Fourth lecture: «Political and civil rights in a democratic system»

In its endeavour to consolidate the concepts of the Palestinian rights and democracy among the Palestinian people generally, and the youth category especially, considering them the most prominent stratum and the most harmed over the years of the division, which deprived them of exercising their fundamental rights and their role in society, the Pal-Think for Strategic Studies institution organised the fourth lecture within the project “Strengthening the democratic and civic values of the youth”, titled “The political and civil rights in the democratic system”, in the Gaza Strip, with the attendance and participation of 26 young men and women of the university students from the various geographical areas.

The lecture was given by Dr Ibrahim Abu Muammar, chairman of the board of the National Association for Democracy and Law, where he spoke of the importance of the existence of a democratic system that specifies the due and necessary rights for every citizen and human being within the state in which they live. Then he moved to defining what rights are and their types, and pointed out that the civil rights are among the individual rights that protect the individuals in society and preserve for them their right to participation without any discrimination or differentiation among them — such as the right to think, freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of assembly and movement, and all the forms of civil rights. Then he rested on the side of the political rights, which protect the freedoms of individuals and groups from the violations of society or the government, as these rights affirm the individuals' capacity and freedoms to participate without the existence of an element of threat — such as the right to assemble, the right to object, and participation in the electoral process and standing in it.

He concluded at the lecture's end with the importance of the existence of all these rights under a democratic system that preserves their existence and continuity. The participants commended the importance of the youth having awareness and complete knowledge of the duties and necessities, so that they contribute to the process of demanding their legitimate rights without any diminution or change, in light of the existence of the various communal and political problems.

This lecture comes within a project that continues for six months with funding from the Canadian government and includes ten educational lectures and radio episodes on the issues of democracy and political development in Palestinian society, in addition to three training courses in subjects related to fighting corruption and strengthening the instruments of societal accountability and transparency in Palestinian society.