The UN Human Rights Council’s 35th Session on Monday discussed a Report on Violence Against Women, which, among other things, urged states to provide shelters for women victims of violence under their human rights obligations. The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Dubravka Šimonović, told the Human Rights Council: “Shelters and protection orders are survival tools which protect women whose lives are at risk.”
“These measures are not optional extras. They are human rights obligations which are essential to ensuring women’s safety and human rights. But many States seem to lack understanding of their requirement to combat gender-based violence, which includes offering shelters and protection measures,” Šimonović said.
But when it came time for delegates to comment on the report, every single Arab participant in the forum stated that, in the end, when an Arab husband beats up his wife in Ramallah, it’s because of the Israeli “occupation.”
This point was later highlighted by UN Watch delegate Hillel Neuer in his response to the council.