ESCWA Proposes a Strategic Vision for Arab Integration and Renaissance A new report makes a powerful case for how integration can be realized and sustained

On 25 February 2014, UN Undersecretary General and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf launched from Tunis a remarkable report entitled “Arab Integration: A 21st Century Development Imperative” with the participation of Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, former Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and a crowd of political, economic, intellectual and public figures. Media representatives who took part in the ceremony received a press kit, which we will re-publish over five parts, in view of the importance of the issues the Report addresses. Beirut, 7 March 2014 (Communication and Information Unit)--Together, with a political will and the participation of the people, the Arab countries can reap the enormous benefits of social, political and economic union. Integration would lead to the establishment of a free Arab citizenship area characterized by prosperity, social justice and human dignity, heralding a twenty-first century Arab renaissance. This is the main message conveyed by the report entitled Arab Integration: A 21st Century Development Imperative. Pointing to the chronic and emerging challenges that face the Arab region, the report calls on the Arab countries to revive efforts towards integration, which it argues is no longer an option for the region so much as an urgent necessity. It notes that, while other regions have successfully integrated into powerful blocs, the Arab countries have so far failed to establish the united front they need to withstand shocks, create opportunities and meet the challenges of the new century. The report provides a strategic vision and plan of action for comprehensive Arab integration, which would enable the Arab world to embark on a path to renaissance and achieve three fundamental goals: ensuring the freedom and dignity of all people in the region; establishing a strong and diversified Arab production structure; and reviving the Arab culture. The report notes that the Arab countries have made several ambitious attempts at unity at different times in history. But these efforts were not sustained and rarely capitalized on the unique characteristics of the region or its abundant resources. It argues that the failure of Arab countries to adopt unified positions left them acutely vulnerable to foreign interference and opened the way for foreign powers to propose or impose alternative models of integration that sought less to promote Arab cooperation or the priorities of the Arab countries than to orient the region towards outside interests. The strategy proposed by the report is centred on ending unemployment and poverty; promoting knowledge acquisition and production; reforming the educational systems to enhance analytical skills and innovation capabilities; supporting scientific research and technological development; developing alternative renewable energy sources; and enhancing the capacity to develop Arab software and expand the presence of digital Arabic content on the Internet. The strategy includes a series of measures to facilitate the movement of people and goods between Arab countries; build the infrastructure for Arab integration — including road and rail networks, bridges, gas and electrical networks, maritime routes, communication networks, and streamlined customs clearance procedures — and establish mechanisms for disaster relief and assisting refugees and displaced persons. It also proposes the establishment of a number of institutions, including an Arab integration fund to which all Arab countries would contribute, according to their means. The fund would finance Arab integration and research projects to strengthen national security throughout the region. The report goes on to argue that the Arab region cannot become free without the liberation of those Arab territories currently under Israeli occupation. It calls on the Arabs to pursue what has already been done by several non-governmental organizations to deter settlement building in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It recommends the prohibition of trade in goods produced in Israeli settlements and coordination with international civil society to designate institutions located within Israeli settlements as ineligible for grants, scholarships, awards or other forms of financial assistance. The report notes that one of the advantages of Arab political integration would be Arab unity in international forums, particularly the United Nations. It argues that Arab coordination should not be limited to the issue of Palestine or ending foreign hegemony; rather, it must include the whole range of issues addressed by the international community, such as the environment, the status of women, development and trade, thereby ensuring that international decisions are in line with the goal of development in the Arab world. The report maintains that there will be no renaissance in the Arab world without intellectual renewal, which would help the Arabs to overcome the state of dependence that has stifled innovation and creative thinking in the past. Stressing that Islam would lose its revolutionary spirit if it ceased to promote critical reflection and innovation, it recommends restoring independent reason to the interpretation of scripture. Through constructive criticism, Muslims can change confessional and institutional traditions that have corrupted religious thought in the past and resulted in stagnation. Following the outbreak of popular uprisings throughout the Arab world in 2011, a long era of authoritarian control is drawing to a close. As calls for good governance, economic security and greater sociopolitical freedoms echo across the region, it is clear that the challenges facing Arab Governments and civil society are on a scale too great for any country to confront on its own. This historic moment has provided an unprecedented impetus for Arab integration, which has the potential to energize the entire region. This new report from ESCWA makes a powerful case for why, this time, the dream of integration can be realized and sustained.

ESCWA Proposes a Strategic Vision for Arab Integration and Renaissance

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