Working In the Fields of Women's Affairs, Democracy, Good Governance and Human Rights

The Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) has prepared this research as part of a series of study programs concerning the status of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The study sought to measure the extent of effectiveness and influence of the Palestinian non-governmental organizations (PNGOs) working in the fields of: democracy, good governance, human rights, and women's issues; in order to gain an actual and comprehensive depiction of the status of these organizations, diagnose the extent of their influence, and examine the factors that hinder their work and impede their expansion in social issues. This was done through analysis of statistical data that was collected from all PNGOs working in the fields above.

The importance of this study resides in that it measures the extent of these organizations' activities through: various firm indicators related to managerial structure and the extent of their compatibility with transparency and questioning standards, indicators related to the nature of their relations, and indicators testing the extent of their independence, funding, and continuity, in addition to indicators related to self assessments of these organizations with regard to the extent of their potentials and activities, taking into consideration the political, economic, social and legal situations that effect their work.

MAS presents this study as part of a comprehensive program with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, which aims to improve the competitiveness of the Palestinian private sector. This particular paper is an evaluation of the application of the Palestinian Commercial Agents Law (2000), which sets out the legal framework for agents acting in Palestine on behalf of other companies.

The goal of this study was to examine the effects of the implementation of the Law on the Palestinian commercial sector for the year 2000, and explore its potential for increasing competitiveness. The research identified several apparent limitations in the legislation, including the lack of satisfactory insurance provision for trade agents and the insufficiency of bylaws regulating the performance of institutions responsible for the implementation of the law.