Arab League, informal name of the League of Arab States, a voluntary
association of independent countries whose peoples are
mainly Arabic speaking. Its stated purposes are to
strengthen ties among the member states, coordinate their
policies, and promote their common interests.
The
Arab League was founded in Cairo in 1945 by Egypt, Iraq,
Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Transjordan (Jordan, as of
1950), and Yemen.
Countries that later joined are: Algeria (1962), Bahrain (1971), Comoros (1993), Djibouti (1977), Kuwait (1961), Libya (1953), Mauritania (1973), Morocco (1958), Oman (1971), Qatar (1971), Somalia (1974), Southern Yemen (1967), Sudan (1956), Tunisia (1958), and the United Arab Emirates (1971).
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The Palestine Liberation Organization was admitted in 1976. Egypt's membership was suspended in 1979 after it signed a peace treaty with Israel; the league's headquarters was moved from Cairo, Egypt, to Tunis, Tunisia.
In 1987 Arab leaders decided to renew diplomatic ties with Egypt. Egypt was readmitted to the league in 1989 and the league's headquarters was moved back to Cairo. The Arab League is involved in political, economic, cultural, and social programs designed to promote the interests of member states. The Arab League has served as a forum for member states to coordinate their policy positions and deliberate on matters of common concern, settling some Arab disputes and limiting conflicts such as the Lebanese civil wars of 1958. The Arab League has served as a platform for the drafting and conclusion of almost all landmark documents promoting economic integration among member states, such as the creation of the Joint Arab Economic Action Charter, which set out the principles for economic activities of the league. It has played an important role in shaping school curricula, and preserving manuscripts and Arab cultural heritage. The Arab League has launched literacy campaigns, and reproduced intellectual works, and translated modern technical terminology for the use of member states. It encourages measures against crime and drug abuse and deals with labor issues (particularly among the emigrant Arab workforce). |
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The Arab League has also fostered cultural exchanges between member states, encouraged youth and sports programs, helped to advance the role of women in Arab societies, and promoted child welfare activities.
The Egyptian government first proposed the Arab League in 1943. Egypt and some of the other Arab states wanted closer cooperation without the loss of self-rule that would result from total union. The original charter of the Arab League created a regional organization of sovereign states that was neither a union nor a federation.
The current Secretary-General is Amr Moussa, formerly Egyptian Foreign Minister. He was appointed at the Arab summit in Amman, in March 2001.
Amr Moussa served as Cairo’s ambassador to India in 1984 and as Egypt’s ambassador to the United Nations in 1990. He was appointed Foreign Minister in the cabinet of then-Prime Minister Atef Sedki in 1991 and remained in this position until 2001.
Critics of current Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak allege that Moussa's appointment to the Office of Secretary-General of the Arab League was motivated by Mubarak's desire to remove him from the public spotlight.
In 2004 an online community gathered tens of thousands of signatures petitioning for Moussa to run in the 2005 elections, but there was no response. In a Doha Debate Forum televised by the BBC in 2006, Moussa was asked about his Presidential hopes. Moussa merely replied that he hoped to continue the recent run of successes that have occurred under his leadership at the Arab League until the end of his term.
In 2009, he signed a memorandum of understanding with the Holy See and met with Pope Benedict XVI in order to strengthen joint projects and to promote peace and dialogue on a cultural and political level.
Moussa says he is determined to streamline the League and turn it into a powerful voice of unified Arab opinion. He hopes to eliminate lifetime bureaucrats and revitalise the 800-strong staff.
Moussa says his goals include improving Arab economies and promoting solidarity with Arab-Americans.
But the Palestinian issue remains at the top of his agenda.
He believes the conflict fuels regional extremism and has told journalists that he suspects it may even have contributed to the 11 September attacks on the US.
"People will not calm down unless and until the Palestinian question is fairly resolved," a Time interview quoted him as saying.
