Zenit
The third Arab Human Development Report was released April 7 in Amman,
the capital of Jordan. An independent group of Arab scholars and
intellectuals put together the report, published by the U.N.
Development Program (UNDP).
The report focused on the situation of political freedoms and how
governments carry out their responsibilities toward their citizens.
"Freedom is pivotal in human development," the report notes in its
introduction.
But, according to the authors: "By 21st century standards, Arab
countries have not met the Arab people's aspirations for development,
security and liberation despite variations between one country and
another in that respect. Indeed, there is a near-complete consensus
that there is a serious failing in the Arab world, and that this is
located specifically in the political sphere."
The authors recommend a rapid acceleration of democratic reform. The
report warns that pressures for political changes are building up and
if action is not taken by governments they could face social upheaval
in coming years.
The report rejects arguments that the Arab world has lagged behind in
establishing democratic institutions due to cultural factors. The main
cause for a lack of democracy, they argue, is political. The authors
cite the decades-long imposition of emergency powers by authorities
across the region, the systematic suppression of independent courts and
parliaments, and the double standards of foreign powers. These foreign
powers, the authors say, have accepted or even encouraged authoritarian
rule in exchange for political stability and access to energy supplies.
Not all is negative. "There is a change in mind-sets in the region,"
said Rima Khalaf Hunaidi, U.N. assistant secretary-general and director
of the Regional Bureau for Arab States at the UNDP, who has been the
chief overseer of the Arab Human Development Reports. "We are moving
with greater confidence in a new direction now, and there is a strong
awareness of the irreversibility of change -- change driven by the Arab
street, not change adopted from afar."
Among the achievements listed in the report are the initiatives taken
by private groups who have agitated for reform by organizing petitions
and peaceful protests. However, overall the pace of progress has been
disappointingly limited, the report states.
Black Holes
The report termed the excessive concentration of power in many Arab
states as a kind of political "Black Hole" at the center of civil life.
Be it military dictatorships, monarchy or a president elected without
any real competition, the result is an overwhelming concentration of
power by the executive.
This concentration means that the judiciary is prevented from carrying
out its role of safeguarding the rights of the citizenry, the authors
of the report say. "Where there is conflict between a political regime
unfettered by legal controls and the judiciary, whose independence is
upheld in the constitution and law, the Arab regime swiftly sweeps
aside the independence of the judiciary without any hesitation," says
the report.
Corruption is another serious problem. In many cases the report alleges
that corruption is institutionalized in government and business.
Another factor behind the concentration of power is "clannism," which,
the report argues, reinforces a mind-set of passivity and obedience to
authority, along with intolerance of dissent.
And while the constitutions in some Arab states in theory guarantee
some freedoms, a common defect is that the manner of their
implementation is left up to legislative regulation. As a result in the
practice, the report notes, regulations restrict basic rights. The
report described many of the constitutional provisions as "an empty
facade."
An example of this is the freedom of assembly. Most Arab constitutions
provide for freedom of assembly, but many countries prohibit or
restrict the exercise of the right to strike, demonstrate, hold mass
gatherings or assemble peacefully.
Another example is freedom of the press. Currently, press freedom in 11
Arab countries can be blocked or curtailed by regulations that permit
prior or post-printing censorship. Similar problems exist regarding the
workings of the justice system.
Victims of violence
Another problem area noted in the report is violence against civilians.
The report condemns terrorist actions against civilians, whether they
be carried out by extremist groups through assassinations and bombings,
or by means of armed confrontations between security forces and armed
groups that often result in civilian casualties.
"These unacceptable acts affect children, women and old people who are
innocent by any decent human standards, or any religious teaching," the
report states.
The authors also condemn foreign occupations, particularly the Israeli
occupation of Palestinian territories, which, they argue, continues to
violate the individual and collective freedoms of Palestinians through
assassinations, raids on heavily populated civilian areas, arbitrary
arrests, house demolitions and repeated closures. According to the
report some 24,000 Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip have been made
homeless by Israeli demolitions between 2000 and 2004.
The authors also single out for condemnation the attacks against
civilian noncombatants by armed militants in Iraq -- as well as the
civilian casualties of armed actions by American-led occupation forces
in the country, who they charge have failed to meet their obligations
under the Geneva Convention to provide security to Iraqi citizens.
"After dismantling the old state, the U.S.-led authorities made little
progress in building a new one," the authors assert.
Reforms recommended
Due to its oil resources the report noted that the Arab nations will
likely continue to be the object of continued interest by major world
powers, that are likely to press for democratic reforms. The authors
declare that they would prefer to see reforms implemented as part of an
internal process of change, but at the same time they admit that the
Arab world cannot afford to ignore outside pressures.
Perhaps the best situation, continued the report, would be if those
Arabs interested in promoting reforms were to seize the opportunities
that come about as a result of the external initiatives by leading the
reform process from within.
The report contains a number of recommendations to overcome the lack of
democracy and respect for rights. In general the authors recommend that
Arab countries sign all declarations, covenants and treaties that form
part of international law. The report also calls for a gradual and
negotiated transition of power to representative forms of government.
As well, there should be a separation of the executive, legislative and
judicial powers.
Among the specific reform proposals are the following points.
-- Total respect for the key freedoms of opinion, expression and association.
-- Ending all types of marginalization and discrimination against social groups and minorities.
-- Guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary and ending reliance on military tribunals and other "exceptional" courts.
-- Abolishing the "states of emergency" that have become permanent features of governance in the region.
The report rejects the idea that the reforms proposed are merely a
Western view of freedom and human rights, alien to the Arab world. As
an example the authors explain that there are sections of the Koran
that recognize the value of religious freedom. And in the past, mainly
the ninth and 19th centuries, there have been periods of relative
freedom. Such freedom is urgently needed again, the report insists,
even if achieving it will not be easy.
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