Celebrating Feminists’ Voices, Inspiring Global Peace

Update: UPR Campaign: Israel’s Review Rescheduled

1 February 2013

On Tuesday 29th of January, it was Israel’s turn for its Universal Periodic Review (UPR). For this eagerly awaited session, the room was fully packed, a sign of interest but also of concern for the future of the UPR, owing to the unprecedented nature of this event. Even the security guards grabbed earphones to listen to what was being said!

Without surprise, Israel did not attend the scheduled review of its human rights record, as they had announced that they had ended all cooperation with the HRC and the OHCHR, thus becoming the very first country to refuse participation with the UPR process since the implementation of this mechanism in 2008.

The President of the Human Rights Council (HRC) therefore made a suggestion to reschedule the UPR of Israel in a later session this year and at the latest in the 17th session of the UPR Working Group in November 2013.
In the meantime, he would keep taking the necessary measures to urge the State under review to resume its participation in and cooperation with the UPR mechanism.

The decision also stipulates that this approach will be considered as a precedent to be applied to all similar circumstances.

The HRC Member States found minimal consensus in the President’s proposal and accepted this resolution to postpone Israel’s review, but it was not without reticence, as they were very numerous in deeply regretting the absence of the Israeli delegation and urging Israel to resume its participation in the process.

The important role of the President of the HRC in urging the member State to resume its cooperation with the UPR mechanism is very valuable, as the objective of the review is that the member State is present in its own session and that there is a cooperative review of the human rights situation with constructive recommendations from all Member States.

WILPF has been warning of the danger of setting a precedent for non-cooperative States which would open a door for delaying the process or even jeopardising it, depending on the final outcome of this situation which is still to be clarified.

However, this does not mean that this case should be the precedent for future cases of non-cooperation. Now that a legal lacuna has been identified on how to deal with cases of non-cooperation, a discussion should be opened at the HRC as suggested by the GRULAC (Group of Latin American and Caribbean countries) and the African Group. The established mechanism should be concrete and firm as to encourage Member States not to abandon the UPR process, as was suggested in WILPF’s statement. This conversation should be taken away from geo-strategic interests and this particular case and be brought to a neutral discussion on the process within the HRC.

In the concern of respecting the principle of equality of treatment, Israel’s UPR must not be indefinitely delayed and a clear message must be sent that, should they decide not to resume its cooperation, the review will take place without their participation and a date should be set by the HRC as soon as possible. Furthermore, civil society should be given the opportunity to update their reports so that they are not obsolete owing to this delay.

The question that remains now is: what is going to happen at the 17th session of the UPR Working Group if Israel does not show up? Will its review be postponed once again? Or will it be upheld ‘in absentia’? The decision taken by the HRC last Tuesday is simply not clear on this.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.

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