Member states of the Arab League explained

The Arab League has 22 member states. It was founded in Cairo in March 1945 with seven members: the Kingdom of Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Republic, Transjordan (Jordan from 1949), and North Yemen (later becoming Yemen).[1] Membership increased during the second half of the 20th century. Seven countries have observer status. The headquarters are located in Cairo, Egypt.

List of current member states

CountryAdmission dateCapitalArea (km2)Population (2021)[2] Official languages
Algeria16 August 1962AlgiersArabic, Tamazight
Bahrain11 September 1971ManamaArabic
Comoros20 November 1993MoroniArabic, Comorian, French
Djibouti4 September 1977DjiboutiArabic, French
Egypt22 March 1945CairoArabic
Iraq22 March 1945BaghdadArabic, Kurdish
Jordan22 March 1945AmmanArabic
Kuwait20 July 1961Kuwait CityArabic
Lebanon22 March 1945BeirutArabic
Libya28 March 1953TripoliArabic
Mauritania26 November 1973NouakchottArabic
Morocco1 October 1958Rabat or Arabic, Tamazight
Oman29 September 1971MuscatArabic
Palestine[3] 9 September 1976[4] or Arabic
Qatar11 September 1971DohaArabic
Saudi Arabia22 March 1945RiyadhArabic
Somalia14 February 1974Mogadishu
Sudan19 January 1956KhartoumArabic, English
Syria22 March 1945DamascusArabic
Tunisia1 October 1958TunisArabic
United Arab Emirates6 December 1971Abu DhabiArabic
Yemen22 March 1945
30 November 1967
22 May 1990
Arabic





List of current observer states

Seven countries are observer states—a status that entitles them to express their opinion and give advice but denies them voting rights.[6] These are Eritrea, where Arabic is one of the official languages, as well as Brazil and Venezuela, which have large and influential Arab communities.[7] India is another observer to the Arab League, with a sizable number of people claiming Arab descent.[6] Armenia was granted observer status in 2004.[8] Chad was granted observer status in 2005.[9] Greece became an observer state in 2021.[10]

CountryAdmission dateCapitalArea
(km2)
Population
Official/working languages
Armenia2004Yerevan29,7433,018,854Armenian
Brazil2003Brasília8,515,767207,350,000Portuguese
ChadApril 2005N'Djamena1,284,00013,670,084French, Arabic
EritreaJanuary 2003Asmara117,6005,869,869Tigrinya, English, Arabic
Greece2021Athens131,44510,655,371Greek
IndiaApril 2007New Delhi3,287,2631,326,572,000Hindi, English
VenezuelaSeptember 2006Caracas916,44531,775,371Spanish

Membership timeline

Potential members and observers

Only two countries where Arabic is an official language remain outside of the League: Chad and Mali. In Malta, Eritrea, and South Sudan, although Arabic is not an official language, a dialect of the language is spoken by portions of the populations in these countries. Additionally, there are two other Arabic-speaking states with limited recognitionSahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Somaliland – but their disputed status, being claimed by League members Morocco and Somalia respectively, makes their membership unlikely for the foreseeable future.

Chad's membership was endorsed by the Egyptian government under Hosni Mubarak in 2010.[16] Chad applied for membership on 25 March 2014.[17] Arabic is one of its two official languages, some 12% of Chadians identifying as Arab[18] and around 900,000 are Arabic-speaking.[19] Chad has had observer status since 2005.[20]

South Sudan declared its independence from League member state Sudan in July 2011. A clause in the Charter of the Arab League accords the right of territories that have seceded from an Arab League member state to join the organization.[21] South Sudan has been assured full membership in the Arab League should its government choose to seek it.[22] Alternatively, the nation could opt for observer status.[23] It has indicated that it would not be joining the League since the government believes it does not meet the pre-conditions for membership; specifically, that "the League requires that the countries must be Arabic speaking countries that consider Arabic language the main language of the nation; on top of that, the league also requires that the people of that particular country must believe that they are actually Arabs. The people of Southern Sudan are not of Arabic origin, so I don't think there will be anybody in Southern Sudan who will consider joining the Arab League".[24] In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, the Foreign Minister of South Sudan Deng Alor Kuol said: South Sudan is the closest African country to the Arab world, and we speak a special kind of Arabic known as Juba Arabic.[25] Sudan supports South Sudan’s request to join the Arab League.[26] South Sudan applied for observer status in March 2018.[27] [28]

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is not a member though it is recognized by some Arab League states. Its status is disputed, its territory being claimed by League member Morocco, which makes its membership unlikely for the foreseeable future.

Latin America and the Caribbean is the home of a large, influential Arab population, who mostly reside in Mexico, Honduras, Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, Panama, Ecuador, Jamaica, Haiti and Guatemala. However, these countries use Spanish, Portuguese, English and French as official languages and have demonstrated little interest in joining the Arab League. Brazil and Venezuela are the only two observers in the League.

Suspensions

Egypt - Egypt's membership was suspended in March 1979 after it signed the Egypt–Israel peace treaty and the League's headquarters were moved from Cairo to Tunis. In 1987, Arab League states restored diplomatic relations with Egypt, the country was readmitted to the League in May 1989 and the League's headquarters were moved back to Cairo in September 1990.[29]

Libya - Libya was suspended from the Arab League on 22 February 2011, following the start of the Libyan Civil War and the use of military force against civilians.[30] [13] That makes Libya the second country in the League's history to have a frozen membership. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi declared that the League was illegitimate, saying: "The Arab League is finished. There is no such thing as the Arab League".[31] [32] On 27 August 2011, the Arab League voted to restore Libya's membership by accrediting a representative of the National Transitional Council, which was partially recognised as the interim government of the country in the wake of Gaddafi's ouster from the capital of Tripoli.[33]

Syria - On 20 September 2011, the Arab Parliament recommended suspension of Syria and Yemen over persistent reports of disproportionate violence against regime opponents and activists during the Arab Spring.[34] On 12 November 2011, the League passed a decree that would suspend Ba'athist Syrian Arab Republic's membership if the government failed to stop violence against civilian protesters by 16 November 2011 amidst the uprising.[35] Syria, Lebanon and Yemen voted against the motion, and Iraq abstained.[35] Despite the opportunity, the Syrian government did not yield to the League's demands, resulting in its indefinite suspension. There was criticism after the Arab League sent in December 2011 a commission "monitoring" violence on people protesting against the regime. The commission was headed by Mohammad Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, who served as head of Omar al-Bashir's military intelligence, while war crimes, including genocide, were allegedly committed on his watch.[36] [37] [38] On 6 March 2013, the Arab League granted to the Syrian National Coalition Syria's seat in the Arab League.[39] On 9 March 2014, the League's secretary general Nabil al-Arabi said that Syria's seat at the Arab League would remain vacant until the opposition completes the formation of its institutions.[40]

In 2021, the Arab League initiated a process of normalisation between Syria and other Arab nations. In the aftermath of the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia as well as Oman and Bahrain had sought better relations with Syria. There is a consensus in the Arab world that the isolation of the Syrian government is not conducive to peace and prosperity in the region.[41]

On 7 May 2023, at the meeting of the Council of the Arab League composed of foreign ministers in Cairo, was agreed to reinstate Syria's membership.[42] Earlier, Kuwait and Qatar had opposed Bashar al-Assad’s presence at the Arab League summit. The regional normalisation effort had caught the U.S. and its European allies by surprise, as they were opposing a Jordan-led "Arab-led political initiative" in solving the crisis.[43] According to the statement, al-Assad would be allowed to the meeting on 19 May 2023, if "he wishes to do so". Nevertheless, Syria remains under international sanctions after millions of Syrians had been displaced or sought refuge in Arab and European countries during the civil war. The changes to the relations between Syria and other Arab States would allow many of them to return to their homeland, according to the announcements made earlier by Jordanian and Saudi officials.[44]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Arab League. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 26 May 2024 .
  2. Web site: Population - The World Factbook. www.cia.gov.
  3. Web site: Arab League - Sportwetten - Beste Singlebörsen im Vergleich. https://web.archive.org/web/20110807075753/http://www.arableagueonline.org/las/arabic/details_ar.jsp?art_id=3349&level_id=61 . dead . 7 August 2011. Arab League - Sportwetten - Beste Singlebörsen im Vergleich.
  4. The State of Palestine succeeded the seat of the Palestine Liberation Organization following the 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence.
  5. Book: Leech, Philip. The State of Palestine: A critical analysis. 26 October 2016. Routledge. 9781351967099 . Google Books.
  6. Web site: India invited as observer for Arab League summit . . 27 March 2007 . 13 June 2007 .
  7. http://davidnoack.net/v2/2011/01/syriens-beziehungen-zu-lateinamerika/ David Noack: Syriens Beziehungen zu Lateinamerika, in: amerika21.de, 11.01.2011.
  8. Web site: Armenia invited as observer for Arab League. Azad Hye. 19 January 2005. 20 May 2014.
  9. Web site: Chad to join Arab League as observer. www.aljazeera.com.
  10. Web site: Greece to become observer member of the Arab League. www.greekcitytimes.com.
  11. News: Profile: Arab League . 12 January 2022 . BBC News . 24 August 2017.
  12. Web site: Charter of Arab League . Arab League - جامعة الدول العربية . 21 February 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110807075753/http://www.arableagueonline.org/las/arabic/details_ar.jsp?art_id=3349&level_id=61 . 7 August 2011 .
  13. News: Libya suspended from Arab League sessions – Israel News, Ynetnews . Ynetnews . Ynetnews.com . 20 June 1995 . 10 January 2016.
  14. Web site: Interview: Egypt's first ambassador to South Sudan says things there are under control. 29 August 2011.
  15. Web site: 7 May 2023 . Arab League readmits Syria as relations with Assad normalize . 8 May 2023 . NBC.
  16. News: Egyptian FM welcomes Chad to join AL. People's Daily Online. 11 October 2010. 25 August 2011.
  17. News: South Sudan and Chad apply to join the Arab League. 25 March 2014. 13 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064618/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/10509-south-sudan-and-chad-apply-to-join-the-arab-league. 4 March 2016. dead.
  18. Web site: The World Factbook . Cia.gov . 10 January 2016 .
  19. Web site: Chad . Ethnologue . 19 February 1999 . 10 January 2016.
  20. Web site: Chad to join Arab League as observer - News - Al Jazeera . 2005-04-29 . Al Jazeera . 2020-02-12 .
  21. Web site: South Sudan "entitled to join Arab League" - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan. https://web.archive.org/web/20110629062631/https://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-entitled-to-join-Arab%2C39193 . dead . 29 June 2011. www.sudantribune.com.
  22. News: South Sudan "entitled to join Arab League" . Sudan Tribune . 12 June 2011 . 8 July 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110629062631/https://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-entitled-to-join-Arab%2C39193 . 29 June 2011 .
  23. News: Hoping for the best . Al-Ahram . 7 July 2011 . 8 July 2011 . Asmaa . El-Husseini . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110711201000/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1055/re10.htm . 11 July 2011 .
  24. Web site: Southern Sudan Will Not Join The Arab League Of States. https://web.archive.org/web/20111009101329/http://www.sudanradio.org/southern-sudan-will-not-join-arab-league-states . dead . 9 October 2011.
  25. [Asharq Al-Awsat]
  26. [Sudan Tribune]
  27. Web site: South Sudan application for Arab League seat is opposed. 2018-03-17. 2018-03-31.
  28. Web site: South Sudan seeks observer status in Arab League. 2018-03-07. 2018-03-31.
  29. News: 17 September 2008 . Timeline: Arab League . BBC News . 30 November 2009.
  30. News: 2011-02-22 . Libya suspended from Arab League sessions . Ynetnews . 2014-04-28.
  31. News: Karam . Souhail . Heneghan . Tom . Roddy . Michael . 16 March 2011 . Gaddafi taunts critics, dares them to get him . Reuters . dead . 20 March 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110319063458/http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE72E2RO20110316 . 19 March 2011.
  32. News: Higgins . Kat . 16 March 2011 . Libya: Clashes Continue As World Powers Stall . Sky News . 20 March 2011.
  33. News: 25 August 2011 . Arab League Recognizes Libyan Rebel Council . RTT News . 25 August 2011.
  34. News: Arab League parliament urges Syria suspension. Al Jazeera. 20 September 2011 . 20 September 2011.
  35. News: Arab League Votes to Suspend Syria Over Crackdown. 12 November 2011. The New York Times. 12 November 2011.
  36. Web site: D. . Kenner. The World's Worst Human Rights Observer. Foreign Policy. 27 December 2011. As Arab League monitors work to expose President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown, the head of the mission is a Sudanese general accused of creating the fearsome "Janjaweed," which was responsible for the worst atrocities during the Darfur genocide.
  37. http://articles.cnn.com/2011-12-28/middleeast/world_meast_syria-opposition-al-dabi_1_ali-kushayb-local-coordinating-committees-syrian-opposition?_s=PM:MIDDLEEAST Syrian activists slam Arab League mission head
  38. News: Violence in second Syrian city ahead of Arab League monitors' visit. The Guardian. 28 December 2011.
  39. News: Black . Ian . Syrian opposition takes Arab League seat . 20 November 2014 . the Guardian. 26 March 2013 .
  40. Web site: Syria opposition 'not yet ready for Arab League seat'. The Daily Star Newspaper – Lebanon. 20 November 2014.
  41. Web site: 2023-03-08 . Saudi Arabia: Talks underway on Syria's return to Arab League . 2023-03-25 . Middle East Monitor.
  42. Web site: 7 May 2023 . Arab foreign ministers agree to readmit Syria to the Arab League . Al Arabiya.
  43. News: England . Andrew . Saleh . Heba . 2023-05-07 . Arab League to readmit Syria after decade-long hiatus . Financial Times . 2023-05-07.
  44. Web site: 2023-05-07 . Arab League re-admits Syria after 11-year absence . 2023-05-07 . Arab News.