Guest Speakers

Dr. Gresh discussed European foreign policy regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict from 1969 to the present. In particular, he pointed to drastic changes that took place in the Middle East and which reshaped European foreign policy towards the Arab-Israeli conflict.

During his lecture, Dr. Abu Khalaf discussed what the common foreign and security policy is, its objectives and operations. And in the second part of the lecture he opened the floor for discussion with students regarding the 2009 annual report from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to the European  Parliament on the main aspects and basic choices of the  CFSP.

Dr. Hogan started withemphasizing that a high level in death rates and a low birth rate doesn’t lead to a high growth rate. Whereas in Europe we are confronted with a decline in the infant mortality rate and the survivorship is going  up, thus old people are living longer and this affects the population structure of Europe. He also remarks that eventually all the worlds’ population will age and this started in the developed countries and in the future Africa and Asia will experience this.

The title of the lecture is: “Migration to Europe: between economics and politics” Dr. Fargues began his lecture by defining migration as the crossing of a border, based on two criteria: migrants must be citizens of a "legal" nationality, and the country he/she seeks to migrate from is the country of birth. He likewise referred to the 1951 Geneva Convention defining a refugee as a person who fled the country of his nationality due to fear of persecution for political, racial or religious reasons; Dr.

Dr. Seniora presented detailed information about The Independent Commission for Human rights (ICHR) and its role in developing the prevailed viewpoint on human rights as one of the most important components in the Palestinian struggle. She showed that enhancing human rights and general freedom can’t be accomplished through international organizations, as much as being the product of national mechanisms which should be exerted before resorting to the international level.

Dr. Takahashi presented the duties of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) office in the occupied Palestinian territories, which had been established after Oslo agreement. He pointed out that the main duties of the office are to assist the Palestinian Authority set regulations concurrent with the human rights, and to assist NGOs in preparing their reports and advocating about violations of human rights in the Palestinian territories.

Abu Alkhair addressed the topic of electricity as a necessity and a priority to achieve development and peace in the Palestinian territories.

He presented a brief background on the current situation of the Palestinian energy sector, illustrating the problems this sector encounter, such the high cost of the energy units, the insufficient use of the renewable energy, and the Israeli control over the traditional supplies of energy.