28/01/2014 Session
A little over two years after Partner for Democracy status was granted by PACE to the Palestinian National Council (PNC)**, the Assembly welcomed, in a first assessment, the efforts of the PNC to try to comply with its political commitments, despite all the hardships and impediments of the ongoing Israeli occupation of the largest part of the Palestinian territories.
In a resolution adopted today, the Assembly regrets however the division between the Palestinian authorities and the de facto rulers in Gaza, which led to the failure to form a Palestinian government of national unity, making it impossible to agree dates for the holding of parliamentary and presidential elections. In this context, parliamentarians expressed their concern at the “the lack of legislative power, which causes a severe imbalance in the Palestinian State structures”.
Basing itself on the evaluation report by Tiny Kox (Netherlands, UEL), PACE also stressed that the moratorium on the death penalty – one of the commitments entered into by the PNC when signing the partnership – was not respected in Gaza and that Hamas authorities still carry out executions. It therefore urged the PNC to abolish the death penalty in the Palestinian Penal Code.
At the same time, the Assembly acknowledges the efforts made to combat corruption, put an end to the illegal smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and promote the participation of women in political and public life. It also welcomed the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in Gaza.
In conclusion, PACE welcomed the progress achieved and encouraged the members of the Palestinian Partner for Democracy delegation to accelerate the process of reform. It will continue reviewing the implementation of political reforms in Palestine while offering its assistance to the PNC and will make a new assessment of the partnership within two years.
*Following Resolution 67/19 of the General Assembly of the United Nations, PACE decided to use the name “Palestine” in the Assembly list and related documents.
**The Palestinian National Council obtained Partnership for Democracy status with PACE on 4 October 2011 on the basis of Resolution 1830 (2011). It was the second parliament after that of Morocco to be granted this status, introduced by PACE in 2009 to develop institutional co-operation with the parliaments of neighbouring states of the Council of Europe.