Arab League

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جامعة الدول العربية
Arab League
Flag of the Arab League
Flag
Location of the Arab League
Headquarters Cairo, Egypt1
Largest cities Alexandria, Baghdad, Cairo, Casablanca, Damascus, Khartoum
Official languages Arabic
Membership 22 Arab states
2 observer states
Leaders
 -  Secretary General Amr Moussa (since 2001)
 -  Council of
the Arab League
Sudan
 -  Speaker of
the Arab Parliament
Nabih Berri
Establishment
 -  Alexandria Protocol March 22, 1945 
Area
 -  Total 13,763,193 km² (2nd2)
 sq mi 
Population
 -  2006 estimate 319,473,779 (3rd2)
 -  Density 115.6 /km² 
299.4 /sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate
 -  Total $1,564,789 million (10th2)
 -  Per capita $7,890 
Currency see footnote 3 below
Time zone (UTC+0 to +4)
Website
(Arabic) http://arableagueonline.org/
1 From 1979 to 1989: Tunis, Tunisia.
2 If ranked.
3 ISO 4217 codes bracketed:
Algerian dinar (DZB) • Bahraini dinar (BHD) • Comorian franc (KMF) • Djiboutian franc (DJF) • Egyptian pound (EGP) • Iraqi dinar (IQD) • Jordanian dinar (JD) • Kuwaiti dinar (KWD) • Lebanese livre (LL, LBP) • Libyan dinar (LYD) • Mauritanian ouguiya (MRO) • Moroccan dirham (MAD) • Omani rial (OMR) • Qatari riyal (QAR) • Saudi riyal (SAR) • Somali shilling (SOS) • Sudanese pound (SDD) • Syrian pound (SYP) • Tunisian dinar (TND) • United Arab Emirates dirham (AED) • Yemeni rial (YER)

The Arab League or League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية) is an organization of predominantly Arab states (compare Arab world). Headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, the League's charter states that the League shall co-ordinate economic affairs, including commercial relations; communications; cultural affairs; nationality, passports, and visas; social affairs; and health affairs. The Charter of the Arab League also forbids member states from resorting to force against each other.

Seven states formed the Arab League on March 22, 1945, defining its main goals as to: "draw closer the relations between member States and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries."[1]

Contents

[edit] Membership

The current members and observers of the Arab League and their dates of admission (observers in italics):

Flag of Egypt Egypt[2]
Flag of Iraq Iraq[3]
Flag of Jordan Jordan[4]b
Flag of Lebanon Lebanon[5]
Flag of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia[6]  
Flag of Syria Syria[7]		 March 22, 1945a
Flag of Yemen Yemen May 5, 1945
Flag of Libya Libya March 28, 1953c
Flag of Sudan Sudan January 19, 1956
Flag of Morocco Moroccod
Flag of Tunisia Tunisia		 October 1, 1958
Flag of Kuwait Kuwait July 20, 1961
Flag of Algeria Algeria August 16, 1962
Flag of United Arab Emirates UAE
Flag of Bahrain Bahrain
Flag of Qatar Qatar		 September 11, 1971
Flag of Oman Oman September 29, 1971
Flag of Mauritania Mauritania   November 26, 1973
Flag of Somalia Somalia February 14, 1974
Flag of Palestinian territories Palestine[8]e September 9, 1976
Flag of Djibouti Djibouti April 9, 1977
Flag of Comoros Comoros November 20, 1993
Flag of Eritrea Eritrea observer since 2003[9]
Flag of India India observer since 2007[10]

a Date of foundation.
b As Transjordan.
c Libya announced its withdrawal on October 24, 2002, which would have been effective one year later; however, Libya then retracted its decision to withdraw on January 16, 2003, reaffirmed it on April 3, 2003, before retracting it again on May 25, 2003.
d The sovereignty of Western Sahara is disputed between Morocco and the Polisario Front's Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic government. The Arab League recognizes it as a part of Morocco.
e Representatives from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

[edit] Annex on Palestine

Mindful of their previous announcements in support of the Arabs of Palestine the framers of the Pact were determined to include them within the League from its inauguration.[11] This was done by means of an annex that declared, "Even though Palestine was not able to control her own destiny, it was on the basis of the recognition of her independence that the Covenant of the League of Nations determined a system of government for her. Her existence and her independence among the nations can, therefore, no more be questioned de jure than the independence of any of the other Arab States... Therefore, the States signatory to the Pact of the Arab League consider that in view of Palestine's special circumstances, the Council of the League should designate an Arab delegate from Palestine to participate in its work until this country enjoys actual independence."[1]

[edit] Comparisons with other organizations

The Arab League resembles the Organization of American States, the Council of Europe, and the African Union, in that it has primarily political aims; one can regard each of these organizations as a regional version of the United Nations. However, its membership is based on culture rather than geographical location (which is the basis for membership of the other organizations cited above). In this respect the Arab League may bring to mind organizations such as the Latin Union or the Nordic Council.

The Arab League differs notably from some other regional organizations such as the European Union, in that it has not achieved any significant degree of regional integration and the organization itself has no direct relations with the citizens of its member states.

All Arab League members are also members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. In turn, the memberships of the smaller GCC and Arab Maghreb Union organizations are subsets of that of the Arab League.

[edit] Administration

Secretaries-General of the Arab League
Name Nationality Appointed Left Office
Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam Egypt 1945 1952
Abdul Khlek Hassouna Egypt 1952 1972
Mahmoud Riad Egypt 1972 1979
Chedli Klibi Tunisia 1979 1990
Dr. Ahmad Esmat Abd al Meguid Egypt 1991 2001
Amr Moussa Egypt 2001 present

[edit] Timeline

  • 1942: The United Kingdom promotes the idea of an Arab League in an attempt to win over Arabs as allies in war against Germany.
  • 1944: Official representatives from Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, North Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Transjordan (Jordan and Palestine) meet in Alexandria, Egypt, and agree to form the League of Arab States.
  • 1945: Arab states sign the Arab League Pact, formally inaugurating the League.
  • 1945: Arab league member states declare a boycott of Jewish businesses in Palestine (continued after the establishment of Israel as the Arab League boycott).
  • 1946: Arab League members sign the Cultural Treaty.
  • 1948: Arab League members declare war on Israel.
  • 1950: League members sign the Joint Defense and Economic Cooperation Treaty.
  • 1953: Members establish the Economic and Social Council; Libya joins the Arab League.
  • 1956: Sudan joins the Arab League.
  • 1958: Morocco and Tunisia join the Arab League; The United Nations recognizes the League and designates it as the United Nations' organization for education, science and culture in the Arab region.
  • 1961: Kuwait joins the Arab League.
  • 1962: Algeria joins the Arab League.
  • 1964: The first summit convenes in Cairo; the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALESCO) forms; a second league summit that autumn welcomes the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
  • 1967: South Yemen joins the Arab League.
  • 1971: Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates join the Arab League.
  • 1973: Mauritania joins the Arab League.
  • 1974: Somalia and Palestine (represented by the PLO) join the Arab League.
  • 1976: Arab League summit in Cairo authorizes the formation and deployment of an Arab peacekeeping force, mainly Syrian, in Lebanon.
  • 1977: Djibouti joins the Arab League.
  • 1979: The League suspends Egypt's membership in the wake of President Anwar Sadat's visit to Jerusalem and of Egypt's peace agreement with Israel; the Arab League moves its headquarters to Tunis.
  • 1987: The Arab League unanimously endorses a statement on Iraq's defense of its legitimate rights in its dispute with Iran.
  • 1989: The League re-admits Egypt as a member; the League's headquarters returns to Cairo.
  • 1990 (May): A summit meeting in Baghdad criticizes Western efforts to prevent Iraq from developing advanced weapons technology.
  • 1990 (August): At an emergency summit, 12 out of the 20 states present condemn the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait; unified Yemen joins the Arab League.
  • 1993: Comoros joins the Arab League.
  • 1994: The Arab League condemns the Gulf Cooperation Council's decision to end the secondary and tertiary trade embargo against Israel, insisting that only the Council of the Arab League can make such a policy change, and member states can not act independently on such matters.
  • 1996: The Arab League Council determines that Iraq, Syria and Turkey should share the waters of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers equitably between them. (This followed complaints by Syria and Iraq that extensive construction work in southern Turkey had started to restrict their water-supply.)
  • 1998: The Arab League Secretary-General condemns the use or threat of force against Iraq; Arab League interior and justice ministers sign an agreement to strengthen cooperation against terrorism; the Arab League denounces bomb attacks against U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and U.S. missile strikes against Afghanistan and Sudan.
  • 2002: Arab Peace Initiative. During an annual summit in Beirut in March, the Arab League proposes full normalization of relations with Israel in exchange for Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 internationally recognized borders, implying Israeli evacuation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the return of all Palestinian refugees and their descendants to Israel.
  • 2002: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi threatens to withdraw from the League, because of "Arab incapacity" in resolving the crises between the United States and Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
  • 2003: The League votes 21-1 in favor of a resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of U.S. and British soldiers from Iraq. (Kuwait casts the lone dissenting vote.)
  • 2006: Arab League Members decide to break the sanctions against the Palestinian Government of Hamas, by letting its banks function inside the Gaza Strip, in response to a widely condemned incident in Beit Hanun, by Israeli Forces.
  • 2007: The Arab Peace Initiative is reaffirmed in a summit in Riyadh.

[edit] Arab League Summits

  1. Cairo, Egypt: 13-17 Jan. 1964.
  2. Alexandria, Egypt: 5-11 Sep. 1964.
  3. Casablanca, Morocco : 13-17 Sep. 1965.
  4. Khartoum,Sudan: 29 Aug. 1967.
  5. Rabat, Morocco: 21-23 Dec. 1969.
  6. Cairo, Egypt (first emergency summit): 21-27 Sep. 1970
  7. Algiers, Algeria: 26-28 Nov.1973.
  8. Rabat, Morocco: 29 Oct. 1974.
  9. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2nd emergency summit): 17-28 Oct. 1976.
  10. Cairo, Egypt: 25-26 Oct. 1976.
  11. Baghdad, Iraq: 2-5 Nov.1978.
  12. Tunis, Tunisia: 20-22 Nov. 1979.
  13. Amman, Jordan: 21-22 Nov. 1980.
  14. Fes, Morocco: 6-9 Sep. 1982.
  15. Casablanca, Morocco (3rd emergency summit): 7-9 Sep. 1985
  16. Amman, Jordan (4th emergency summit): 8-12 Nov. 1987.
  17. Algiers, Algeria (5th emergency summit): 7-9 Jun. 1988.
  18. Casablanca, Morocco (6th emergency summit): 23-26 Jun. 1989.
  19. Baghdad, Iraq (7th emergency summit): 28-30 Mar. 1990.
  20. Cairo, Egypt (8th emergency summit): 9-10 Aug. 1990
  21. Cairo, Egypt (9th emergency summit): 22-23 Jun. 1996.
  22. Cairo, Egypt (10th emergency summit): 21-22 Oct. 2000.
  23. Amman, Jordan: 27-28 Mar. 2001.
  24. Beirut, Lebanon: 27-28 Mar. 2002.
  25. Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt: 1 Mar. 2003.
  26. Tunis, Tunisia: 22-23 May. 2004.
  27. Algiers, Algeria: 22-23 Mar. 2005.
  28. Khartoum, Sudan: 28-30 Mar. 2006.
  29. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 27-28 Mar. 2007.
  • Summit number 12 in Fes, Morocco occurred in two stages:
    • On 25 November 1981: The meeting ended without agreeing on the document and Egypt not shared in it. It is considered the shortest summit, only lasting 5 hours.
    • On 6-9 September 1982.
  • There are two summits in addition to those aforementioned, but they are not added to the system of Arab League summits:

[edit] Organization

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Pact of the Arab League, Avalon Project, accessed 12 June, 2007.
  2. ^ League of Arab States, Official Website, accessed 12 June, 2007.
  3. ^ League of Arab States, Official Website, accessed 12 June, 2007.
  4. ^ League of Arab States, Official Website, accessed 12 June, 2007.
  5. ^ League of Arab States, Official Website, accessed 12 June, 2007.
  6. ^ League of Arab States, Official Website, accessed 12 June, 2007.
  7. ^ League of Arab States, Official Website, accessed 12 June, 2007.
  8. ^ League of Arab States, Official Website, accessed 12 June, 2007.
  9. ^ title url Eritrea Joins Arab League As Observer. Somaliland Times (2003-01-17). Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
  10. ^ India invited as observer for Arab League summit. Press Trust of India (2007-03-27). Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
  11. ^ Geddes, 1991, p. 208.

[edit] References

  • Geddes, Charles L. (1991). A Documentary History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-275-93858-1

[edit] External links

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v • d • e
Arab League
Members Algeria · Bahrain · Comoros · Djibouti · Egypt · Iraq · Jordan · Kuwait · Lebanon · Libya · Mauritania · Morocco · Oman · State of Palestine · Qatar · Saudi Arabia · Sudan · Somalia · Syria · Tunisia · United Arab Emirates · Yemen Flag of the Arab League
Observers Eritrea · India
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_League"
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