63rd Session of the Human Rights Council: Palestinian Women Bring Their Case to the World

Palestinian Women’s Testimony before the Human Rights Council

28 September – 1 October 2026, Geneva

The Report and Film

PWWSD’s report launched during the 63rd session
The Gendered Impacts of Israel’s Settlement System in the West Bank: Settler Violence, Movement Restrictions, Socioeconomic Harm and the Shrinking Civic Space for Palestinian Women
Read the report (PDF)

Film
“Land Is Stolen… Women Pay the Price”Watch the film

In This Report

• Women’s Health under the Settlement System
• Statement to the Council: Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence and Surveillance
• Three UN Mechanisms… One Message
• Palestinian Coordination: Civil Society and Institutions
• Diplomacy and New Partnerships
• What the Delegation Achieved and What Comes Next

Joint Side Event with MIFTAH and Al Mezan

Women’s Health under the Settlement System

On 28 September 2026, the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH), together with Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD) and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, held a side event entitled “Women’s Rights under Attack: Health, Safety and Accountability in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank”. More than 40 people attended the event in a venue designated for side events. It examined how violations by the occupation affect Palestinian women’s health, safety, and ability to exercise their rights.

PWWSD presented the findings of its report, “The Gendered Impacts of Israel’s Settlement System in the West Bank: Settler Violence, Movement Restrictions, Socioeconomic Harm and the Shrinking Civic Space for Palestinian Women”. It stressed that women’s health cannot be separated from the structures and measures that govern daily life under occupation. Settlement expansion, settler violence, checkpoints, road closures and permit requirements imposed on some Palestinians entering or leaving villages and communities obstruct access to hospitals, specialist care, reproductive health services and psychosocial support. They also increase the time, cost and risks involved in seeking care.

• Movement restrictions determine access to healthcare.These restrictions affect women in specific ways: they increase care responsibilities, delay treatment even in emergencies, and expose women to considerable physical and psychological strain.
• The settlement system has a profound impact on women.Land confiscation, settler violence, and displacement undermine safety, livelihoods, family stability, and the conditions women need to exercise their basic rights.
• Shrinking civic space weakens protection.Restrictions on women human rights defenders and civil society organisations limit their ability to document violations, support affected women and submit documented testimony to international mechanisms.
• Accountability must go beyond statements and press releases.PWWSD called for the enforcement of international law, continued documentation of violations, protection for women’s organisations, and concrete action by states and UN bodies to ensure that these organisations can work freely.

The discussion also linked the situation in the Gaza Strip to the settlement system in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem. The Palestinian delegation emphasised the international legal context and the need for UN protection for Palestinian women and for their rights, as recognised in international conventions and treaties, to be upheld.

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General Debate under Agenda Item 7 in Partnership with CIVICUS

Statement to the Council: Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence and Surveillance

During the general debate under agenda item 7 on 29 September, PWWSD delivered a 90-second statement with the CIVICUS alliance on the implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 31/36 and the UN database of businesses involved in activities related to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. The statement connected corporate accountability to the use of modern technology to monitor Palestinians and its consequences, particularly for women.

The statement as delivered:

Mr. President,

CIVICUS and Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development express deep concern over settlement expansion and shrinking civic space in the occupied Palestinian territory.

OHCHR’s 2026 update added 61 companies to the list of businesses complicit in settlement activities, while 255 still await assessment. Major cloud computing and artificial intelligence providers remain absent from the database.

Project Nimbus is the cloud computing contract between Google, Amazon, and Israel. Israeli procurement documents list the Settlement Division among the bodies required to use Nimbus cloud services. This relationship must be assessed under paragraph 96.

The human rights impacts of digital surveillance are already documented. Amnesty International has documented the Red Wolf facial recognition system at checkpoints in Hebron, which scans Palestinians’ faces and collects their biometric data without consent. Yet the companies behind these systems are not always disclosed.

PWWSD also documents surveillance that reaches into women’s private spaces, and women human rights defenders who are monitored and pursued. This affects all Palestinians, but its impact is not gender-neutral: surveillance adds another layer of repression for women and paralyses women-led civil society.

We call on this Council, all member states and OHCHR to ensure that pending assessments are completed and that cloud computing and artificial intelligence services continue to be examined. Where companies meet the criteria, states should pursue accountability, including lawful targeted sanctions. Home states must also hold companies under their jurisdiction accountable.

Accountability mechanisms must not fall behind the technologies that sustain settlement-related control.

Thank you.

Why the intervention mattered. The statement broadened the discussion of implementation beyond traditional settlement industries. It called for scrutiny of cloud computing, artificial intelligence and surveillance services wherever they may sustain settlement-related control, and placed their effects on women human rights defenders and women-led organisations at the centre of the accountability debate.

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Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls, International Commission of Inquiry, and Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls

Three UN Mechanisms… One Message

During its time in Geneva, the delegation presented evidence of violations against women to three UN mechanisms.

Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls

PWWSD met with representatives of the Working Group and shared information on the discrimination and violence Palestinian women face under occupation. The delegation stressed that women prisoners must not be excluded from international documentation efforts and discussed practical ways to receive further evidence and testimony. The representatives said that a forthcoming call for submissions would provide an opportunity for additional documentation, and that efforts would be made to reach women prisoners and other women whose experiences are difficult to document because access to them is restricted.

The meeting also discussed the Working Group’s forthcoming focus on the intersection of gender, climate and the environment. PWWSD stressed that environmental damage, land confiscation, settlement expansion, water restrictions and forced displacement are not gender-neutral. They affect women’s health, livelihoods, care responsibilities, food security and ability to remain on their land.

Independent International Commission of Inquiry

Alongside Palestinian women’s and human rights organisations, PWWSD took part in a meeting with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. The delegation shared information on violations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and stressed the need to examine their impact on women, including killings, displacement, detention, torture, sexual violence, destruction of service facilities, economic harm, and the use of starvation against male and female Palestinian detainees. PWWSD called for women’s testimony and documentation to be systematically incorporated into investigations and accountability processes.

Office of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls

PWWSD raised five priority issues requiring sustained attention and follow-up by the Special Rapporteur and other international human rights mechanisms:

1. Gender-based violence linked to occupation and conflict. The gendered dimensions of killings, forced displacement, destruction of homes and essential services, detention, threats, and the psychological and economic violence experienced by Palestinian women and girls.
2. Sexual violence and abuse during arrest and detention. Allegations of sexual violence, ill-treatment and sexual threats during arrest, transfer of detainees from one prison to another, interrogation and detention, with calls for independent investigations, accountability and effective remedies for survivors.
3. Reproductive rights and reproductive violence. The effects on women and girls of destroyed health services, movement restrictions, displacement and the lack of maternal and reproductive healthcare, and the need to address these as human rights issues.
4. Protection of women human rights defenders and women’s organisations. Particular attention to defenders, activists and women’s organisations facing threats, surveillance, detention, restrictions and other pressures that undermine their ability to defend human rights.
5. Meaningful inclusion in justice and accountability processes. Systematically incorporating Palestinian women’s testimony, experiences and evidence into international investigations and accountability mechanisms, so that violations against women are recognised as substantive human rights violations rather than secondary consequences of conflict.

During the discussion, PWWSD stressed that documentation must be survivor-centred, confidential and linked to remedies. International mechanisms should provide accessible channels for women’s organisations to submit testimonies, secure access to detained women, and consult women directly when setting investigation priorities and formulating recommendations.

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Side Events with EuroMed Rights, Al-Haq, Al Mezan, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Defence for Children International, SHAMS, the Women’s Centre, and the Permanent Mission of the State of Palestine

Palestinian Coordination: Civil Society and Institutions

PWWSD participated in side events organized by Palestinian and international human rights organisations, contributing a gender-sensitive analysis of the distinct effects of violations on women and girls. The delegation also met with the Permanent Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations to strengthen coordination with civil society.

Human Rights in the State of Palestine

PWWSD engaged in an event organized by EuroMed Rights, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, with the sponsorship of Al-Haq. The discussion addressed violations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including settlement expansion, displacement and attacks on civilians. Participants called for the occupation to be held accountable and for international obligations to be implemented. PWWSD connected women’s experiences to this wider pattern and strengthened coordination on advocacy messages, report dissemination and international follow-up.

Defence for Children International (DCI)

A side event organised by Defence for Children International focused on protecting Palestinian children amid Palestine’s human rights crisis. PWWSD linked these concerns to women’s rights, explaining how violence, displacement, detention and the destruction of service facilities affect mothers, caregivers and girls, increase unpaid care responsibilities and deepen psychological harm within families. The session provided an opportunity to connect child rights documentation with feminist analysis and community protection.

Human Rights and Democracy Media Center – SHAMS and Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling- WCLAC, with a contribution from Al-Haq

The discussion examined settler violence against Bedouin and refugee communities, violations against prisoners and detainees, and the use or threat of sexual and gender-based violence to intimidate and displace people, particularly in Jerusalem and Hebron. PWWSD offered recommendations on protection, documentation, and accountability. It stressed that these practices must be understood as part of a broader system of settlement expansion, forced displacement and annexation, rather than as isolated incidents.

Permanent Mission of the State of Palestine

The meeting with the Permanent Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations in Geneva reaffirmed the importance of ongoing coordination with Palestinian civil society organisations, particularly in monitoring and documenting violations and collecting and preserving relevant evidence for use in condemning the occupation’s crimes. The delegation stressed that systematic documentation strengthens international advocacy and accountability efforts and supports a more consistent application of international human rights and humanitarian law.

The meeting also offered an opportunity to acknowledge and build on the delegation’s initiatives, including the event organised with the Permanent Mission of Spain on the situation of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, both women and men. Such initiatives help sustain international attention to detention issues and support informed dialogue among states, UN mechanisms and civil society.

Every Meeting Is an Opportunity to Connect

Each side event offered space to learn and build connections. PWWSD exchanged contact details, introduced its report and institutional mandate, and offered recommendations in discussions with Palestinian organisations, international civil society and diplomatic representatives. Through Ms. Amal Khreisheh’s representation of PNGO, the delegation also conveyed priorities shared by the wider Palestinian NGO community and strengthened coordination between women’s rights advocacy and broader civil society work.

Priorities for Continued Coordination

• Regular information sharing.Maintain regular coordination with Palestinian institutions and civil society organisations on documented developments, emerging protection concerns and advocacy opportunities.
• Preserving and using evidence to hold the occupation accountable.Support the safe, survivor-centred collection and preservation of relevant evidence so that documentation contributes to credible accountability processes.
• Gender-responsive documentation.Ensure that evidence on detention, displacement, access to health services and settlement-related violations reflects the specific experiences and rights of women and girls.

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State Missions and the Geneva International Centre for Justice

Diplomacy and New Partnerships

Private Meetings with State Missions

During its time in Geneva, the delegation held private meetings with representatives of several state missions to the Human Rights Council. The Palestinian delegation outlined the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, the violations committed against Palestinian women and men, and the denial of their rights in breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, international humanitarian law and international human rights law. It encouraged states to translate their legal obligations into consistent measures for protection, prevention, and accountability.

• International protection and enforcement.Use available international protection and accountability tools, including measures under the UN Charter where applicable, and attach real consequences to serious violations.
• Accountability for those providing support.Impose sanctions and other legal measures on authorities, companies and actors that benefit from and contribute to settlement expansion and occupation through military, financial, technological, media or diplomatic support.
• Settlement activity in its wider structural context.Settlement expansion and settler violence must not be treated in isolation. They must be examined in relation to land seizure, displacement, dispossession, discrimination, de facto annexation, and the political and ideological framework that allows them to continue. This includes their specific and disproportionate impact on Palestinian women and girls and on the rights to land, liberty, equality and self-determination.
• The broader pattern of violations.The delegation encouraged states to consider settlement-related issues within the wider human rights context affecting Palestinians in the occupied territory and the diaspora, including the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip and serious concerns about forcible transfer, ethnic cleansing and genocide, in flagrant violation of international law.
• Arbitrary detention and conditions of confinement.State missions also discussed concerns about arbitrary detention and the treatment and conditions of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The delegation called for particular attention to women, including pregnant women, and children. It stressed independent oversight, fair trial guarantees, humane treatment, access to appropriate healthcare and accountability under international law.
• Consistent application of international standards.The delegation encouraged states to apply international human rights and humanitarian law consistently and ensure that documented concerns lead to concrete diplomatic, legal and policy responses.

Presenting Evidence of Violations by the Occupation and Sharing It Widely

Alongside the formal programme, PWWSD built new relationships to help expose the occupation’s practices more widely. In meetings with representatives, it introduced its work, report findings and advocacy priorities. The meeting with the Geneva International Centre for Justice opened a concrete opportunity for partnership and dissemination of PWWSD’s materials. The Centre will publish an article on the report launched by PWWSD during the Council’s 63rd session, accompanied by social media posts highlighting its findings, recommendations and call for the international community to act in accordance with international law.

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Outcomes and Follow-up

What the Delegation Achieved and What Comes Next

PWWSD’s participation in the 63rd session combined formal advocacy, the exchange of ideas, and relationship building. As a member of PNGO’s coordinating committee, PWWSD represented both the Society and the Network, bringing a feminist, rights-based perspective to the wider priorities of Palestinian civil society. Through side events, meetings with UN mechanisms, the general debate, and diplomatic discussions, the delegation presented Palestinian women as rights holders, agents and active participants in accountability processes, rather than a secondary category of victims.

Proposed Follow-up

• Submit further evidence.Respond to forthcoming calls from the relevant UN mechanisms and continue developing safe channels for evidence of violations against women prisoners, survivors and women human rights defenders.
• Continue private diplomatic engagement.Provide state missions with targeted follow-up materials and connect recommendations to specific legal and policy measures.
• Pursue accountability for companies complicit in occupation and settlement activities.Continue advocacy on resolution 31/36, the UN database and the role of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, surveillance and other companies that may support settlement-related activities.
• Complete public dissemination.Coordinate publication of the Geneva International Centre for Justice article and related social media coverage, and circulate PWWSD’s report and advocacy brief through civil society networks, diplomatic bodies and UN agencies.
• Incorporate emerging priorities.Prepare documentation on the intersections of gender, climate, environmental harm, land confiscation and displacement for future submission to the relevant UN bodies.
• Maintain coordination among Palestinian civil society organisations.Continue joint planning with women’s and human rights organisations so that collective advocacy remains coordinated, evidence-based and survivor-centred.

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Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development
Founded in 1981, the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development is a Palestinian feminist human rights organisation working for women’s rights, political participation and economic empowerment towards a free, democratic society.

www.pwwsd.org  |  pwwsd@pwwsd.org

45 Years of Struggle and Dedication