Stunted Right to Economic Development In Palestine

Abstract

In 1986 The UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Right to Development by an overwhelming majority, which stated un-equivocally that the right to development is a human right. Twenty years after signing the Oslo peace agreement, in 1994, between the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Israel, the Palestinians remain unable to enjoy their right to economic development. The Palestinians still do not have control over their lands nor resources and the Palestinian economy is still dependant on the Israeli economy, and without international aid it will not be able sustain itself. This paper aims to answer the question of why the Palestinians' right to economic development is stunted. My research shows that there are key players who stunt this right for their own benefits such as the Palestinian Authority, The Palestinian capitalists and political elite, donors and mainly the Israeli occupation. Without dealing with the Palestinian economic development from a human right approach in the current situation, where a Palestinian sovereign state and economy seems unattainable, the Palestinians' right to economic development is more likely to remain stunted.