The International Commission (ICSPR) calls for directing the education process and adopting quality education standards

Press release

On the International Student Day

The International Commission (ICSPR) calls for directing the education process and adopting quality education standards

The International Commission to Support Palestinians’ Rights (ICSPR) congratulates the Palestinian students on the occasion of the International Student Day, which matches Tuesday, 17 November. It is an occasion that the world celebrates to commemorate the students who died defending the values of peace and rejecting violence in international relations.

This occasion comes this year at a time when Palestinian students suffer many challenges and violations, which have fundamentally affected the education sector and student rights as a result of repeated attacks by the Israeli occupation forces and settlers. Palestinian students in Palestine and the diaspora also suffer from unprecedented challenges due to the deterioration of the poor humanitarian conditions and international changes, especially in light of the Corona pandemic, which imposed more challenges on students ‘enjoyment of their rights.

ICSPR and other human rights organizations documented the continued violations of the rights of students by the Israeli occupation forces such as the continuing killings, attacks and arrests of students, academics and teachers in addition to obstructing students and their families’ access to places of education, and raiding schools and universities, firing of bullets, tear gas and intimidation of students in the West Bank, especially in occupied Jerusalem, contrary to the standards of human rights law and international humanitarian law, in addition to the suffering of students in the Gaza Strip from the difficulty of the humanitarian situation and the inability to pay university fees as a result of the blockade’s repercussions, and the increasing complexities facing students in light of the state of internal division and its repercussions that affected the education sector and students of all stages. In addition to the Corona pandemic which has recently resolved as an emerging challenge that has damaged the educational process, within the framework of preventive measures to limit the spread of the virus.

ICSPR, as it congratulates students, teachers and academics in Palestine on this occasion, it affirms the necessity of integrating the roles of the concerned parties, in order to invest in qualitative and technical education, in a way that contributes to building the Palestinian human being and promoting the global cultural heritage and defending the Palestinian cause and rights. ICSPR also confirms that the violations of the occupation of the standards of international humanitarian law and human rights charters by depriving Palestinian students of their basic rights, including their right to quality, fair and comprehensive education, therefore, it demands the following:

1. ICSPR calls on the international community, with its various institutions, especially the United Nations organizations, including the International Special Rapporteur on the right to education, to hold the occupation authority accountable and to intervene in order to oblige the Israeli occupation authorities to stop their violations of the education sector and the rights of Palestinian students.
2. ICSOR calls on the Palestinian government to assume the primary responsibility to provide protection and ensure quality, equitable and comprehensive education for all learners at all levels and in all circumstances and crises, and adopt quality education standards, and to invest in technical, vocational and technological education.
3. ICSPR calls on government agencies to support the universities ’budget after they were suspended in the context of division, and asks Palestinian universities to reduce tuition fees for university education, provide academic freedoms in Palestinian universities and hold student elections.
4. ICSPR calls for re-activating the General Union of Palestine Students and activating the role of the student movement in defending students ’rights and the rights of the Palestinian people, and exposing occupation’s violations and crimes of students’ rights.
5. ICSPR calls for activating the role of the media and civil society organizations regarding issues of education and students, especially the marginalized sectors, including expanding media campaigns to support the education sector, especially in light of the Corona pandemic.