Results that should not be ignored

Recently, the United Nations Development Programme launched the “Arab Human Development Report (AHDR) 2016: Youth and the Prospects for Human Development in a Changing Reality”. 

The report highlights shocking facts and statistics regarding many aspects related to the youth and the development process in the Arab world. 

It forecasts the risk of increasing chaos across Arab countries in the coming years.

In the Arab world, the population in the 15-29 age group stands currently at 105 million. The number of unemployment, poor and marginalised among this population is growing.

These and many other issues need to be considered and addressed by Arab governments. 

The report details growing feelings of inequality and frustration among youth as a result of high unemployment rates and lack of political engagement.

These are significant problems for the Arab world, and we already know that increased marginalisation and isolation can lead to violence and growing security threats and conflict.

Arabs represent 5 per cent of the global population and are involved in more than 45 per cent of terrorist acts. They also make up a high percentage of the world’s refugee population.

The report highlights the illegal immigration of frustrated and desperate people, but does not mention that educated and enlightened Arabs began leaving the region many years ago as they felt there was no place for them in their own countries. 

Arab emigrants can be categorised into those who choose and those who are forced to leave.

The failure to build national identities and the reliance on religious and tribal identity is one of the major reasons for the problems in the Arab world. 

The report indicates that, increasingly, Arab youth identify themselves more with their religion, sect or tribe than with their country.

In 2002, five Arab states were mired in conflict; today there are 11. 

By 2020, the report predicts that almost three out of four Arabs could be “living in countries vulnerable to conflict”.

The terrifying facts in this report should urge all Arab governments to adopt effective strategies based on investing in the human building process.

They need to invest in a cultural revolution and provide people with decent services, to give them the chance to build their own future.

That is the key to effective change. 

Investments must be made in everything, from culture to agriculture, and target concrete issues that can change people’s lives.

For comparison, the report included the level of spending by Arab governments on security and foreign arms purchases. 

It is important to look at various police states that spent billions on security and the military, and still ended up in chaos. 

Arab governments should invest in their citizens and culture. 

The more these governments succeed in engaging their citizens in the political and development process, the safer they will be. 

The key is to engage their citizens as protagonists, rather than antagonists, for positive change towards a properly functioning and safe society.

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