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The league of Arab States. Rijul Asri AP Comparative Government and Politics. The Arab League (LAS). Voluntary association among Arab nations Arab – person who speaks Arabic Muslim – practitioner of Islam. Major Institutions: The council. Highest body of LAS
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The league of Arab States Rijul Asri AP Comparative Government and Politics
The Arab League (LAS) • Voluntary association among Arab nations • Arab – person who speaks Arabic • Muslim – practitioner of Islam
Major Institutions: The council • Highest body of LAS • Consists of representatives from each member state • Each state gets one vote, regardless of size • Council decisions binding only for states that voted for them • Important for maintenance of sovereignty
Major Institutions: The General Secretariat • Administrative and executive branches • Deals with daily functions of LAS • Headed by the Secretary General • Elected by the council every 5 years
Conception • 8 May 1942 – Arab Unity Consultations Phase • Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen • 7 October 1944 – Alexandria Protocol • Precursor to LAS Charter
Formation • 22 March 1945 • Charter signed in Cairo • Cairo acted as headquarters until 1979 • Headquarters, 1979 – 1990 – Tunis, Tunisia • Original 6 members: • Egypt • Lebanon • Iraq • Jordan • Syria • Saudi Arabia
Important Document: The LAS Charter • Most important document of organization • 20 Articles • Article 1 – Limits membership to Arab states • Enumerates/organizes purposes of LAS • Defines major bodies • 3 Annexes • Annex 1 – Defines Palestine as its own state
Significant Historical Developments and Policy • 1954 –The Arab Citizen • 1957 – Agreement on Economic Unity among Member States • 1960 – Agreement on the Coordination of Oil Policy • 1970 – Arab League Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization
Significant Historical Developments and Policy • 1979 – Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel • Suspended from LAS • Headquarters moved to Tunis • 1994 – Arab Charter for Human Rights • 2005 – L’InstitutSuperieureArabe de Traduction (ISAT)
Purposes • To forge/strengthen member-member relations • To guard sovereignty of members • To represent interests of members • To further interests of Arab World as a whole • Pan-Arabism – concept of unity among the entire Arab World
Advantages of Membership • Council decisions are non-binding • Maintains state sovereignty • Intra-organization trade • Agreement of Economic Unity among Member States • Modernization of technology • ALECSO • General Social Health • ALECSO • “The Arab Citizen”
Disadvantages of Membership • Universal standards • Impinges upon state sovereignty • International trade • Agreement on the Coordination of Oil Policy • Power of Egypt • Pan-Arabism v. Nationalism
Iran • Majority ethnicity – Persian • Sources of conflict: • Oil • Religion • Sunni, Wahhabism v. Shi’ite • Nuclear Policy
Israel • Conflicts: • 1945 – LAS boycott of Jewish businesses • 1948 – Arab-Israeli War • 1967 – Six Days War • LAS boycott of Israel • 1979 – Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel • Palestine – member of LAS
Fin. Questions, Comments, Concerns?
Works Cited • http://www.museumwnf.org/league-of-arab-states/?page=LAS-history.php • http://english.cctv.com/program/newshour/20091107/101314.shtml • http://arab.de/arabinfo/league.htm • http://unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,LAS,,,3ae6b3ab18,0.html/ • http://www.atlantic-community.org/index/articles/view/Iran_and_the_Arab_States%3A_A_Delicate_Balance_of_Power • http://geography.about.com/od/middleeastmaps/a/The-Arab-League.htm • http://www.arableagueonline.org/wps/portal/las_en/home_page/!ut/p/c5/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gXy8CgMJMgYwOLYFdLA08jF09_X28jIwN_E6B8JG55C3MCuoNT8_TDQXbiNwMkb4ADOBro-3nk56bqF-RGVHjqOioCAKQoUKM!/dl3/d3/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/ • https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2173rank.html