19 - 25 July 2001
Issue No.543
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 19 - 25 July 2001 Issue No.543 |
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'Only the beginning'
The confluence of political developments in the region and new Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa's commitment to a high-profile inter-Arab organisation are rustling up reform, reports Dina Ezzat
Reform plans declared last week by Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa lay out his intention to transform the Arab League from an occasional meeting place for Arab diplomats into a viable regional organisation.
Two months on from taking the reins of the Arab League, Moussa has said that "it is only legitimate that we seek to reform the league," and notes that in view of escalating political tensions in the region, the Arab League cannot afford to remain in the same shape and moving at the same pace it has been for the last five decades since its establishment. As the body charged with representing the collective Arab will, the league cannot continue to be hijacked by lack of involvement, initiative and "worst of all, credibility."
"What he [Moussa] has in mind is something akin to the European Union," commented a close aide. "He wants the league to be a focal point for the coordination of Arab efforts, to serve what he calls collective Arab interests." The aide added: "He is determined to involve all the member states in his reform plan."
The crux of Moussa's reform plan, as he explained in a press conference a week ago, is to make sure that the general secretariat and all affiliated organisations of the league "coordinate their efforts to implement realistic plans under clear deadlines with transparency and in a way that regains people's confidence."
To do so entails a number of adjustments: a slightly larger, but much better spent budget; a stricter, but much more selective standard for recruitment; more focused high-level meetings; and a healthy blend of flexibility and accountability. Most important of all, however, it requires the true will of all 22 member states -- or, at least, the key players in the region.
The general guidelines of Moussa's reform plan were approved by heads of state, even when the plan was still in its preliminary phase. One element of Moussa's plan that has garnered support is his intention to name commissioners to take charge of certain political, economic, social and even cultural issues. Moussa will also appoint a number of envoys mandated with missions that carry deadlines. Moussa's hopes to upgrade the performance of various institutions affiliated with the Arab League are have been well received.
It is clear that member states are with Moussa in principle, but it remains to be seen whether governments are prepared to go along with the details of his reform plan. One example is the choice of a prominent Palestinian figure, Hanan Ashrawi, as a commissioner for Arab media. Ashrawi's appointment as a spokeswoman for the Arab League was met with clear public approval, but the Arab ministers of information with whom she is supposed to coordinate were not so enthusiastic, even after both Moussa and Ashrawi asserted that the new commissioner is not there to overshadow them.
It will interesting to watch reactions to Moussa's style of leadership unfold, particularly with his choices of envoys for the Arab-Israeli file, or even the much thornier Iraq-Kuwait file. Even if Moussa chooses not to name such envoys, it is worth watching how big or small a say Moussa's commissioner for political affairs will play in these and other political issues, such as the dispute over Western Sahara, or the internal conflict in Sudan.
Since he took office in mid-May, Moussa has become more involved in several of these issues than any of his predecessors. Some league diplomats say it is not an expansion of the post, but an extension of the man. "It is one thing that Moussa himself is allowed closer involvement [in these issues], and it is another thing to allow the Arab League closer involvement," noted a league source. Moussa has been allowed close involvement in his capacity as a seasoned and popular Arab diplomat, who holds the confidences of many Arab foreign ministers and prime ministers. "They deal with him as Amr Moussa, not as the secretary-general of the Arab League," the diplomat said.
Amr Moussa the diplomat has already been called into play in the case of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia's disappointment with the directives issued to the Arab League mission in Moscow to express appreciation for Russia's support of Iraq's right to seek an end to international sanctions. Though the Arab League was acting in accordance with the Amman Declaration -- adopted last March by Arab leaders to support the right of Iraq to seek an end to crippling sanctions -- one informed source said that what contained the situation was that "Moussa himself" contacted the high-ranking officials in both countries to explain that the league is not taking sides.
Moussa left to both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on Sunday. Speaking to reporters before he left, Moussa said that he sees "no contradiction between the legitimate request of Kuwait to seek an answer on the question of the POWs and Iraq's equally legitimate concern to seek an end to sanctions."
This is an indication that Moussa, who has expressed his keenness to start with less thorny issues, is not willing to keep the league totally disengaged from the key Arab issues. "The league is not meant to be the 23rd Arab state; so it cannot have a will of its own," Moussa told reporters. "But it will certainly have to be present where Arab common interests are evident."
Moussa has also shown a non-confrontational, yet hands-on style in dealing with crises. This was evident in his response to calls made in some Arab capitals to expel Mauritania from the Arab organisation when it violated an resolution to suspend all high-level political contacts with Israel. "I made it clear to our brothers in Mauritania that what they did was a big mistake, but we are not going to fall in the trap of neglecting the Palestinian cause and creating a parallel Mauritania issue," he told reporters at that time.
On Wednesday, the league hosted a limited meeting of Arab foreign ministers to address concerns over the deteriorating situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. "Obviously, if you combine the current regional developments, with the fact that the Arab summit is going to be taking place on an annual basis and Moussa's determination to bring the league back to the fore -- you will end up with a higher profile league than ever before," commented a former Egyptian diplomat who has served in several Arab countries. He added, "But this may still fall short of what Moussa has in mind; it may be just the first step on a very long road."
Moussa is not unaware of this fact. The reform of the Arab League, he says, is a multi-phased endeavour. The restructure plan that he is currently working on, he says, is "only the beginning."
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