Jordan Watch : The Principles of Arab Reform: Political Reform

No word has ever been more "exploited" in Jordan and the Arab World more than "reform" in the last few years. As if it has been magistically discovered in a deep cave in the Arabian political desert, reform has been the most welcomed guest in all political projects developed by the USA and EU for the Arab World after September 11th and has been the silver bullet for the political and socio-economic debates and conferences around the Arab World, with Jordan taking center stage. It has, however been one of the most hated words by most of the political regimes describing it as a sinister foreign imperial conspiracy by the west. After few years of pushing for reform, the west has retreated and the Arab regimes have won the battle. Now we can import everything from the west except the principles of reform.

There has always been a slogan that "reform should arise from within the Arab World". It will certainly not "evolve" from the traditional influential apparatus governing most Arab countries whether in the government or in the society. The best and most comprehensive effort to date for developing a "reform from within" initiative was what representatives from the civil society in the Arab World drafted as the "Alexandria Declaration for Arab Reform" in 2004.

The author of this blog is embracing each and every principle contained in this declaration as the ideal approach for indogenous reform in the Arab World. Here is the full text of the declaration in four parts:

Introduction:

1. Participants in the “Issues of Reform in the Arab World: Vision and Implementation” conference, organized by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in collaboration with civil society institutions in the Arab world, met from 12 to 14 March 2004 to discuss the reforms needed to develop Arab societies. The participants stated that they are fully convinced that reform is a necessary and urgent matter, that it stems from within Arab societies and that it should address the aspirations of the people to develop a comprehensive reform project, covering political, economic, social and cultural aspects. This project should allow addressing the individual situation of each country while fitting within a general framework that highlights features shared by Arab Societies. This should allow each society to push forward its own reforms, while avoiding isolationism. It should also lay a strong foundation for regional cooperation that would forge a more positive and functional Arab entity on the international scene.

2. However, internal reform should not divert our attention from dealing with pressing regional issues on our agenda. At the forefront of these issues is a just solution for the Palestinian problem based on international resolutions that provide for the establishment of two independent and genuinely sovereign states, the liberation of occupied Arab territories and the recognition of the independence and territorial integrity of Iraq . In addition, the Middle East should be declared an area free from weapons of mass destruction. All territorial problems should be resolved peacefully without external interference so that these problems do not provide an excuse for foreign intervention in the affairs of the Arab region, which would put it once again under foreign tutelage.

3. The people of the region, by virtue of their history of civilized behavior and in keeping with their vision of a promising future, emphatically condemn terrorism in all its forms, reject all modes of religious fanaticism, and seek to embody values of tolerance and creative interaction between cultures and civilizations

4- Arab societies have the maturity and historical experience that enable them to contribute to our common human civilization, and are, indeed, capable of taking charge of their affairs and reforming their internal conditions; while interacting fully with the outside world and its many experiences of reform, in accordance with a list of specific priorities that runs as follows:

Political Reform:

5- Political reform refers to all direct and indirect measures for which governments, civil society and the private sector are responsible - measures that could help Arab societies and countries advance, without hesitation, towards building concrete and genuine democratic systems.

6- As representatives of Arab civil society, when we talk of democratic systems, we mean, without ambiguity, genuine democracy. This may differ in form and shape from one country to another due to cultural and historical variations; but the essence of democracy remains the same. Democracy refers to a system where freedom is paramount value that ensures actual sovereignty of the people and government by the people through political pluralism, leading to transfer of power. Democracy is based on respect of all rights for all the people, including freedom of thought and expression, and the right to organize under the umbrella of effective political institutions, ** with an elected legislature, an independent judiciary, a government that is subject to both constitutional and public accountability, and political parties of different intellectual and ideological orientations

7- This genuine democracy requires guaranteed freedom of expression in all its forms, topmost among which is freedom of the press, and audio-visual and electronic media. It calls for adopting free, regular, centralized and decentralized elections to guarantee transfer of power and the rule of the people. It also requires the highest possible level of decentralization that would allow greater self-expression by local communities, unleashing their creative potentials for culturally contributions to human development in all fields. This is closely linked to achieving the highest level of transparency in public life, to stamping out corruption within the framework of establishing good governance and support for human rights provided according to international agreements. The rights of women, children and minorities, the protection of the fundamental rights of those charged with criminal offences and the humane treatment of citizens are on top of the list. All this is in keeping with accepted practices in those societies that have preceded us on the road to democratic development

8- We hereby present a number of specific visions for political reform, and deem it important that these visions should be translated into tangible steps to be taken within the framework of a partnership between governments and civil society. These visions include the following:

Constitutional & Legislative Reform

9- Since the constitution is the basic law of the state, its articles should not be inconsistent with the model political system sought by society. It should also be consistent with the international covenants on human rights. This means that articles of the constitution should reflect the changes and developments that have actually taken place. Furthermore, any constitutional article that contradicts the demands of genuine democracy in the Arab countries should be amended, and modern constitutions should be drafted for those countries that have not yet reached that stage of democracy, aligning the provisions of the constitutions with the objective of society in its quest for democratic evolution. This would include:

a) Clear-cut separation of the legislative and executive powers

b) Rejuvenation of the forms of governance to guarantee regular and peaceful transfers of power in accordance with the prevailing circumstances in each country. A modern state is based on institutions and regulations, not on goodwill.

c) Organizing free and periodic elections that will safeguard democratic practices and ensure the non-monopolization of power by placing time limits on holding the power of government.)

d) Abolishing arrest or detention as a result of free expression in all Arab countries and releasing all prisoners who are not put on trial or against whom no indictments were issued.

Institutional and Structural Reform

10- A democratic system is closely linked to the presence of strong institutions incorporating the three recognized branches of government: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary, in addition to the press, the media and civil society associations. These institutions should be reviewed to guarantee their sound democratic practices. Consequently, this requires full transparency, the selection of effective leadership, a defined term of office, and the effective enforcement of the principle of ‘rule of the law' with no exception, irrespective of any justification.

11- Hence, the representatives of civil society, civil and non-governmental organizations represented in this conference affirm the need for the abolition of extra-judicial and emergency laws and extraordinary courts in any form and under any name, currently in effect in many Arab countries, since these undermine the democratic nature of political systems. Regular laws can adequately address all offences, with no need for extraordinary laws. This is a fundamental requirement for democratic legislative reform. Similarly, the elaboration of an effective legislation to deal with terrorism without compromising civil liberties and political rights is an integral part of legislative reform.

Unleashing Freedoms

12- The freedom to establish political parties within the framework of the law and the constitution, providing a forum for all intellectual trends and civil political forces to present their programs in a free, equal opportunity competition for governing, within the liberties provided for in international covenants

13- Arab countries which have not ratified the following set of international and Arab agreements should do so now:

a) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

b) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

c) The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

d) The Modernization of the Arab Charter for Human Rights Project, as drafted by a team of Arab experts (December, 2003).

e) All international conventions on the rights of women providing for the abolition of all forms of discrimination against them.

f) The International Convention on the Rights of the Child providing for a better life for Arab children.

14- Freeing the press and media from all forms of governmental influences or hegemony. Free press is the pillar of the democratic system and a clear representation of the freedom of expression and transparency. This can be achieved by developing the media, the laws regulating the publication of newspapers and the establishment of broadcasting stations and television channels based on independent ownership and management and transparency of finance. Thus, strengthening the ability of media groups to organize and conduct their affairs, without external interference by government authorities.

15- Allowing the establishment of civil society institutions by amending the restricting laws on founding societies, syndicates and volunteer unions, regardless of the nature of their activities whether political, social, cultural or economic, to guarantee its freedom in funding and mobility. Control of foreign funding should be done by following the methods applied in advanced societies. Undoubtedly, amending the legal framework that controls civil society should be given priority in the consideration of issues relevant to the democratic development of society. Such amendments are also related to activating the means of participation in political life as well as getting rid of the sense of alienation and marginalization, from which Arab citizens suffer for lack of any active and effective participation in the making of their future. Lastly, these amendments will guarantee effective contributions by the civil society in issues that require teamwork and voluntary initiatives

16- Encouraging public opinion polls and freeing them of any obstacles as one of the basic democratic methods. Founding institutions and research centers to work on Arab public opinion polls and to encourage the conducting of such polls regularly on all political, social and economic issues, would provide accurate data that could help decision-makers and social planners. In addition, these will draw an accurate graph of public opinion trends that have to be taken into consideration when making any decision.