Nearly four years ago Arab intellectuals came together to produce the first United Nations Arab Human Development Report that dared to go beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and question underlying impediments to change in the Arab world. In that bold, groundbreaking report, the authors concluded that the region's lack of democratic freedom, closed economic systems, education deficits, and limitation on women's participation were the main obstacles threatening the region with continued stagnation.
Adding impetus and urgency to these findings is the ticking demographic time bomb in the region: A staggering 50 to 65 percent of the region's population is under the age of 24, meaning some 100 million new jobs must be created over the next 15 years – just to keep the high rate of unemployment where it is today.
These numbers should be setting off alarm bells in capitals throughout the Arab world and Europe. With the dramatic swell in the numbers of job-seeking young people in the region, deep structural reform is not the luxury of a future generation. People in the region need quality schools for their children, good jobs, and a voice in their future — now. Unfortunately, unless the slow pace of reform across the broader Middle East is accelerated, stability in the region cannot be guaranteed, and greater pressure on Europe in the form of would-be economic migrants is assured.
Last year the 10th anniversary of the Barcelona process was celebrated with great fanfare, and there can be no doubt that the region would be even worse off if not for Europe 's efforts. At the same time, however, last year's installment of the U.N. Arab Human Development Report concluded that Arab governments were, to put it mildly, not doing enough. In fact, the authors went so far as to refer to their governments as “black holes” and worried that allowing the status quo to continue would be, in their words, “the impending disaster scenario” in which broad social and economic chaos would sweep the region if the situation were allowed to fester as is.
What has become abundantly apparent — to those both inside and outside the region — is that the lack of serious effort to create political, economic, and educational opportunity in the broader Middle East has created a dangerous and unsustainable situation. It is also apparent that the most realistic and effective way to affect change is to combine internal reform efforts with the concerted efforts of the international community to produce an alternative. Such efforts have begun with Europe, the U.S. and the rest of the G-8 focusing unprecedented attention and resources to support indigenous calls for reform. Only this powerful partnership of internal and external actors acting together promises the hope of success.
The challenges outlined by the Arab intellectuals are monumental, and even the combined efforts of the EU, the U.S. and the G-8 together with the governments and non-state actors of the region may not be able to overcome them. Moreover, the current situations in both Iraq and the Palestinian territories constitute substantial challenges to the international community and have caused a great deal of skepticism about Western motivations about reform.
But the facts outlined above also cannot be ignored, and they cannot wait until both conflicts are fully resolved. Change of one form or another is coming to the region, and it is the responsibility of the international community to work with reformers to achieve greater freedom and opportunity for the people of the Arab world.
The good news is that the world is devoting unprecedented attention and resources to support calls for reform emanating from the region. The combination of the outside world working together with reformers in the region is resulting in hopeful signs of change — and giving reformers room to work.
Transformational Diplomacy
In November 2003, President Bush marked a profound shift in U.S. policy when he declared, “Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe because in the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty.” It would be, he said, “reckless to accept the status quo.”
This has provided the overriding orientation of U.S. foreign policy since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the President has devoted considerable American blood and treasure in support of the aspirations of the people in the broader Middle East for greater freedom and opportunity.
He also has directed us to think about diplomacy in new ways and to engage as broadly as possible to achieve common goals. In practice this means outreach not only to governments in the region but also to non-state actors and civil society. This active, more robust approach to diplomacy
has been called transformational diplomacy by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
What is transformational diplomacy? In Secretary Rice's own words, the goal of transformational diplomacy is “to work with our many partners around the world to build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that will respond to the needs of their people — and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system … Transformational diplomacy is rooted in partnership, not paternalism — in doing things with other people, not for them. We seek to use America 's diplomatic power to help foreign citizens to better their own lives, and to build their own nations, and to transform their own futures.”
This is the core of what we are trying to achieve in the broader Middle East today. We are taking action in tangible ways, both bilaterally and through multilateral efforts, to encourage governments in their reform efforts. Bilaterally we work through such citizen empowerment programs as the State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative while we work multilaterally through the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative. The latter includes not only the governments of the G-8 but also all governments from the broader Middle East and other democratic partners such as Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey and many others.
Middle East Partnership Initiative
The Middle East Partnership Initiative, or MEPI, provides urgently needed support to reformers across the region who are working to expand freedom in their respective countries. The initiative was designed to remedy the key deficits outlined in the Arab Human Development Reports so that democracy can spread, education can thrive, economies can grow and women can be empowered. We see these four areas as inextricably linked, with each developing as much as possible in tandem. We reject the notion that there is some inherent sequencing required or that somehow free and democratic institutions can develop neatly under the auspices of authoritarian regimes. Democratic habits are developed as people practice them.
For freedom to flourish it must be available to all citizens. So to support reformers who want a voice in the future of their countries, the U.S. provides assistance to those working to strengthen democratic practices, civil society, independent media, and the rule of law.
The U.S. supports those working to secure the right of women to fully participate in society. Middle East Partnership Initiative programs are supporting women in democracy, women and the law, women's rights and women's economic empowerment. One such program is the Arab Women's Legal Network, an association of more than 100 women lawyers and judges from 16 countries across the broader Middle East. The network allows women to exchange expertise and information, promote women as decision makers, provide professional development training and mentoring, and secure women's equal rights under the law.
Young people are showing their passion for change in the Middle East, and the U.S. is investing in their hopes for a brighter future. For example, Middle East Partnership Initiative support has enabled the training of more than 3,000 teachers in civic education, reaching 65,000 students in more than 500 schools in 10 countries. The result is programs such as Project Citizen, which helps young people influence public policy while developing support for democratic values, and Foundations for Democracy, which promotes civic responsibility through the study of concepts key to social and political life — authority, privacy, responsibility and justice.
Economic opportunity helps create an environment in which democracy can thrive, so the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) also is committed to programs that encourage business investment, develop entrepreneurship skills, and enhance the competitiveness of countries in the Middle East. MEPI funds successful initiatives such as the Middle East Entrepreneur Training (MEET U.S.) to provide business training and networking opportunities to increase entrepreneurial leadership skills for growing companies. MEET U.S. is helping promising executives, managers and entrepreneurs build successful enterprises that create jobs and new opportunities in the Middle East.
These programs are supported by Middle East Partnership Initiative offices we have established in Washington, Tunis and Abu Dhabi. Our regional offices facilitate constant contact with reformers and help us refine programs quickly based on conditions on the ground.
Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative
We, of course, are not alone in supporting reformers in the region. Many nations of the world are showing admirable commitment to the cause of freedom and opportunity, and we are happy to be working with them.
One of our most meaningful transformational diplomacy partnerships is cooperation with G8, European, and Middle Eastern leaders who have come together in the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative (BMENA Initiative) and its resulting Foundation for the Future. This multilateral initiative reinforces and complements bilateral approaches such as MEPI and the Barcelona process, adding to reform's momentum in the region.
For example, the BMENA Initiative's Democracy Assistance Dialogue has created unprecedented levels of cooperation between people not accustomed to working closely together to address challenges in the region. The June dialogue convened by Italy, Yemen, and Turkey attracted more than 400 BMENA and G8 governmental and civil society representatives to Sanaa, Yemen, to address common concerns. This forum tackles critical issues such as political pluralism, women's empowerment, and freedom of expression — and focuses on action. The June dialogue also served as an important precursor to the third annual Forum for the Future, which will be held at the Dead Sea in Jordan in December and is expected to draw even more reform-oriented participants from the region.
Similarly, the BMENA Initiative's Foundation for the Future is progressing. The board of directors convened for the first time in July, with former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor joining Spain 's Andreu Claret Serra and other board members from the broader Middle East, Europe, and elsewhere to get additional financial support for reform efforts into the region as quickly as possible. The foundation begins its work with $35 million from the United States and $22 million from Bahrain, Denmark, the European Commission, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Qatar, and the United Kingdom. We hope the $57 million in combined start-up funding will grow quickly as the foundation demonstrates its ability to boost the work of Middle Eastern reformers working at the grassroots level.
At this year's U.S.-EU Summit in Vienna, our nations declared unequivocally that the advance of democracy is a strategic priority of our age. The summit declaration also cemented our continued cooperation in the Middle East and elsewhere to “promote peace, democracy, freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights in the world to make it more secure, safe, and prosperous for all mankind.”
It is this clear agreement on the importance of freedom and opportunity for the people of the broader Middle East — and our countries' strong teamwork in advancing that vision — that will maximize the positive impact of reformers in the region.
Reasons to believe
Disproving the naysayers who claimed reformers would not work with the United States or other Westerners, we have seen a steady increase in the number of proposals for Middle East Partnership Initiative funding coming from the region. We have devoted nearly $300 million to 350 MEPI programs in 14 countries and the Palestinian territories in four years, and, in the coming year, we expect MEPI's investment in the region to reach nearly half a billion dollars.
Further, we have invested significant additional time and resources in the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative, and governments and civil society in the region have embraced this partnership with G8 and other partner countries.
While everyone is well aware of the challenges facing the region, there also should be no denying that progress has been real, with strong support for reformers coinciding with hopeful reforms in the region. There have been unprecedented developments from Morocco to Afghanistan, from Lebanon to Kuwait.
Elections are taking place; women are advising other women on their legal rights; school systems are seeking to empower their children with new reading and analytic skills; and familiarity with open legislative processes is increasing. Civil society groups in Egypt are mobilizing in new and powerful ways to monitor elections and report on irregularities, and a new law in Morocco allowing private radio and TV licenses is opening the door to greater democratic discourse. Theatrical groups present dramas to mixed audiences of men and women explaining reforms in family codes and women's rights.
The public is directly involved in the Middle East Partnership Initiative and the BMENA Initiative, another indicator that calls for democratic reform correspond with the aspirations of the people in the region.
Elections, of course, are only one part of the democratic process, best accompanied by robust civil society and the establishment of governing coalitions. But elections are an essential component of democracy, and we take note of 2005 — the year of elections — as another reason to believe:
• In Iraq , millions of citizens refuse to surrender to terror the dream of freedom and democracy. Iraq is making steady progress in defeating the terrorists, building democratic institutions, and standing up security forces. In January of 2005, Iraqis elected their government in the first democratic election in over five decades. In October, Iraqis voted and ratified the constitution drafted by that legislature. On December 15, Iraqis bravely went to the polls again to complete the transitional political process.
• In Lebanon , one million citizens demanded and won their independence from Syrian domination. The first parliamentary elections in a generation free of foreign interference were held last year, and supporters of democracy are working to institute political and economic reforms and re-establish sovereignty in an environment free of intimidation and fear.
• In September, the people of Egypt turned out for their country's first multi-candidate presidential election. This was an important first step, and even the deeply flawed parliamentary elections in December had a positive side in that they introduced new levels of political competition and unprecedented election monitoring and reporting by civil society.
• In Afghanistan , where the first parliamentary elections in over a quarter century were completed in September, millions of citizens are experiencing the benefits of a free country for the first time in their lives.
• In the Palestinian territories , whatever difficulties remain, the January 2006 parliamentary elections were widely hailed as free and fair, with the voters making clear their desire to vote for change. Now, the new Palestinian government must live up to its existing international commitments, abandoning terrorism and recognizing Israel.
• In the Persian Gulf, Kuwaiti women have gained full political rights enabling them to vote and to run for office, and, this year, Kuwaiti women went to the polls for the first time in their nation's history. Bahraini women voted and ran for office in 2002 elections, and two women are government ministers. In Saudi Arabia , two women were elected to the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the country's first female elected officials. Oman and Qatar are slated for parliamentary elections in 2007, and, in both, women are expected to play roles as voters and candidates.
These elections, we believe, are moving the region toward a day when all of its countries join the world's functioning, stable democracies, in keeping with the trajectory of history. Consider this fact: There were only about two dozen democracies in 1945. In 2006, there are 122, and the number is on the rise.
Dramatic reform is never easy, and it often takes longer than people hope it will. But there is no excuse for backing down or giving up ground when one begins to meet resistance on the path to freedom. Rather, it is when the superficial changes have been made that we have the best opportunity to help reformers in the region move ahead to structural changes that will pave the way to genuine democracy and a more peaceful and prosperous Middle East. The growing community of reformers in the region needs us more now than ever before.
The age in which we live
We live in dynamic times, with policies and events unfolding increasingly under the world's gaze. Events happening in the farthest reaches of the globe can essentially be watched in real time, while just a few decades ago, newsreels from abroad took weeks if not months to arrive.
Today we have instant news, complete with pictures and sound. It allows the world to see a Middle East at an historic crossroads and to know we have a common choice to make. Will we be on the right side of history or wrong side of history? Arab leaders need to decide, as do American and European leaders. The status quo is unacceptable, but managing it in the right direction is not inevitable. We will need to work with those who want to work with us, and, when necessary, we will have to keep up pressure for reform even if it is uncomfortable for our friends in the region. We do it out of friendship and out of real concern about longer term stability, a stability that will do more to rid the world of terrorism than any military action
can do.
There is no doubt the people of the United States have suffered deeply from the violence that haunts the region and our television screens today. The horror of September 11, 2001, was a vicious culmination of terror that has rocked American targets over the past two decades, in the bombings of the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983 and again in 1984; in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait in 1983; in the bombing of an American jet over Scotland in 1988; in the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York in 1993; in the bombing of U.S. military facilities in Riyadh and Khobar, Saudi Arabia, in 1995 and 1996; in the bombing of our embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 1998; in the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000.
We are not the only ones to have suffered such terror and pain. Millions of others have suffered at the hands of terrorists, and we have grieved with them as well — our friends who were attacked in Casablanca, Jakarta, Mombassa, Bali, Riyadh, Baghdad, Istanbul, Madrid, London, Sharm al-Sheikh, and elsewhere.
Terrorist violence, combined with our sincere hopes for the people of the broader Middle East to reach their full potential, make us determined — and committed to reform. We can never forget in the modern context that questions of liberty in Beirut, Tunis, and Riyadh are connected to those of freedom in London, Madrid, and New York. World commerce has converged, transportation is faster and more accessible, and information sources and ideas have become global. For good or for bad, our fate is a common one with those who live abroad.
With serious reform, citizens of the Middle East can enjoy the freedoms and opportunities they deserve. We are unwavering in our belief that people have the right to be free and that freedom promotes peace and prosperity.
As President Bush has said, “Our goal is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.”
