 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 January 2000 Issue No. 464 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 January 2000 Issue No. 464
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Heritage Special Books Profile Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Punctuated progress
By Azadeh Moaveni
Though the Arab region did not choose to end this century with a substantially more serious commitment to human rights than it started with, setbacks and progress have gone hand in hand, according to a recent report by the American-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch. The report showed wide disparities in the condition of human rights around the region, ranging from closed societies with virtually no space for dissent to states where freedoms are contested vigorously.
The expansion of Internet use, which affords citizens access to politically sensitive information less readily available in print, has been a particularly significant development, according to the report. Up to one million users in the Arab world, from less than 300,000 just last year, the expansion has "been very encouraging," according to regional director for the Middle East Hanny Megally. Though Iraq and Libya lacked Internet access entirely, and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates blocked access to websites that displeased authorities, the Internet is widely expected to enhance regional cooperation among human rights groups and diaspora communities.
But while information technology has facilitated freedom of expression, legislation has been introduced to curb it, as well as freedom of association, the report showed. A restrictive press law passed in Jordan in 1998 was not significantly revised, and the Palestinian Authority cracked down on journalists and human rights NGOs.
In comparison with states that have long been and continue to be completely closed, Megally said a disturbing trend seen in 1999 was the gradual closing down of public space for freedom of expression in countries that seemed to be opening up.
In Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Syria, Iraq, and Libya, the report showed only a bleak continuation of the status quo. And despite major changes in heads of state with the death of King Hussein of Jordan, King Hassan in Morocco and the emir of Bahrain, little improvement was seen in electoral freedom.
While Israel was an exception to the common regional propensity toward unfree elections, that country's intentional targeting of civilians in the ongoing political conflict in Southern Lebanon remained a serious blemish to its overall record, the US group said. A high court ruling finally found the systematic use of torture against Palestinians during interrogation illegal, an important development long advocated by Palestinian and Israeli NGOs.
In only one country was the United Nations linked to a serious violation of human rights. "The comprehensive economic [Security Council] sanctions remained in place in Iraq and continued to impose life-threatening conditions to civilians that were only partially offset by the enhanced oil-for-food programme," said the report. Iraq was also the only country where non-regional actors, namely the United States and Britain, were directly implicated in violations; the Iraqi government continues to claim that the airstrikes led by the two powers throughout most of the year have resulted in civilian deaths.
Though the report hesitated to single out states for considerable overall progress, it did locate encouraging elements in individual societies. Unexplained "disappearances" have become a more publicly visible concern, said Megally. Families of the disappeared in both Algeria and Lebanon succeeded in putting the issue on the agenda during the elections, in the former case, and publicly demonstrating for answers, in the latter.
The new generation of leaders in the region, namely King Abdullah in Jordan, King Mohamed in Morocco, and the new Emir of Bahrain, have all spoken in hopeful and positive terms about progress in human rights, according to Megally.
Just as these governmental transfers of power have created an unprecedented possibility for structural progress, the first international conference of the Arab Human Rights Movement, held in Casablanca in April, signaled new progress in regional, coalition-led progress. For the first time human rights were addressed in a regional context of shared impediments and goals.
Megally said Casablanca was significant in that participants tackled issues long avoided for their political divisiveness. "It was recognised that the movement ought to be assessing its own effectiveness, and since it's facing a crisis of sorts, this is healthy," he said.
"The prevailing environment remained one of discrimination and tolerance for violence against women," said the report. "Women across the region continued to face legal, political, and socio-economic discrimination that violated their rights to equality and full citizenship." Though women's participation in Qatari elections, and a revocation of the Egyptian law that allowed rapists to escape prosecution by marrying their victims were major developments in women's rights, progress on the whole has been slow. Saudi Arabia has recognised that it cannot grow without recognising women's roles, coming a long way given its record to date, Megally said. But the development in this respect on the Saudi front was very minimal, with a royal decree issued in late 1999 allowing women to attend as observers only the sessions of the Shura Council, an un-elected advisory body to the Saudi ruling family.
The report noted that Human Rights Watch petitioned governments and intergovernmental bodies "not to sacrifice human rights for political or other considerations in their dealings with states in the region." Middle East countries represented two-thirds of all US arms sales agreements to developing countries in the 1995-1998 period, the report also mentioned.
