Apr. 18, 2000


School of International And Public Affairs Hosts Conference An West Bank And Gaza Study Findings

The Center for Economic and Social rights (CESR) will release the findings of a three-year study of economic and human rights conditions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza during a daylong conference hosted by the School of International and Public Affairs on Tuesday, April 18.

The CESR's research documents a dramatic decline in living standards after six years of the peace process between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Palestinians now suffer from a higher rate of unemployment, a greater incidence of poverty, and a significant decline in gross national product, according to the report.

Open to the Columbia community, the conference will be held at the International Affairs Building's Dag Hammarskjold Lounge, 6th Floor, from 8:30 A.M. to 5 P.M.

The Permanent Representatives to the United Nations from Jordan and Egypt will participate in the conference, as will the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Palestine Observer Mission to the U.N. Representatives of the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions also will participate. A similar conference will be held in Washington, D.C. on Friday, April 14 for Middle East policy experts, members of Congress, academics and others.

The CESR's key research findings include:

  • Palestinian real per capita gross national product (GNP) declined 21% since the beginning of the Oslo process, despite over $3 billion in foreign aid.
  • The number of unemployed Palestinians has increased 139% from an average of 33,900 during 1990-93 to an average of 81,300 in 1994-98. Taking into account population growth, this represents a tripling of the core unemployment rate.
  • Per capita consumption has declined by about 14.5% since 1992.

The U.S. conferences are the first in a series of public events sponsored by the CESR in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. The conferences are co-sponsored by the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine and American Muslims for Jerusalem. Funding is provided by the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and the Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Foundation.

The CESR was established in 1993 to address a critical gap in human rights and activism in general. One of the first organizations to challenge economic injustice as a violation of international human rights law, the CESR believes that economic and social rights -- legally binding on all nations -- can provide a universally-accepted framework for strengthening social justice activism.