Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Palestinian National Authority regarding the incidence of "honour killings" and domestic violence in the Palestinian Territories reported by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its Causes and Consequences in 2017.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Special Envoy for Gender Equality visited the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) in November 2017, focusing on violence against women and girls. The UK continues to lobby for the adoption of a Family Protection Bill that would address some of our concerns around gender based violence. The FCO also works closely with other government departments, including the Department for International Development (DFID), and with the Palestinian Authority to enhance gender equality in the OPTs. DFID has supported interventions to tackle violence against women and girls by working with the Palestinian security and justice sectors. This has included the development of Police Family Protection and Juvenile Units, the specialisation of public prosecutors to work on cases of violence against women and the development of a gender strategy for the Palestinian Civil Police.