British Mandate for Palestine.