Civil society

For UN Women, civil society, more particularly women’s organizations, play a vital role in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. In the occupied Palestinian territory, Palestinian civil society has a unique and vibrant history that is intrinsically linked with state-building and women’s organizations have long played a fundamental role. With the establishment of the UN Women Palestine Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG) in 2012, UN Women has clearly recognized the need for a strong and dynamic partnership with civil society in achieving its goals and the importance of incorporating its voices into policies, programmes and initiatives.

UN Women also relies heavily on civil society organizations, especially women’s organizations, in the implementation of many of its activities.  Beyond the CSAG and direct implementation, UN Women’s partnership with Palestinian civil society organizations focuses more particularly on the collaborative work among women’s organizations and gender advocates, particularly through unions, coalitions and networks, as well as academia and specialized research centres for monitoring and analysing the impact of policies.

UN Women also builds and relies on a network of 50 grassroots women’s community-based organizations, as a source of information on Palestinian women, particularly in excluded and marginalized areas.