Youth: between occupation and independence

Written by: Dr. Dalal Saeb Erekat

Yesterday, a conference was held on the national framework for UN Resolution 2250, and the reality of Palestinian youth under occupation was addressed.

The conference was organized by the Union of Young Women's Christian Associations in Palestine, YWCA Palestine, in cooperation with the United Nations Population Organization and other partner institutions.

Before talking about the reality of Palestinian youth, there is a set of international agreements and covenants that emphasize the importance of the role of youth around the world, including:

- International Youth Day, which came with a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly 12/8/1999. The twelfth of August every year reminds us that youth are essential partners in change, and the need to raise awareness and shed light on the challenges and problems facing young people all over the world. The general goal approved by the United Nations on this occasion is the importance of improving and developing youth participation and work at the local, national and global levels, as well as drawing lessons and lessons to enhance their representation and participation in various social, economic and political issues.

- Security Council Resolution 2250 of 2015. An international resolution on youth, peace and security.

The resolution recognizes the positive and important role youth play in maintaining and promoting international peace and security. It calls for strengthening the responsibility of youth in decision-making at the local, national, regional and international levels and considering the establishment of mechanisms that would enable youth to participate meaningfully in peace processes, with a primary focus on five main pillars: participation, protection, prevention, partnerships, and disengagement and reintegration.

- The Global Program of Action, developed by the United Nations in 1995, includes general directives for taking the necessary actions and measures at the national level to improve the conditions of youth, and focuses on the importance of promoting development opportunities that maximize the presence of youth at all levels of social and political participation.

- National plans for the European Charter on Youth Participation in Domestic Life, which demanded that young people have the right to social, legal and economic protection, and their right to provide training and empowerment and protect them from exploitation and violence, and promote their political participation.

- All of the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, particularly the fourth, including a focus on quality, comprehensive and quality education for the year 2030.

On the Palestinian national level, we have many charters that emphasize the importance of the role of youth, including:

The national agenda and policies according to the requirements of Resolution 2250 of 2015

The agendas 2017-2020 and 2021-2023 emphasized the importance of enhancing youth participation in decision-making levels, integrating them into public policy-making, and involving them in maintaining peace and security.

- The amended Palestinian Basic Law of 2003, and the Declaration of Independence 1988, which we celebrate on 11/15 every year, constitute an important reference for the local legal framework through which official and civil institutions worked to build their interventions in the youth sector, based on the assertion that the Basic Law guaranteed a set of rights rights enjoyed by the citizen and thus implicitly included the youth category, including civil, political, health, social, cultural, educational, housing and work rights.

The national agenda departs from the government and stresses, without exception, the importance of developing sectors to provide quality services to young people, and to create the necessary jobs in the labor market, to achieve their aspirations and desires, and to enhance their integration and political participation, in implementation of Security Resolution 2250. General Policy No. 21 also came, explicitly on the importance of empowering Youth, through the government's commitment as one of the main employers in Palestine, and the government's pledge to sponsor and support entrepreneurial projects for youth, and to enhance their participation in public life, which reflects what was stated in the decision on the need to include youth groups in sectoral plans. The National Strategic Plan for Youth in its versions 2017-2020 and 2021-2023 included the importance of community participation, and activating the levels of political and civic participation of youth groups. It is worth noting that the national policy agendas do not rise to the level of strategic plans, as they include goals without performance measurement tools, without review, without evaluation, and this is what Makes goals like dreams.

The year 2020, Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh, announced that it will be the year of youth. In fact, Palestinian youth represent a fifth of Palestinian society, or 22% of the total population, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, which defines young people as being between the ages of (18-29) years. Although 68% of the Palestinian people are under 30 years old, and the percentage of youth in Palestine is high, youth reflects a state of political marginalization, unemployment and lack of integration. If we look at decision-making positions, we see, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, that youth representation does not exceed 1% in decision-making positions. Young people are completely absent and marginalized in decision-making positions, especially in the formation of governments, PLO committees, senior positions in the factions and governorates, and diplomatic representation.

Observers of Palestinian affairs are fully aware of the deterioration of the political situation at various levels, the most important of which is the internal division and open and free Arab normalization without coordination with the Palestinians! He is aware of the danger of settlers and the facts on the ground regarding Jerusalem, settlements, refugees, annexation plans, land confiscation, increasing racist policies, forced displacement of indigenous people, and field executions among young people in particular. He is aware of the departure of the Palestinian cause from the list of priorities for countries near and far.

The occupation is the first and last obstacle in the life of any Palestinian, and the statistics indicate that the occupation is targeting the youth group intensively, whether in field executions in captivity, in persecution or racist policies, in light of the targeting of youth by the occupation, we must rearrange our internal home and elevate this category to reflect the role of and youth rights.
Observers are aware of the need of the Palestinian leadership today to renew its legitimacy through democratic means, and in the absence of elections, there must be a political will to integrate youth, just as women are in appointments. At the national and legislative levels, the percentage of youth representation is almost non-existent. It is necessary to raise awareness about Security Council Resolution No. 2250, which strengthens the role of youth, and establish mechanisms that help youth lead and support. The dream of youth participation in the Palestinian political system will not be achieved without a political decision that will be reflected in the representation of 68% of the society, and this can be translated into a special quota for youth, similar to women, even in a temporary transitional manner, or in the absence of elections. A political decision must be made to integrate youth in appointments at different levels. .

We hope that the message reaches deaf ears and is reflected in decision-making.

- Dalal Erekat : Professor of Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Arab American University.