Arab League

Comments · 129 Views

Introduction

The Arab League is a confederation of 20 Arab nations whose main aim is to improve coordination within its members on matters of national and common interest. The union was formed in 1945 after the great concern about post-war colonial divisions of different territori

Moreover, the emergence of a Jewish state in Palestine created disunity and very poor governance, which also resulted in the foundation of the Arab League. Consequently, with the formation of the league, the member states had a national union to join them. Find some more info on it at outline writing service

Purpose of the Arab League

One of the purposes, with which the Arab League was formed, is to give political expression to the Arab nations in different parts of the world. The league is divided into council, special committees and permanent secretariat, which are provided with valid power to conduct their duties. Member states can, therefore, express their political views at the forum in order to solve any issue affecting one of the states.

The Arab League was also founded with the aim of strengthening ties between different member states in terms of trade and other bilateral agreements. They will, therefore, create a good environment where states can engage in trade agreement, which results in increasing individual country's national income. Stronger ties were also aimed at ensuring economic growth and development. Moreover, the Arab League was responsible for reinforcing independence and sovereignty of the member states. Additionally, the member states are prohibited from engaging in armed conflicts or wars in order to ensure that peace and political stability prevail within the union. Since the league is not a military union, it, therefore, strives to promote peace, unity, and solidarity for the welfare of the member countries.

Furthermore, the Arab League has the responsibility of ensuring that territorial integrity of member states is achieved. Every member country is free to adhere to the agreements set by the other nations. Respect for the available administrative justice system is highly regarded. The league also helps to show consideration for the territory and guarantee there is no attack or threats experienced at the border point.

Since the Arab League is a regional organization, which symbolizes the glory of the member states, it has also made a few formal agreements with the United Nations for peace and unity. Through the intervention of the UN, the league aims at promoting political cooperation between the member states. Any dispute that may arise is, therefore, solved to enhance peacebuilding.

Overview of the Arab League

The league was created mainly through the initiation of the Egyptian government in order to ensure unity of the Arab states. Therefore, Cairo became their headquarters where various meetings were held to provide direction to the members. In 2008, various Arab states met in Cairo in order to establish better political, cultural and economic ties within the region. Initially, the league was formed with an aim of assisting other Arab countries in gaining political independence and liberation from the foreign rule.

Most of the Arab states were united in opposing Israeli occupation of their region, which was against their wish. The Arab League formally recognized the rights of each member and every decision is made through official vote. Each member is entitled to one vote to ensure democracy prevails and provided with an opportunity to make important decisions. Moreover, in order to fulfill its purpose and maintain harmony in the region, all the states are subjected to the rule of the governing body, which has the authority to resolve any conflicts that may exist. Members are provided with a right to express their views and dissatisfaction when final conflict resolutions are approved by the member states. Therefore, the body is mainly interested in ensuring peaceful coexistence within the region.

Means of Conflict Resolutions

Mediation is one of the first methods applied by the governing body in order to solve any dispute or disagreement in the Arab states. With an aim of preventing any crisis from developing into a bigger one when there can be an outbreak of war, the league has full authority to intervene and impose strict sanctions through a mediation process (Patterson McLean, 2015). Violence is therefore not an option within the league and any state that disobeys its rules may be suspended from the union.

Court arbitration is also applied where it depends on member states involved in the dispute. The legal system is, therefore, guarantees that their decision contributes to securing peaceful co-existence of the member states. The judgment made is final and should be adhered to in order to ensure that peace and unity prevail.

There is a constitution that provides for proper coordination among the signatory nations on different matters, such as education, finance, trade, law and other foreign policy (van Hullen, 2015). As a result, in 2005, an Arab parliament was created where members were drawn from every member state's parliament. Matters of national and regional interest are discussed in this platform in order to ensure economic, political and social stability.

The Arab League is a voluntary association that the member states can join at their own free will. Nations speaking the Arabic language are mainly encouraged to join in order to have stronger ties in the region to enhance economic prosperity. Currently, the league is comprised of 22 members including Palestine, which is considered an independent state.

The idea of formation of the league was initiated in 1942 when the British wanted to gain full control of the Arab countries by force. The league did not start its operation until 1945, after the end of World War II (Patterson McLean, 2015). During that time, the main issue that dominated the league’s agenda was the attainment of independence from the foreign rule. They also aimed at preventing Jewish community in Palestine from creating their own independent state.

The highest body within the Arab League is the Council that consists of various representatives of member states. The representatives are mainly foreign ministers who are involved in an administrative matter. The council normally meets two times a year, in March and September. However, in case of the emergence of an urgent crisis, the council may convene a special meeting at the request of two members. On the day–to-day operations, the league is managed by the general secretariat headed by a secretary-general.

In addition to the permanent 22 member states, which speak the Arabic language, there are other four states, namely India, Brazil, Venezuela, and Eritrea, who act as observer nations. Arabic is not their national language, but they also contribute to the unity and prosperity of the member states. They are responsible for overseeing their operations, such as elections, urgent matters or any mediation talks.

Since its formation, three member states have been suspended due to failure to adhere to the established rules and regulations. Egypt was the first state to be suspended in the year 1979 after the signing of the major Egypt-Israeli Treaty. However, it was readmitted 10 years later in 1989 after mutual agreement from other states (Patterson McLean, 2015). It was enough time to serve as a punishment for Egypt to ensure that it will always adhere to the established rules. In 2011, Syria was also suspended due to its civil war. Libya was the third state to be suspended in 2011.

The Arab League's operations and effectiveness have mainly been faced with a major challenge of divisions among the member states. During the Cold War, some members were not united, since some were Soviet oriented while the rest were on the Western camp’s side. There has therefore been strengthened rivalry over leadership, mainly between Egypt and Iraq (Mohamedou, 2016). There were also increased hostilities in some states, such as Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, and Libya. During the US-led attack on Iraq, the league was highly tested, since some member states supported the attack, other opposed it and the rest maintained neutrality.

The Arab League’s member states are mainly united by mistrust to the West. The common areas of disputes usually arise from political positions, which are influenced predominantly by their leaders (MacDonald, 2015). The existing conflicts could, therefore, be perfectly handled through support from governing council. It is also member states’ personal responsibility that they do not cause any conflicts, since peace should be maintained within the region.

Conclusion

The Arab League is composed of 22 member states, which mainly speak the Arabic language. It was formed in 1945 with the main purpose of enhancing coordination among the member states while still maintaining strong economic ties. The council is the highest governing body within the Arab League. Any decision is made by a simple majority when every member state is entitled to one vote.

The parliament was formed in order to discuss various matters that are of national interest. Each member country was to select one person to join the parliament where different legislative functions would be performed. The established rules and regulations should be adhered and a member state can be suspended for any violation. Three countries namely, Egypt, Syria, and Libya, were suspended from the league. In order to enhance its unity and performance, the league seeks support of the United Nations in order to overcome major political instability. Medication and arbitration are the main forms of conflict resolution, since they are against any form of violence.

Comments
AWeber Smart Designer