On 28 January 2012 in cooperation with the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG), the Institute of Law (IoL) at BZU launched a specialized training course on Integrating Gender Criteria in the Work of Local Government Units. The training event targets staff members of local government units (LGUs) in the governorate of Qalqiliya.

In his opening remarks, Mr. As’ad Sawalmeh, Director General of the MoLG District Office in Qalqiliya, welcomed the Governor of Qalqiliya, Mayor of the Qalqiliya Municipality, and audience members. Highlighting the significance of this valuable training course, Mr. Sawalmeh acknowledged that women’s representation throughout the Qalqiliya LGUs was low. He therefore hoped that this training workshop would help to promote the role of women in the local government sector.

Brigadier General Rabih al Khandaqji, Governor of Qalqiliya, welcomed the audience and noted his wish that the training event would result in specific and effective recommendations that might contribute to changing and consolidating the status of women. LGUs should serve as a tool of pressure to redraft relevant regulations, develop clear operational mechanisms, and exercise effective oversight on implementation of these mechanisms, he added.

Ms. Hanan Imseih, Director General of the MoLG Gender Unit, explained that the goals of this training course are consistent with the MoLG’s vision to create an effective local government sector that is capable of materializing sustainable development with the participation of both women and men. Imseih further explained that this “training aims at promoting effective and efficient performance of LGUs, embodying principles of good governance, and consolidating the concepts of integrity and transparency.”

Representing the IoL, Advocate Mu’in al Barghouthi, Director of the Project, stated that this training course “addresses gender from specialized perspectives that are of interest to LGU staff.” He added that local government is the most important component of this IoL project and this training course is one in a series of events that have been organized in several governorates in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

As part of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women in the occupied Palestinian territory, six UN Agencies, namely UNDP/PAPP, UN-Women, ILO, UNESCO, UNFPA and UNRWA, are implementing a joint programme on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment funded by the Government of Spain, which was launched in 2009 and will conclude in 2012.