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Model Arab League BACKGROUND GUIDE Special Council on Regional Conflict and Instability

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Model Arab League BACKGROUND GUIDE Special Council on Regional Conflict and Instability 2019-2020 Model Arab league BACKGROUND GUIDE Special Council on Regional Conflict and Instability ncusar.org/modelarableague Original draft by Ilze Greever, Chair of the Special Council on Regional Conflict and Instability at the 2019-2020 National University Model Arab League, with contributions from the dedicated staff and volunteers at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Honorable Delegates, Welcome to the 2019-2020 Special Council on Regional Conflict and Instability. My name is Ilze Greever, and I am incredibly excited to have the opportunity to chair for you this year. I am a sophomore at Northeastern University, studying Political Science with a focus in International Relations and Diplomacy. This year's Special Council aims to address the violence and instability that affects so many nations within the Arab League, as well as some of the catastrophic results of conflict including human rights violations and displaced people. I hope this council will not only help you learn about the complexity of the conflicts affecting the Arab League, but also encourage you to think critically about the root causes of conflict and the potential to reach diplomatic solutions. As you prepare for this council, I want to remind you of the importance of well researched, thoughtful debate and more importantly respect for all those around you. While the topics of the council may put your state at odds with others in the room or you may represent a state currently involved in conflicts with other League members, this is never a reason to be combative or unkind to other delegates. Diplomacy is not just about representing your state; it is also about negotiation and finding common ground. I urge all of you to focus your research on the specific solutions your state can bring to the table to address these incredibly complex issues. While no one solution can address all the forms of conflict and instability that affect Arab states, through your creativity, cooperation, and problem solving I am confident that this council can provide meaningful solutions to the issue of conflict and instability within the Arab League. I can't wait to meet each and every one of you and hear your ideas and solutions for each of the topics of this council. Best of luck, Ilze Greever Topic I: Creating frameworks to mediate disputes between League members with the goal of limiting interleague conflict. I. Introduction A. General Background A major role of all intergovernmental organizations is conflict resolution and maintaining peace. Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations emphasizes the importance of regional intergovernmental organizations in peace negotiations and mediation.1 In 2012, the United Nations set guidelines for mediation centered around eight fundamental ideas: preparedness, consent, impartiality, inclusivity, national ownership, international law and normative frameworks, coherence, coordination and complementarity, and quality peace agreements. 2 While broad in scope, these ideas were intended to list the priorities that states and regional organizations should have when attempting to prevent conflict. Successful conflict resolution relies on both short term measures, including ceasefires, safe-zones, and humanitarian aid provision, and long term measures aimed at permanent conflict resolution, through mediation. Article V of the Arab League Charter dictates that the League should play a mediation role in any disputes between member states that threaten to result in conflict.3 Additionally, if two states submit a dispute to mediation by the League, unless it involves a state's independence, sovereignty or territorial integrity, the majority decision of the League is binding.4 This highlights the intention of the League to play a role in mediation and conflict prevention. Article VI of the Charter also gives the League power to repel aggression through a unanimous decision on what measures the League should take.5 The framework to respond to conflict exists within the Charter of the Arab League, but League members must be empowered to expand and use that framework to prevent conflict. B. History in the Arab World In recent history, the MENA region is often considered one of the most conflict prone regions in the world. From the wars between various Arab States and Israel, to ongoing conflicts in Yemen, Syria, and Libya, conflict in the Arab world has increasingly involved other states in the League as well as foreign actors. The Arab League has attempted to play a peacebuilding role, including 1 “Charter of the United Nations Chapter VIII.” United Nations, www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter- viii/index.html. 2 “Regional Organizations In Conflict Mediation: Lessons Of Experience & Cooperation With The United Nations.” Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe , 2016, www.osce.org/secretariat/230526?download=true. 3 Charter of Arab League. 22 Mar. 1945, www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3ab18.html. 4 Ibid 5 Ibid offering to mediate in Yemen until the government refused League involvement.6 More recently inter-League divides have threatened stability as ideological divides have expanded. The Qatar-Gulf Crisis highlights the intensity of rifts between members of the League. Since June of 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain have cut diplomatic ties and instigated a land and sea blockade until Qatar complies with a series of demands.7 Qatar has thus far weathered the blockade successfully by strengthening economic ties to states outside of the Gulf. While Qatar has called on Kuwait to mediate, talks have failed to resolve the conflict. The ongoing rift between the Gulf States emphasizes the ideological divides between League members and the potential for increasing conflict. C. Finding a Solution to the Problem: Past, Present and Future The Arab League has played a mediation role in the past, in both interleague and other regional conflicts. In the 1960s and 1970s, Arab League conflict resolution measures often took the form of sending in military intervention primarily to fulfill a peacekeeping role. In 1961, the League sent forces to Kuwait to deter an Iraqi claim to the territory.8 During the Lebanese civil war in 1976, the Arab Deterrent Force was created with forces from six states to implement a successfully negotiated ceasefire agreement and maintain stability.9 Overtime, the willingness of the League to mobilize cooperative forces has diminished and conflict resolution has taken other forms. Individual states still deploy forces to conflicts as they see fit, but the League has turned to more neutral mediation methods. In 2011, a yearlong observer mission was sent to Syria to monitor the developing conflict in an effort to ensure the rights and freedoms of citizens were being upheld.10 This mission was unsuccessful and did little to prevent the start of a full blown conflict. A major criticism of the Arab League as a whole is its limited effectiveness at solving problems, especially those related to stability and security. This problem originates from the League’s Charter, as it lacks an enforcement mechanism for resolutions. While it was intended to protect the sovereignty of states, its result is that states can renege on previous agreements at will.11 6 Youssef, Hesham. “Mediation and Conflict Resolution in the Arab World: The Role of the Arab League,” Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe Yearbook, 2013, ifsh.de/file- CORE/documents/yearbook/english/13/Youssef-en.pdf. 7“Qatar Crisis: What You Need to Know.” BBC News, BBC, 19 July 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east- 40173757. 8 Youssef, Hesham. “Mediation and Conflict Resolution in the Arab World: The Role of the Arab League,” Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe Yearbook, 2013, ifsh.de/file- CORE/documents/yearbook/english/13/Youssef-en.pdf. 9Ibid 10 Ibid 11 Hanna, Michael Wahid. “The Arab League: First Steps Toward New Norms.” World Politics Review, 22 May 2012, www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/11978/the-arab-league-first-steps-toward-new-norms. With that problem in mind, Members of the Council will need to find incentives to ensure negotiating parties stick to agreements and cooperate with the peace process. Improving regional integration is key to combating disputes with in the Arab League. II. Questions to Consider in Your Research ● Is my state interested in playing a mediation role in solving interleague conflict, or is there another actor my state would advocate should have the role? ● What ideological differences does my state have with the rest of the league that might be barriers to negotiations? ● What forms of internal conflict prevention does my state use and could any of them be a framework for a broader League wide process? ● Is my state currently contributing to conflict either through its own actions or by backing the actions of another state? What problems does my state have that need to be resolved in order to stop it from playing a role in the conflict? III. Questions a Resolution Might Answer ● How should League mediation be initiated and what scenarios are appropriate to get the league involved? ● Should the League have a broad framework for mediation and adapt to the issues of a specific conflict, or have a firmer framework to ensure impartiality and consistent implementation of the resolution? ● Should only states have access to the mediation process or should other interested groups also have access? ● How can the League address failed negotiations and what should be done to motivate states to negotiate? IV. Additional Resources Nothing but Failure? The Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council as Mediators in Middle Eastern Conflicts An analysis of the mediation efforts of the Arab League and the GCC, this article provides an in -depth review of both the types of scenarios where mediation is attempted and the outcomes of mediation.
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