Vital Perspective

UNDP: Discrimination Against Women Holding Back Arab World Development

A new UNDP report says that discrimination against women is holding back economic and social development across the Arab World, and recommends that Arab women be given greater access to education, employment, health care and public life. Islam is not to blame for the problem, the report says, but rather political inflexibility, male domination and war.

Maternal mortality rates remain unacceptably high - 1,000 per 100,000 live births in the poorest Arab League states - and women suffer more overall ill-health than men. In all but four Arab countries, fewer than 80% of girls go to secondary school. Half of all women are illiterate compared to one-third of men. In public life women's involvement is very limited: they make up an average of only about 10% of members of parliament, for example - the lowest proportion in the world.

"Arab countries stand to reap extraordinary benefits from giving men and women equal opportunities to acquire and utilise knowledge," the report says.

UN Overwhelmingly Approves Arab League Envoy to Int'l Law Commission

Hussein Hassouna, the ambassador of the League of Arab States to the U.S., has been elected by the UN General Assembly to be a member of the International Law Commission by 153 of 187 UN voting members - the highest number of votes among all Arab and African candidates.

The International Law Commission, composed of 34 experts in international law, was established in 1947 for the promotion of the progressive development of international law. The commission meets every summer in Geneva and prepares written drafts that are sent to the General Assembly for adoption.

An Egyptian by birth, Ambassador Hassouna has served in the UN, Morocco and Yugoslavia. In the past, he has served Egypt as assistant foreign minister and legal advisor to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. Hassouna said, "I strongly believe that respect for international law and its implementation by all nations is the best guarantee for a peaceful, secure and just world."

Criticism of Saudi Peace Plan Reaffirms Hamas Will Never Recognize Israel

MediaLine reports that Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh is criticizing the peace plan put forward by the Arab nations, because it recognizes Israel. The 2002 Saudi Peace Initiative has become the Arab world's unilateral framework for a diplomatic settlement with Israel. But on Monday, Haniyeh said the problem with the plan was that it recognized Israel in exchange for an Israeli pullout from the West Bank, Gaza, east Jerusalem and Golan Heights.

The larger context of Haniyeh's statements is another affirmation that Hamas will never recognize Israel, which it is sworn to destroy. Comments such as these derailed the efforts of President Mahmoud Abbas to form a unity government that would recognize Israel, and comply by the guidelines of the Quartet for a resumption of foreign aid and legitimacy.

As an aside, we've previously noted that the Saudi Peace Initiative was developed without Israeli consultation, as opposed to the Road Map, which was developed in concert with both the Israelis and Palestinians, and has been accepted by the international community as the only acceptable path. As such, the Arab plan is a non-starter.

Arab States Attempting to Use U.S.-Israel Relationship as Leverage on Darfur

Analysts believe that Arab states are unlikely to stand with the U.S. in demanding that Sudanese President Omar al Bashir accept UN peacekeepers in Darfur to stop the genocide and provide humanitarian relief. Their reluctance, according to Maamoun Fandy of the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London, stems from the U.S.-Israel relationship.

"Darfur is horrific, but also what is taking place in Palestine ... is horrific, so unless the menu includes movement on the Palestinian issue, the Arabs will not bite on that Darfur issue," said Fandy. Does this rationale make sense to anyone?

Arab League Slams Violence Between Fatah, Hamas as 'Palestinian Madness'

The Arab League called for an immediate end to Palestinian factional fighting in the Palestinian territories today, describing it as unprecedented "Palestinian madness".

"Let's leave the killing, aggression and destruction to Israel, because that's enough for the Palestinian people," said Mohamed Subaih, the Arab League's assistant secretary-general for Palestinian affairs. "This infighting is unprecedented Palestinian madness," Subaih added.

Fatah gunmen on Tuesday threatened to kill Hamas leaders, escalating a power struggle marked by the worst internal violence in Gaza and the West Bank since the Palestinian Authority's creation in 1994. Twelve Palestinians have been killed and more than 100 wounded in two days of fighting between Fatah and Hamas against a backdrop of stalled negotiations between President Mahmoud Abbas and PM Ismail Haniyeh over the formation of a unity government.

Subaih said that the infighting was the greatest threat to the Palestinian cause and made it hard for the Arab League to argue on the Palestinians' behalf. The League needed a unified Palestinian stance, he said. "This was a clear request from the Arab League and the foreign ministers, that the Palestinian stance be unified so we can address the world," Subaih said.

Saudis Tout Arab Initiative; Egypt to Call For Jump to Final Status Issues at UN

Saudi Arabia said on Thursday that its 2002 Middle East peace plan, widely known as the Arab Peace Initiative, remained the only framework to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, as the UN prepares to discuss the issue. The Security Council was due to meet later this month to discuss Arab proposals to revive peace talks that have repeatedly stalled in large part due to the Palestinian failure to implement the initial steps of the Road Map agreement.

The document was adopted by the Arab League in 2002 and foresees an end to the conflict through land-for-peace deals with Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians. Let us remember that Israel was never consulted at any time on the agreement, and the Arabs now call their unilateral decision the "only framework." Placed side-by-side against the Road Map, which was accepted by the U.S., Russia, EU, UN, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, we clearly disagree. The Arab Initiative is far from the "only framework"... in fact, it's not a legitimate framework at all.

Another proposal to be presented by Egypt to the Security Council calls for reversing the timetable of the Road Map by fixing the borders of a Palestinian state before resuming talks. That's nothing short of a formula for disaster. Jumping directly into final status issues before the Hamas-led government recognizes Israel, accepts past agreements and renounces violence, before the territories are demilitarized, before the rocket attacks and kidnappings end, would create immense tension and more terrorism by irresponsibly raising expectations for a quick resolution. If you jump to final status issues without first dealing with the surface issues such as terror, you can expect nothing short of a disaster.

"The Road Map should have a conclusion and that is the creation of a Palestinian state. We need to agree on the concept and the borders, and then negotiate on the means of achieving this goal," Egyptian FM Ahmad Abu al-Gheit said Thursday. "Everyone must work toward the realization of the true goal of the peace process, which is to establish a Palestinian state."

Arab FMs Meet in Cairo to Plan Counter to Tehran's Funding of Reconstruction

Arab League foreign ministers convened for an emergency meeting on Sunday in Cairo to discuss how to fund reconstruction in Lebanon and defuse Mideast tensions amid rising discord between moderate Arabs and Syria, a main backer of Hezbollah. Syrian FM Walid Moallem skipped the meeting.

Many Arab governments have expressed resentment over last week's speech by Syrian President Bashar Assad in which he criticised fellow Arab leaders for not supporting Hezbollah. He said the war had revealed them to be "half men".

The Kuwaiti government plans to donate $800 million to Lebanon, FM Sheik Mohammed Al Sabbah announced, and Saudi Arabia has already had donated $500 million. Diplomats said Arabs want to counter a flood of money that is believed to be coming from Iran to Hezbollah to finance reconstruction projects.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has pledged to help rebuild Lebanon, and Hezbollah has begun distributing money to pay rent and buy furniture for civilians who lost their homes, paying out $12,000 in cash per person. Nasrallah did not say where the money would come from, but Iran, which helped create Hezbollah and is its strongest supporter, was widely believed to have opened its treasury for the rebuilding program.

Meanwhile in Israel, PM Ehud Olmert said he will pour money into the north of the country. "The government has decided to place at the top of its agenda the strengthening of Haifa and the north of the country," Olmert said at the start of a cabinet meeting on Sunday. The offensive is estimated to have cost Israel $5.7 billion, the equivalent of 10% of the state budget or about half of the defense budget.

Included in the sum is more than $1.3 billion in damage from rockets fired by Hezbollah, which are estimated to have demolished or damaged 12,000 homes, 1,600 cars, 600 businesses and 100 factories.

Arab League Foreign Ministers to Convene in Beirut to Show Solidarity

Arab foreign ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting Monday in Beirut to support Lebanon, Arab League number two Ahmed Ben Helli told AFP Friday. "The meeting of Arab foreign ministers will take place next Monday in Beirut, it will be a follow-up of the session which took place in Cairo on July 15," the deputy secretary general of the pan-Arab body said.

Ben Helli said Arab League chief Amr Mussa was expected in Beirut on Sunday to prepare the meeting and hold talks with Lebanese officials on the crisis. The idea of holding an extraordinary meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in the war-torn country was initially floated by Saudi Arabia.

Arab countries have been divided on the stand to take since Israel began military operations against Iranian-backed Hezbollah, with the more moderate regimes refusing to rally behind the terrorists.

On Hezbollah, Arab League Divided Over Legitimacy of Attacks; Syria Supports

Foreign ministers of 18 Arab countries held an emergency summit in Cairo on Saturday over Israeli action in Lebanon, but squabbles over the legitimacy of Hezbollah's attacks on Israel --including the kidnapping of two IDF soldiers-- appeared likely to keep participants from reaching a consensus, delegates said.

The Saudi foreign minister appeared to be leading a camp of ministers criticizing the Hezbollah's actions, calling them "unexpected, inappropriate and irresponsible acts."  "These acts will pull the whole region back to years ago, and we cannot simply accept them," Saudi al-Faisal told his counterparts. It appeared that Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, the UAE and the Palestinian Authority were in agreement.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, however, lashed back al-Faisal, asking "How can we come here to discuss the burning situation in Lebanon while others are making statements criticizing the resistance?" Moallem called Hezbollah's action "legitimate acts in line with international resolutions and the UN charter, as acts of resistance," delegates said.

Ahmadinejad Calls on Islamic Countries to "Remove" the "Zionist Regime"

The foreign ministers of Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria, attending a meeting on Iraq in Iran, slammed Israel for the "increasing aggression against the Palestinian people," and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Islamic countries to mobilize against Israel and "remove" the "Zionist regime."

"The basic problem in the Islamic world is the existence of the Zionist regime, and the Islamic world and the region must mobilize to remove this problem," Ahmadinejad said at the opening of the two-day conference.

"Today there is a strong will... to remove the Zionist regime and implement a legal Palestinian regime all over Palestine. The continued survival of this regime means nothing but suffering for the region... The biggest threat today for the region is the existence of the fake Zionist regime," he said.

Arab League S-G Amr Mussa also went on the offensive, condemning Israel for its "increasing aggression against the Palestinian people" and the international community for its "silence".

"The Arab foreign ministers participating in today's Tehran meeting expressed their strong condemnation of this continuing and increasing aggression against the Palestinian people," Mussa said in a statement on behalf of officials from Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria. The statement said the officials also "voiced sorrow over international silence, and held United Nations Security Council members responsible for the dangerous violations of international laws and treaties."