More conflicts are looming in the Middle East as millions of youth are unemployed, violent and not getting the education they need, the United Nations published Wednesday in its Arab Development Report.
Arabs make up only 5 percent of the world's population but, in 2014, accounted for almost 45 percent of all terrorist attacks worldwide. The region has seen a huge spike in conflicts as well as an increase in the number of violent terrorist attacks and, massive displacement. The report said living conditions continue to worsen and the number of people in the region living in countries at high risk of conflict is projected to grow from about 250 million in 2010 to over 305 million in 2020.
"The hobbled process of development exposes youth to the harsh effects of exclusion," the report read. "This failure of Arab countries is leading young people to form negative perceptions of society and the future and providing a fertile ground for radical thinking and radical action among youth.
"Deeply disgruntled individuals tend to be less inclined to use social action to change their environment and, if they engage in such action, they tend to choose more violent forms of protest."
The UN urged Arab states to empower their youth and adopt a new development model that focuses on enhancing their capabilities.
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