12 - 18 April 2001
Issue No.529
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 12 - 18 April 2001 Issue No.529 |
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Eyes on Moussa
Under the stewardship of Amr Moussa, will the Arab League assume a greater role in Arab affairs? Dina Ezzat looks for an answer
It has been a fateful decade in Arab history. First there was the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the ensuing Desert Storm operation in which Arab bore arms against Arab. Then there was the US-sponsored Arab-Israeli peace process that began in 1991 and appears to have almost come to an end, which left Arab countries falling over each other trying to obtain US favour. And in 1992, an embargo was imposed on Libya for its alleged involvement in the bombing of a Pan-Am flight, which was defied by the solidarity of the African and not the Arab nations.
Throughout these events, however, the role of the Arab League -- supposedly the ultimate embodiment of common Arab interests -- was marginal despite some initiatives which fell far short of stimulating any serious responses inside or outside the Arab world. Instead, these matters were dealt with by the US, the UN and a select number of European and Arab states.
The Arab League's failure to live up to the challenges facing its member states was frequently attributed in part to its secretary-general for the past decade, Esmat Abdel-Meguid, who was more often praised for his commitment than his organisation's accomplishments.
Today, as the 55-year-old pan-Arab organisation anticipates the arrival of Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, who takes the league's helm on 16 May, there is increasing speculation in the Arab world as to whether this change of leadership will make a difference.
Many, including some Arab League officials, expect that Moussa will give this regional organisation a new lease of life. "Abdel-Meguid is a very sincere person. He was truly committed to Arab causes but he always said, 'I cannot impose myself on the Arab countries,'" said one Arab League source. He added, "I don't think that Moussa will view initiatives for intervention in any Arab crisis as self-imposition."
Articles in the Arab press since the nomination of Moussa for the job over seven weeks ago have directly or indirectly referred to Abdel-Meguid's style of diplomacy as a key factor behind the diminishing status of the Arab League. Some commentators, however, have defended him as a victim of the crippling 20-article charter of the Arab League that makes the secretary-general's job more ceremonial than executive. They argued that the revisions to the secretary-general's mandate that Moussa was able to secure during the Amman Arab Summit last month will make it less difficult for him lead in a different manner.
"The problem is not the personality or attitude of the secretary-general. The problem has to do with the way Arab relations are conducted. This is really what ties the hands of the secretary-general of the Arab League," commented Mustafa El-Fiqqi, a former senior diplomat. El-Fiqqi, who served as Egypt's permanent representative to the Arab League for two years before being appointed to parliament, argued that without a collective political will on the part of Arab states to raise the status of the organisation, the secretary-general will have to deal with the fact that the league's charter, approved in March 1945, does not make the organisation's resolutions binding on its members.
The Arab League's highly circumscribed role was subject to much criticism during the Amman Summit. But there are diplomats who provide more sympathetic insight into its limitations. "It is always easy to criticise but difficult to exert the effort required to change the status and improve the performance of the Arab League," commented a former Arab diplomat. He added, "All those Arab leaders who spoke of the inefficiency of the Arab League were ignoring a simple fact: the status of the league is not self-induced but it is something that the member states give to their organisation."
According to other diplomats, the new brief given to Moussa during the summit constitutes a mandate that will allow him to overhaul the internal workings of the league. Commentators and diplomats argue, however, that in upgrading the league's status Moussa will be counting largely on his political stature and personal affinity with top Arab officials rather than the powers granted him by the Arab League's charter.
But even so, the need to amend the charter remains a pressing one. "Take, for example, the harsh criticism to which the league has been subjected for its failure to settle the Iraq-Kuwait-Saudi Arabia dispute. This criticism ignores the simple fact that the Arab League charter does not authorise it to act as a troubleshooter," commented a diplomat at the league.
Indeed, member states, particularly those of the Gulf, have been strongly opposed to the establishment of an Arab tribunal. The conflict prevention mechanism adopted a couple of years ago remains ineffective due to lack of member-state support. The same diplomat added, "Even at the first meeting on the crisis between Iraq and Kuwait that took place in Cairo in August 1990, Arab leaders did not appear at all interested in giving the league any mandate to act."
According to article five of the charter, member states are expected to refrain from resorting to force to settle a conflict. The charter further stipulates that in the event of an Arab-Arab conflict the league may attempt to mediate between the countries. But the Iraq-Kuwait crisis did not remain in the league's hands for very long, the UN Security Council having stepped in shortly after it erupted.
"The same applies to the Lockerbie crisis and the Madrid-Oslo peace process. Like the Iraq-Kuwait conflict they also evolved into international rather than Arab affairs," El-Fiqqi said. He added, "If you also take into consideration the fact that all Arab countries are more committed to the resolutions of international organisations rather than the initiatives or recommendations of their Arab organisation then you cannot really blame the league."
The failure of the league to play an effective role is not only confined to the 10 years of Abdel-Meguid's tenure as its leader. Tunisian Al-Shazli Al-Qleibi was Arab League secretary-general when Iraq invaded Kuwait, shortly following which he resigned.
In fact, many believe that since the end of its role as a catalyst for the independence of colonised Arab countries up to the early 1970s, the Arab League has not played much of a role on any major issue. Whether this will change when Moussa takes office is something that many are closely watching out for.
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