International Legal Accountability Mechanisms: Palestinian Women Living under occupation

While occupation impacts the entire population, the loss of life and security, displacement, restricted movement, denial of access to basic services and resources often are more severe and have a long term negative impact on women and girls. Despite this fact, rights violations of Palestinian women very often remain invisible or are not even acknowledged in reports that monitor and document human rights violations in the oPt. This significant gap may be attributed to a narrow interpretation of legal obligations towards women’s rights and gender equality in a context of protracted occupation. With international legal mechanisms providing a main avenue for accountability and protection, this paper aims at deepening understanding of the direct and indirect impact of the occupation on women’s rights, and identifying opportunities associated with the utilization of international legal mechanisms.