Palestinians have deployed the discourse of human rights in their struggle against the Israeli occupation and to articulate the injustices they experience.  Palestinian youth learn about human rights at school whether they live in the cities, villages or refugee camps.  However, they experience a dissonance between the aspirational and internationalised framework of human rights norms they learn about inside school and the layers of injustices they face in their everyday lived experience outside school.

In her first book, Rethinking Human Rights: Critical Insights from Palestinian Youth, Mitchell Institute Fellow: Rights and Social Justice, Dr Erika Jiménez draws on empirical research in the occupied West Bank and unpacks the three main layers of marginalisation identified by Palestinians youth in relation to their rights.  The main barrier was the Israeli occupation that denies them their humanity as Palestinians.  The second obstacle facing youth was the Palestinian pseudo-state (and those who represent it) that denies non-elites a voice through violent and bureaucratic means.  The third obstacle identified was the patriarchal aspects of the culture that prevent youth and girls specifically from exercising agency.

The book explores how these injustices shaped young people’s interpretations of human rights but also how they deployed human rights discourse as a vehicle to struggle against these very factors that sought to marginalise them.  Overall, this work is informed by decolonial, third world and Islamic contributions to human rights and human rights education.

Purchase the book here.

Erika Jiménez, Rethinking Human Rights: Critical Insights from Palestinian Youth (London: Hart/Bloomsbury, 2024)

 

Book Launch details

The launch of Erika’s book will take place on Tuesday 12 November at 11:00am in the Moot Court, School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast.

The event is being hosted by the Human Rights Centre at the School of Law where we will be joined by Professor Colin Harvey who will chair the event and Professor Laura Lundy, who will share about the importance of listening to the views of children and young people.  There will be refreshments served after the discussion.  To reserve a space, please sign up here. Alternatively, if you would like to hear more about Erika’s book you can get in touch with her via email: e.jimenez@qub.ac.uk

 

Blog

Read more about the book and Erika’s research in her recent blog here.