Achievements
The UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy presented a Research Paper titled “The Right of Self-determination in a Context of Ethnic-nationalized State” during Al-Haq’s 40th Anniversary Seminar on “The Right of the Palestinian People to Self-determination”. This seminar was held in the Ramallah Municipal Theatre on 13 July 2019.
- A lecture titled “Digital Democratization of Graduate Education” was held on the 18th of June 2019 regarding “Blockchain, Cryptocurrency Emerging, and Disruptive Technologies”. The lecture was presented by Prof. Robert Wood and Prof. Nadia Massoud from Melbourne University, Australia, and certificates were given to the persons who attended the lecture.
- The UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy organized a discussion of the book titled “Tetouan and other Travel Stories”, which was written by Palestinian writer Samih Masoud. The event took place on 18 July 2017. (No picture available)
- As part of the project for assessing the paracommons of water in the Palestinian irrigation system, the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy held a lecture titled “Governing the Paracommons of Palestinian Water”. This lecture was held in cooperation with the Water and Environmental Studies
- Institute (WESI) of An-Najah National University and it was presented by Professor Bruce Lankford.The lecture was held at 2 pm on 23 January 2017 in the Conference Hall of the new campus library.
- A lecture was held on 9 October 2017 to discuss a book titled “Qu’est-Ce Qu’une Revolution?” (What is a Revolution?). This book was written by historian Prof. Hamit Bozarslan who is the Research and Studies Director at the School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), Paris.
- A lecture was held in 2017 to discuss a book titled “The Way to the Spring” by American writer Ben Ehrenreich. The book speaks about life and death in Palestine; and especially in the village of Nabi Saleh where there is ongoing suffering from settler violence.
- On the 12th of April 2017, a seminar titled “International Humanitarian Law with Special Reference to the Palestinian Situation” was held through collaboration between the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
- On the 27th of April 2016, a lecture was held to discuss the book of Palestinian historian Johnny Mansour titled “History of Haifa: A Reading of Family Documents and the General Archive”.
- A workshop on the topic of Palestinian Refugees was held on 12 April 2016 in cooperation with the Refugee Affairs Department.
- A study day titled “From Prohibited Movement to a Prohibited Conference: Palestinian-Palestinian Solidarity across the Green Line” was held on the 23rd of February 2016.
The UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy participated in a conference held by the “Islamic Civilization and Common Humanity” Chair in Muhammad V University in Rabat. The UNESCO Chair spoke about “Our Thought in the Current Century”. The conference included papers about fundamentalist and modernist thought; most of which were presented by new professors from Moroccan universities and PHD candidates in the last stage before the PHD Viva Voce (i.e. prior to their thesis defense). The conference was also attended by a number of professors from Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon and Palestine, who also made comments on the papers of PHD candidates.
International Conference titled “Recent Developments of International Water Law: Implications for the Palestinian Case”. The conference was held on Wednesday and Thursday, 24 and 25 October 2018.
Constitutional Conference 2017: In cooperation with the Institute of Law of Paris X Nanterre University, the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy organized a Study Day in An-Najah National University on Thursday, 16 February 2017. The title of the study day was “Palestinian Constitutional Law: Reality and Perspectives”, and it was held in Zafer Al-Masri Auditorium in the old campus of the university. The study day was attended by a number of prominent Palestinian and French experts in the field of Constitutional Law, as well as a delegation from French and Palestinian universities who are specialized and concerned with the discussed subject matters.
The study day was funded by the Dutch project in An-Najah National University with an amount of 8000 Euro.
The event was inaugurated by the UNESCO Chair Director who, on behalf of An-Najah National University, welcomed the attendees from different organizations and universities. He also noted that this work came to enhance the UNESCO Chair’s cooperation with French universities and stressed the importance of learning from the long-standing experience of France in the field of Constitutional Law.
The UNESCO Chair Director also mentioned that, despite the limited experience of law faculties in Palestinian universities, these faculties successfully achieved a significant development in the Palestinian legal culture. Moreover, he emphasized the added value of this study day which brought together Palestinian and French Constitutional Law experts to discuss vital themes and aspects in this field. The UNESCO Chair Director also expressed his appreciation to the administration of An-Najah National University for their ongoing support and facilitation of this study day.
The event was also financed by the French Institute of the Near East, Jerusalem, where the flight for the French professors were covered. An-Najah University covered the remaining costs such as food, transport, accommodation and translations.
International Conference on The Right to Electricity in the West Bank, held in Spain on 29 November
2016. During this conference, there was a presentation and discussion of the reports that were prepared in the framework of the project for promoting the right to electricity in the West Bank, in cooperation with the Energy Research Center (ERC) of An-Najah National University.
As of 11 March 2019, work was underway to produce a documentary film about Ariel University, which is considered an illegal university according to International Law since it is in the West Bank settlement of Ariel. The leading party in this film’s production is the Palestinian Ministry of Education.
- Working alongside the Energy Research Center (ERC) of An-Najah National University in a project for defending the right to electricity in Areas “C”. In the framework of this project, there was the preparation of several reports about the right to electricity in the specified population centers, and some of these reports were presented in a conference that was held in Barcelona last November.
- Two project proposals were submitted to the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and we are currently waiting for their response.
- The first project is related to Environmental Education and Environmental Citizenship and it aims to create an academic environmental education program in elementary and secondary schools in the Governorate of Nablus. Through its school programs, the project seeks to raise the level of public awareness of the environment and sustainable development issues.
- The second project involves a conference for enhancing the physical and symbolic communication between the Palestinians inside the Green Line and the Palestinians of the 1967 occupied territory. It is worth noting that several important subjects will be discussed in this conference.
- Approval was received for a project titled “Enhancing Capacity building in reporting human rights violations, Istanbul Protocol”, which was submitted by the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy.
- Approval was received for a project titled “Governing the Paracommons of Palestinian Water”, in cooperation with the French National Centre for Scientific Research and the Water and Environmental Studies Institute (WESI). The project aims to provide a better understanding of water governance in Palestine with a special focus on four Palestinian areas (Nablus, Jalamah, Wadi al-Badan, and Hableh). Moreover, interviews will be conducted with farmers to become familiarized with the problems that they face in terms of water and developmental projects.
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed and, through the UNESCO Chair, An-Najah National University was acceded as a partner in a European Union program with Palermo University. This program included an exchange with Palermo University with the participation of two students, one professor and one administrative person from Palestine.
- The UNESCO Chair is currently working on two projects. The first project involves the modernization of Palestinian administration and the development of serious personnel and the rule of law in cooperation with the Institute of Law of Paris X Nanterre University. Meanwhile, the second project aims to enhance the cooperation with Sciences Po University and Varenne University Institute in the field of Transitional Justice.
- Creation of a project about Transitional Justice and land ownership in Palestine in cooperation with Sciences Po University, whereas the project will be submitted to the French Institute [of the Near East]. This project came as an initiative of the UNESCO Chair, and consultations were made with the Coordinating Director from the French Consulate.
- Work is underway in developing a project to enhance the Palestinian narrative for defending the Palestinian people’s denied rights such as the right to self-determination, right of return, etc. This work was activated after a meeting between the UNESCO Chair Director and Mr. Munib al-Masri, in coordination with the University President’s Office.
- The UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy presented a lecture on Israel’s Nation-State Law during a cultural and intellectual discussion of this racist law that was recently enacted by the Israeli Knesset. This event was organized by Rusol Al-Mustaqbal Association in Shefa-‘Amr in the evening of Wednesday, 21 November 2018 in the city of Shefa-‘Amr. The discussion was attended by a number of prominent figures and personalities, representatives of organizations, and families. In his lecture, the Director of the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy discussed the Nation- State Law from the perspective of the relationship between the constitutional law and international law, whereas the aforementioned law contradicts the historical evolution that accommodated the constitutional and international law.
- Honoring of the students who participated in the activities of the “International Conference on Water Law” held on 27 November 2018.
- A number of trainings were held by the UNESCO Chair after preparing an analytical study for reviewing the local legislations and their level of conformity with international environmental accords, as well as working towards reflecting the recommendations and adopting them in the local legislations. Also, a manual was created to discuss the ways of preparing a legal case against environmental violations, implementation of capacity building programs in this field, and the organization of meetings in selected population centers to raise awareness about the principles and notions of international environmental protection and the ways of using environmental accords for defending environmental rights.
Four intensive training sessions were held in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Nablus, respectively, and work is underway for preparing a manual which will be published in both Arabic and English. - Participation in the Conference on “Arab Water Under Occupation” organized by the League of Arab States from 26 to 28 October 2016.
- Participation in the Environmental Conference held in November 2016 and the presentation of a lecture titled “The Principle of Shared but Divergent Responsibility in the Case of Conflict”.
- Participation in a conference titled “Water as a Humanitarian Right” held on 19 September 2016.
- The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation between An-Najah National University and the Ministry of Interior for the development of a training program based on the standards of the Istanbul Protocol.