Al diplomacy 3 by Diplomatic-Institute

Editorial The notion of sustainable development has captured the interest of the international community over the past two decades. This interest, however, has not been limited to international organizations and bodies. It went beyond that to include all the countries of the world, regardless of the method that they adopt to manage their national economies, or the development approach, which they embrace to accomplish their objectives of progress. This kind of interest has been manifested in the holding of three Global Summits (the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, and the June 2012 Rio+20 Earth Summit) that focused on the usage of the green economy as an introduction to achieve sustainable development. It should be noted that the interest of the State of Qatar in sustainable development is not fortuitous. Throughout the past four decades, the State of Qatar has established institutional frameworks concerned with the programs, policies and strategies aimed at achieving sustainability in its various aspects. It has also legislated laws related to the applications of sustainable development that has been considered an international commitment in the shadows of the political, economic, cultural and social changes witnessed by the international community. The wise leadership of His Highness the Emir of the State of Qatar has paid a great attention to sustainable development, which has been manifested in article (33) of the permanent constitution. This article stipulates, “The State shall endeavor to protect the environment and maintain its natural balance in order to achieve sustainable and comprehensive development for all generations.” His Highness’s interest in sustainable development has also been manifested through related programs and initiatives adopted by the State of Qatar, as well as through the State’s taking part in relevant international conferences and forums (such as its most recent participation in the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development “Rio+20”), presiding over the seventh session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, held in New York in 2006, and hosting the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 18) to be held in November 2012. For the sake of scientific and proper planning to achieve sustainable development, the State of Qatar enacted the Qatar National Vision 2030, which emphasized the importance of achieving a sustainable balance between the rights of the present generation and those of the future. This is to be achieved through improved environmental management in order to ensure harmony and consistency between economic growth, social development, and environmental protection, which constitute the three pillars of sustainable development. Sustainability, as it relates to the Qatar National Vision 2030, was illuminated through the 2011 - 2016 State of Qatar National Development Strategy, which included the implementation of programs and projects aimed at achieving sustainability in its various economic, social and environmental aspects. Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah Minister of State for Foreign Affairs

1 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 1

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Contents 1

Editorial

Follow-ups

Harvest Day.. Graduation of the First Batch of Trainees at the Diplomatic Institute

Follow-ups

New Diplomatic Staff Express Pride in the Training Program

Public Figures

Nelson Mandela

Spotlight

Spotlight on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

Reports

Spotlight on the Global Prosperity Report of 2011

Articles

Mysterious Travels, and Unknown Destinies

Articles

Charter of the League of Arab States and the Arab Spring!

For more information please contact us:

Articles

State of Qatar - Doha P.O.Box : 250 Tel. : (+974) 40112500 Fax : (+974) 40112511

International Cooperation for Development: Practices and Prospects

Book Review

International Relations: The Key Concepts

Publications

A Publication of the Institute: Sustainable Development Indicators in the State of Qatar 2011

Publications

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Publications: Foreign Development Aid Report (2010 - 2011)

From the Political Dictionary

Quarterly magazine published by the Diplomatic Institute - Ministry of Foreign Affairs Issue 3 - September 2012

General Supervisor: Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Editor in Chief: Dr. Hassan bin Ibrahim Al-Mohannadi Director of the Diplomatic Institute Publisher: The Diplomatic Institute

Email: Diplomacy@mofa.gov.qa Website: http://di.mofa.gov.qa - All correspondence on behalf of the Editor in Chief - Published articles reflect the views of writers and do not necessarily reflect the considerations of the magazine

2 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 2

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

4 8 10 12 15 18 20 22 30 32 36 39

Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 3

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Follow-ups

Harvest Day Graduation of the First Batch of Trainees at the Diplomatic Institute

4 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 4

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Follow-ups On August 6th, the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the graduation ceremony of the first batch of the 27 trainees in the Institute. After playing the national anthem, the program of the ceremony started by reading verses from the Holy Quran. Then, His Excellency Dr. Khalid bin Mohamed Al-Attiyah, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, delivered a speech in which he expressed his happiness on the graduation of the first batch of trainees of the Diplomatic Institute, which was founded less than a year ago for the development of human resources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His Excellency noted that he is pleased that the training program initiated by the institute is a good start for many other programs that aim to provide future Qatari diplomats with knowledge, education and the skills needed to refine their abilities in the fields of diplomacy, international relations and external communication. It would also enable them to represent our beloved country in international forums, and our diplomatic missions abroad in an honorable manner.

5 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 5

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Follow-ups

The Minister added that "despite its geographically small size, our country Qatar, thank God and to the wise leadership of His Highness the Emir “may God protect him”, holds a respected international stature for pursuing moderate and rational policies; its conflict resolution initiatives; easing tension in the international relations, its attempts to bridge point of views in order to prevent aggravating the situations in several political issues and/or files; its provisions of development and humanitarian aid to the peoples of the world, as well as expanding economic relations and investment in all continents". His Excellency confirmed that all the above has necessitated increasing the number of the diplomatic missions in many countries, and that this without a doubt, requires the provision of human resources armed with knowledge and skills needed by the diplomat in the modern era. This is why, according to the Minister, the Diplomatic Institute started a training program for the diplomats at the beginning of this year. There are 27 male and female graduates of local and foreign universities who joined the first class. “Today we are happily celebrating their success and graduation...” the Minister noted. HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs concluded his speech by congratulating the graduates. He wished them success in their future diplomatic careers to serve their country, enhance its international stature, strengthen its relations with countries of the world and their peoples, and to complete the march of their predecessors, Qatari diplomats who have demonstrated an efficiency and potential that the whole world witnessed, and that have represented Qatar in the best manner in international forums. Then, HE Ambassador Dr. Hassan bin Ibrahim Al-Mohannadi, Director of the Diplomatic Institute, gave a presentation in which he explained that the program preparation took into account providing the trainees with the knowledge and expertise that the contemporary diplomat needed, and according to the latest methods adopted in diplomatic institutes and centers. Thus, 19 programs were selected in the areas of diplomacy, international relations, international cooperation, consular work, and the art of media negotiation. It also included, teaching foreign languages needed by the diplomatic cadres, where two sessions in English and French were held in collaboration with the British and French Councils. The Institute also sent trainees to the Republic of Turkey, where a special program on Turkish politics was organized in collaboration with the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Bahçeşehir University. Visits to some culture and civilization centers in the cities of Istanbul and Ankara were also organized. Ambassador Al-Mohannadi pointed out the dedication, keenness to serve Qatar, and persistence shown by the trainees throughout the six months period of the program. He noted that this ‘constellation’ of trainees will be a

6 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 6

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Follow-ups

valuable addition to the current diplomatic staff of the ministry, especially that it is the first time since the establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that specialized training courses of this kind are made available to the staff. His Excellency the Director of the Diplomatic Institute concluded his review by expressing his gratitude and appreciation to His Excellency the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and the Minister’s Assistants for their support and encouragement, and for providing all means that contributed to the success of the training program. The ceremony program also included the graduates’ speech which was delivered by Mr. Fahad Rashid Al-Marreekhi. Mr. AlMarreekhi pointed out that the Diplomatic Institute celebration for the first batch of graduates is a clear indication to the great attention given by the State of Qatar to the youth sector through nourishing their potential, developing their abilities and their talents, and encouraging them to provide their best in a supportive climate that motivates innovation and creativity. He noted that this complies with the Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims at building a social environment capable of handling human interaction and engagement with other communities. He added that: “…since the Diplomatic Institute believes in providing the youth with every possible opportunity, it has attracted specialized teachers to train and provide us with many of the experiences that enriched our knowledge.” Mr. Al-Marreekhi called on his fellow graduates to exert maximum efforts to serve Qatar, to do their utmost to represent it in the best manner, to always arm themselves with knowledge, and to keep updated with all the developments in

the fields of science. He concluded his speech with thanking, on behalf of his colleagues, all members of the Diplomatic Institute, who were extremely keen to meet all the needs of the trainees. Then, a documentary entitled “Towards a Promising Generation of Diplomats” was played. The ceremony program was concluded with honouring the following graduates: 1. Abdullah Eid Al-Sulaiti.

2.Hassan Nasser Al-Khalifa.

3. Nora Salem Al-Marreekhi.

4. Shareefa Yousuf Al-Nisf.

5. Sultan Ali Al-Khayyareen.

6. Fahad Rashid Al-Marreekhi.

7. Nora Abdullah Al-Dossary.

8. Hasna Ali Al-Karbi.

9. Abdullah Mahdi Al-Yami. 10. Abdullah Saad Al-Mohannadi. 11. Afraa Ghanem Al-Salih. 12. Abdul-Aziz Ahmad Mahmoodi. 13. Khalifa Bader Al-Thani.

14. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Fuhaid.

15. Mariam Mohammad Al-Ghanim. 16. Mubarak Ajlan Al-Kuwari . 17. Rashid Saeed Al-Khayyareen. 18. Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al-Jufairi. 19. Abdullah Ahmad Al-Jufairi. 20. Hassan Yousef Al-Haidoos. 21. Fahad Saeed Al-Khayyareen. 22. Mohammed Ali Al-Bader. 23. Nour Khalid Al-Nasr.

24. Fahad Hamad Al-Marri.

25. Ghanem, Saif Al-Khayyareen. 26. Fahd Abdulaziz Al-Hamar.

7 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 7

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Follow-ups

New Diplomatic Staff Express Pride in the Training Program

In an exploration tour for Al-Diplomacy, interviews were conducted with a number of the new staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who participated in the first training program prepared by the Diplomatic Institute, where they were asked about their impressions of the program.

8 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 8

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Follow-ups Sultan Ali Al-Khayareen, one of the trainees, and an employee in the Department of Administrative and Financial Affairs, expressed his delight. Mr. Al-Khayareen stated: “My colleagues and I consider ourselves lucky for being part of such comprehensive programs that help build the solid foundation for anybody in the diplomatic line of business”. He added that these programs tackle and address all issues of which a diplomat must be acquainted, and expressed his optimism of the first batch of graduates, as well as the future ones. He indicated that these batches would meet the required calibre, as they were endowed with the skills that correspond to the ambitions of the Qatari diplomacy in our world today. In regards to the comprehensive training program benefits, Fahad Saeed Al-Khayareen, a trainee and an employee in the Department of Consular Affairs, said the various courses included in the program’s curriculum are able to raise the employee’s level of knowledge. He added that the course materials highlight all the relevant issues to diplomacy, and indicated that it took into account the continuous developments in the diplomatic service at the global level. Mr. Al-Khayareen stressed the importance of attending such training programs as well as the awareness of mass media, and books that pertain to diplomatic work. of the Department of Arab Affairs, noted that he feels very lucky for his enrolment with the training program as soon as he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Al-Marrikhi added that these programs have the potential to make the Qatari diplomat an excellent representative of his/her country in international forums. Trainee Al-Marrikhi believes that the variety of information provided in the training program will qualify him to shoulder the responsibility quite efficiently in any task assigned to him. He stated that he was very keen to engage in the discussions with the experts and professors during the lectures, driven by his desire to benefit as much as possible from their expertise and valuable knowledge. He hopes his colleagues and him will have the chance to deliver the best representation for their beloved country in diplomatic missions.

9 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 9

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Public Figures

46664

Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela was born in the town of Mvezo in Transkei, South Africa, on July 18th, 1918. His father (and Chief of his Tribe) was Henry Gadla Mandela. When Mandela was seven years old, his father sent him to one of the mission schools in South Africa. Mandela embraced studying with passion and won the admiration of teachers. Two years after his father’s death, his uncle sent him to a boarding school where he studied English language and literature, in addition to history and geography. At the age of sixteen, he joined the Clarkebury Boarding Institute. After he completed his Junior Certificate, Mandela joined the University of Fort Hare where he met Oliver Tambo who, later, shared Mandela‘s heroic struggle. Mandela was a leading figure of the students’ movements against the apartheid authorities, which led to his dismissal from the university.

10 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 10

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Public Figures In 1941, Mandela traveled to Johannesburg, where he met Walter Sisulu who introduced Mandela to the leaders of the African National Congress (ANC). The desire of Mandela to be a lawyer motivated him to enroll at the University of Witwatersrand and get his degree in law while working at a law firm. At the university, Mandela became acquainted with many Africans who were suffering from apartheid. In 1944, Mandela joined the ANC. Together with his friends Sisulu and Tambo, Mandela formed the “Youth Association” which, in 1949, became the driving force behind the ANC. In 1949, as well, Mandela was elected president of the Association. The ANC developed a program of work, which became a popular movement that called for the non-cooperation and the boycotting of the apartheid authorities. This led, in December 1956, to the arrest of Mandela and a large number of leaders of the ANC. Mandela and his colleagues were charged with raising the public and conspiracy to overthrow the government. In 1960, authorities banned the activities of the ANC and pursued its leaders. As a result, Mandela went into hiding then fled to Addis Ababa (where he met with Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie) with a false passport. Mandela wandered through several African countries before leaving for England, where he presented the issue of his country to some of the officials there. After a tour that lasted a few months, Mandela returned back to South Africa in disguise. In 1962, the authorities arrested Mandela and brought him to trial again on charges of inciting the masses to resist the authorities, distributing leaflets inciting workers to strike, and leaving the country without a permit from the authorities. At the trial, Mandela took to defend himself without a lawyer. He did not deny any of the charges against him, and condemned the practices of racism in his country. The court sentenced him to two years imprisonment on the charges of inciting the masses, and three more years for leaving the country without the permission of the authorities. While Mandela was in prison, the authorities raided the headquarters of the ANC, arrested some of its leaders, and brought them to trial. The court added some new charges to Mandela’s former ones; therefore, he was re-trialled and was sentenced, in 1964, to life imprisonment. Although Mandela and his fellow patriots were imprisoned, the people of South Africa did not stop the struggle for their rights. At the time, South Africa witnessed movements of violence and rebellion against the apartheid authorities. The Inkatha movement was, perhaps, the most violent of those movements; yet few millions of Africans joined it. At the volatile condition of the time, the apartheid authorities realized that Mandela was the man with whom they could negotiate to end the violence which was

sweeping the country. In 1985, the apartheid regime announced its willingness to release Mandela on the condition that he announces the rejection of violence as a means to achieve his objectives, and that the ANC abandons armed struggle. Mandela declined this offer and announced that it will not make him happy to be released from prison while his fellow citizens are suffering from persecution and injustice in their country, and that he will not guarantee to stop the violence as long as this situation remains. Confronted with this resistance to apartheid on the part of Mandela and his compatriots, the government was forced, in 1985, to pass a decision that canceled a law banning marriage between whites and blacks. In 1986, the government passed another law that abolished laws requiring blacks to obtain permits within their own country, and in 1987 it abolished the laws that restrict certain occupations to whites. In 1990, Frederik de Klerk, President of South Africa, commenced his presidency with announcing the release of Mandela on February 11th, 1990. Soon after his release, Mandela and de Klerk engaged in negotiations aimed at ending the violence and the elimination of racial discrimination in South Africa. On July 6th, 1992 Mandela was elected president of the ANC. A year later, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On April 29th, 1994, democratic elections were held in which whites and blacks alike participated. The ANC won by an absolute majority and Mandela took over the presidency. During his rule, South Africa has seen a major transition from the minority rule to the majority rule. When the situation in South Africa became stable, Mandela announced his stepping down, in 1999, to devote himself to work in the field of human rights. Mandela earned the respect of everyone, and received a large number of decorations and honors from the heads and leaders of countries around the world. He earned, in his own right, to be the most prominent African activist. In 2005, the General Assembly of the United Nations chose Mandela as a Goodwill Ambassador. In November 2009, the UN General Assembly declared July 18th “Nelson Mandela International Day” in recognition of the former South African President’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom. The relevant General Assembly resolution recognizes Nelson Mandela’s values and his dedication to the service of humanity, in the fields of conflict resolution, race relations, the promotion and protection of human rights, reconciliation, gender equality and the rights of children and other vulnerable groups, as well as the upliftment of poor and underdeveloped communities. It acknowledges his contribution to the struggle for democracy internationally.

11 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 11

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Spotlight

Spotlight on the

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Emergence of the Organization: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (formerly the Organization of Islamic Conference) was established on September 25th, 1969 upon a decision of the historical summit which took place in Rabat in the presence of the leaders of the Islamic world, as a result of the criminal arson attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque on August 21st, 1969. In March 1970, the first meeting of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) was held in Jeddah, which decided to establish a permanent secretariat in Jeddah in order to ensure communication and coordination of work between all Member States. In February 1972, the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, met for its third session and adopted the Charter of the Organization. The present Charter of the Organization was adopted by the Eleventh Islamic Summit held in Dakar on March 13-14th, 2008 which laid down the objectives and principles of the organization and fundamental purposes to strengthen the solidarity and cooperation among the Member States. The number of Member States of the Organization jumped from 25 countries at inception to 57 countries in early 2012. The Member States are predominantly Muslim countries of the Middle East, North and West Africa, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian sub-continent, except for French Guiana and Suriname. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations. The Organization is the collective voice of the Muslim world, whose population is about a billion and a half. It ensures safeguarding and protecting the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world. Admission requirements into OIC stipulate that the candidate must be an Islamic state.

12 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 12

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Spotlight Objectives of the Organization: The Organization aims at achieving the following objectives: • Enhance and consolidate the bonds of fraternity and solidarity among the Member States. • Safeguard and protect the common interests and support the legitimate causes of the Member States and coordinate and unify the efforts of the Member States in view of the challenges faced by the Islamic world in particular and the international community in general. • Respect the right of self-determination and non-interference in the domestic affairs and to respect sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of each Member State. • Ensure active participation of the Member States in the global political, economic and social decision-making processes to secure their common interests. • Reaffirm its support for the rights of peoples as stipulated in the UN Charter and international law. • Strengthen intra-Islamic economic and trade cooperation; in order to achieve economic integration leading to the establishment of an Islamic Common Market. • Exert efforts to achieve sustainable and comprehensive human development and economic well-being in Member States. • Protect and defend the true image of Islam, to combat defamation of Islam and encourage dialogue among civilizations and religions. • Enhance and develop science and technology and encourage research and cooperation among Member States in these fields.

Administrative Divisions of the Organization: The Organization is composed of the following bodies: • The Islamic Summit, is composed of Kings, Heads of State and the government of Member States, and is the supreme authority of the Organization. It convenes once every three years to deliberate, take policy decisions, provide guidance on all issues pertaining to the realization of the objectives and to consider other issues of concern to the Member States and the Islamic Ummah. • The Council of Foreign Ministers, which meets once a year, considers the means for the implementation of the general policy of the Organization by, inter alia: adopting decisions and resolutions on matters of common interest, and reviewing the progress of the implementation of the decisions and resolutions adopted at the previous Summits and Councils of Foreign Ministers. • The General Secretariat, which is the executive organ of the Organization, is entrusted with the implementation of the decisions of the two preceding bodies. The General Secretariat is currently headed by Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. The Secretary General is elected by the Council of Foreign Ministers for a period of five years from among nationals of the Member States.

Main Standing Committees: • Al-Quds Committee: The Committee was established pursuant to resolution 1/6-P adopted by the 6th Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, which was held in Jeddah from the 12-15th of July, 1975. The Committee is chaired by the King of Morocco, and its headquarters is located in Rabat. The Committee convenes its meetings upon invitation of its chairman or the majority of its members. The Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers elects the 16 members of the Committee for three renewable years. The Committee implements all the resolutions on the Arab-Israeli conflict in view of the fundamental connection between the Al-Quds question and the conflict. • Standing Committee on Information and Cultural Affairs (COMIAC): This Committee (as well as the two committees that follow) was established pursuant to resolution 13/3 – P (IS) adopted by the Third Islamic Summit Conference, held in Mecca and Taif in January 1981. This Committee followsup on the implementation of resolutions adopted by the Islamic Conference within its term of reference and explores possible means to promote cooperation between Member States in the areas of information and communication. The Committee is chaired by the President of the Republic of Senegal, and its headquarters is in Dakar.

13 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 13

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Spotlight

• Standing Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation (COMCEC): The Committee follows-up on the implementation of resolutions of the OIC in the economic and trade fields, explores possible means to promote cooperation among the Member States, and prepares programmes and proposals capable of improving Islamic states’ capacities in these areas. The Committee is chaired by the President of the Republic of Turkey, and its headquarters is in Ankara.

the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers. Member States shall automatically become members of these organs and their budgets shall be approved by the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

• Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH): The Committee followsup on the resolutions of OIC in the fields of science and technology. It also studies possible means of strengthening cooperation among the Islamic states, as well as prepares programmes and proposals capable of improving Member States’ capacities in these areas. This Committee is chaired by the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and its headquarters is in Islamabad.

3. The International Federation of Islamic banks.

Specialized Institutions and Organs: These are established within the framework of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in accordance with a resolution adopted by the Islamic Conference of Kings and Heads of State and Government or Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers. Membership to these organs is optional and open to OIC Member States. Their budgets are independent of the budget of the Secretariat General and those of the subsidiary organs and are approved by their respective legislative bodies as stipulated in their Statutes. 1. The Islamic Development Bank. 2. The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO). 3. The International Islamic News Agency (IINA). 4. The Islamic States Broadcasting Organization (ISBO).

1. The Islamic Center for the Development of Trade. 2. The Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries.

4. The Islamic Solidarity Fund and its Waqf. 5. The Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture. 6. The Islamic University of Technology. 7. The International Islamic Fiqh Academy. 8. The Islamic University of Niger. 9. The Islamic University of Uganda.

Affiliated Institutions: They were established under the auspices of the Islamic Conference of Heads of State and Government or the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers. Membership to these institutions is optional. Their budgets are independent of the budget of the Secretariat General and those of subsidiary and specialized organs: 1. Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 2. Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities. 3. Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation. 4. World Federation of Arabo-Islamic International Schools. 5. Organization of the Islamic Shipowners Association.

5. The Islamic Committee of the International Crescent.

6. Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation.

Subsidiary Organs:

7. Islamic World Academy of Sciences.

These are the organs which are established within the framework of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in accordance with a resolution adopted by the Islamic Conference of Kings and Heads of State and Government or

8. International Union of Muslim Scouts. 9. Federation of Consultants from Islamic Countries. 10. General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions. 11. Federation of Contractors from Islamic Countries.

14 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 14

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Reports

Spotlight on the

Global Prosperity Report of 2011 By: Dr. Nawzad Abdul-Rahman al-Hiti*

Since 2007, the British Legatum Institute for Research has issued an annual report on global prosperity. Countries from around the world are put into order according to the Legatum Prosperity Index, which is measured through (79) variables classified into eight sub-indices, totaling the main indicators to measure prosperity in any country. In terms of the degree of prosperity, countries are classified into high, medium and low. The general index of prosperity is the average performance of each country in the sub-indices, which contribute in moving the economic growth, personal and well-being and life satisfaction. The general index of prosperity consists of the following eight sub-indices:

* Expert international cooperation - Ministry of Foreign Affairs\ State of Qatar

15 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 15

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Reports • Economy - It includes variables such as economic growth, economic strength, competitiveness, unemployment, and gross domestic product (GDP). • Entrepreneurship & Opportunity - They measure the extent of the presence of a suitable environment for the establishment of new projects through which creative ideas turn into commercially successful projects. • Governance - It is the best guarantee for the maintenance of order, to encourage creativity, and to improve the quality of the performance of government agencies. • Education - The presence of an educational system with high efficiency is a fundamental pillar of human development. • Health - Improving health services is one of the important elements for achieving sustainable human development. • Safety & Security - They are important elements in creating an appropriate environment that ensures the members of the community equal access to available opportunities. • Personal Freedom - It allows individuals to express their views and ideas. This is achieved when democratic institutions protect personal freedoms. • Social Capital - It measures the confidence of the individuals, and the power of social relations between members of society.

The first ten countries in the Global Prosperity Index for 2011 Country

Economy Entrepreneurship Governance & Opportunity

Education

Health

Safety & Security

Personal Freedom

Social Capital

Norway

Denmark

Australia

New Zealand

Sweden

Canada

Finland

Switzerland

Holland

United States

Source: Legatum Institute,The 2011 Legatum Prosperity Index, London,2011

Norway topped the list of the world in the Global Prosperity Index for 2011 (which includes 110 countries) followed by Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden.

of knowledge that facilitates the establishment of projects. In this regard, Ethiopia (108), Zimbabwe (109), and the Central African Republic (110) ranked last respectively.

The table shows that the area of the Northern Atlantic, i.e. Europe and North America, includes the most prosperous countries. No Asian, African or Latin American country occupied any of the first ten ranks of the most prosperous countries.

As for the indicator of governance, Switzerland came in first, followed by New Zealand and Denmark; while Zimbabwe, Sudan and Niger occupied the last three positions in a row.

According to the economy indicator, Singapore ranked first globally, followed by Switzerland, and Norway. These three countries have very high rates of economic growth, high economic competitiveness, and low rates of unemployment. The last three countries, according to this global index in sequence, are Zimbabwe, Kenya, and the Central African Republic. At the level of entrepreneurship and opportunities indicator, Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Sweden, and Finland) ranked first respectively, which reflects the ease of doing business in these countries, as well as the abundance

In the education indicator, Australia, New Zealand and Finland ranked first; while Sudan, Mali and the Central African Republic ranked last. The health indicator shows that the United States occupied the first place, followed by Switzerland and Iceland; while the Central African Republic, Zambia and Mozambique ranked last in a row. As for the indicator of safety & security, Iceland ranked first, followed by Norway and Ireland; while Sudan ranked last, Pakistan was penultimate (109) and Colombia ranked (108).

16 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 16

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Reports The indicator of personal freedom puts Canada at the forefront of the world, followed by New Zealand and Norway; while Yemen came in (108), Egypt ranked (109), and Ethiopia occupied the last position (110). According to the social capital indicator, Norway ranked first, followed by Denmark and New Zealand; while the Central African Republic ranked (108), Bangladesh ranked (109), and Rwanda ranked (110). As for the Arab countries, the United Arab Emirates topped the Arab world according to the Global Prosperity Report of 2011. It ranked (27), moving three positions upwards in comparison with its position from 2010. Kuwait (35) came in second to the United Arab Emirates, while Yemen ranked last in the Arab world and it ranked (106) at the global level.

Arab countries in the Global Prosperity Index for 2011 Country

Global Economy Entrepreneurship Governance Education Health Safety & Personal Social Prosperity & Opportunity Security Freedom Capital Rank

United Arab Emirates

Kuwait

Saudi Arabia

Tunisia

102

Jordan

101

Morocco

105

Syria

Lebanon

102

Algeria

106

Egypt

109

Yemen

106

100

103

104

103

108

Source: Legatum Institute,The 2011 Legatum Prosperity Index, London,2011

The table above shows a disparity in terms of the degree of prosperity amongst the Arab countries. The United Arab Emirates was among the countries with a high degree of prosperity. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Jordan, and Morocco were among the countries with a medium degree of prosperity, while Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Egypt, and Yemen have been classified as countries with a low degree of prosperity. As far as the sub-indices of the 2011 Legatum Prosperity Index are concerned, the United Arab Emirates ranked (23) according to the economy indicator and (22) according to the entrepreneurship and opportunities indicator; while Yemen ranked (100) and (103) as the lowest among all Arab countries in both indicators respectively. The United Arab Emirates also ranked first among the Arab countries in the indicators of good governance, education, health, security and safety; while Yemen ranked last in the Arab world in those indicators. With regard to the personal freedom indicator, the United Arab Emirates ranked first in the Arab world and (42) globally, while Egypt ranked last in the Arab world and penultimate in

the world. As for the social capital indicator, which reflects the degree of synergy between the classes of a society, Morocco came in first amongst the Arab countries, and ranked (14) globally, while Lebanon ranked last in the Arab world and (102) at the global level. The low ranks of some Arab countries in the index of global prosperity reflects the low level of utilization of the economic potential in these countries, which requires intensive efforts to improve the quality of life and, consequently, to achieve prosperity for their people. This can be accomplished through the optimum utilization of both human and natural resources. Finally, despite the fact that the State of Qatar is absent in the index of overall prosperity, the data of the sub-indices about the State of Qatar sets it among the countries with a high degree of prosperity, like the United Arab Emirates. I would like to seize this opportunity to call upon those who are concerned with providing data for the above indicators in the State to contact the Legatum Institute and provide it with the necessary data in order to add the State of Qatar to the list of countries comprised in the index of global prosperity for the years to come.

17 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 17

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Articles

Mysterious Travels, and Unknown Destinies By: Dr. Abdulla Ibrahim*

* Iraqi writer and researcher 18 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 18

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Articles As far as I know, there are no living historical records given by travelers; and it might be difficult to have such records until now, not because travelling is too old to give a written account of, and goes back to the prewriting era, when man used to lead a nomadic life and did not experience settlement. It is rather because the history of travel literature is ambiguous and is associated with a lot of contradictions and objectives, and because the destiny of many travelers is almost unknown. It will only be a false claim to give a reasonable description of those accumulated efforts over the ages, and in their different languages, and various objectives. The most important difficulty, however, comes this time from a totally unrelated aspect to the history of the travelers and their travels; but from the nature of their writings, which is divided between narrative, history, geography and sociology, let alone other requirements connected to military, political and diplomatic acts. It also requires even the knowledge of the roots, creeds, religions, races, diseases, disasters, the sight of natural resources and the sources of rivers. The travels of “Wilfred Thesiger” to the Empty Quarter of Arabia after World War II were motivated by the quest to identify the colonies of desert locust and their migration routes. It is true he did not mention anything except for passing insignificant references to the places where desert locust breed. However, his travel was prepared and financed to this purpose as he remarked in his book “Arab Sand”. Most of Philby's travels around the edges of Arabia were made for political purposes with a view to identifying the boundaries. Palgrave's travel to Nagd aimed to Christianize the Arabs in accordance with the wish of the Emperor of France. The travel of “Domingo Badia” to Morocco in the beginning of the 19th century aimed to attach those countries to the Spanish empire. Burckhardt’s travels aimed at paving the way for the British influence in Eastern and African countries. Niebuhr's travel to Yemen intended to study its economic, religious and social conditions during the sixties of the eighteenth century. As this question sprang, endless contradictions arose, as the first incentive was abandoned, and replaced by a new incentive, then came a third one that was not taken into account. The incentives were renewed whenever the travelers went on their adventures. The journey might impose on the traveler what is not planned precisely for, or maybe not thought of. Ibn Battuta left Tangier to pilgrimage, however after achieving that; he made the seeking of knowledge his target. Hence, the final evaluation for his journey exceeds completely the two mentioned reasons. Everyone is asking now whether it is suitable to call him “Haj Ibn Battuta” or “Ibn Battuta the knowledge seeker”, these two identifications are wrapped under the soft covering of the travel unparalleled in the field of information and discoveries. On these

bases, his journey exceeded the declared objectives, as if it is a mysterious desire to achieve oneself away from his home. The same could be said about Marco Polo because trade was the primary incentive to his travels, but quickly rebelled and dragged him backwards. It was through these travels that the orient had been introduced for the first time to the Western world. Books such as “Routes and Kingdoms” (Kitab al-Masalik wal-Mamalik), was written for the purpose of continual expansion and to link these territories to the capital of Dar Al-lsalam; collecting income tax; and also as a guide to the commercial convoys. However, it soon became part of the travel literature of a geographical nature, since it contained experiences, impressions and geographical and human descriptions. Maybe the scientific, commercial and political missions, as in the books of the travels of Ibn Fadlan to Syllabi, and Bairuni to India, and Abi Dulaf Mus'ir Al-Hilali to China, Solayyim Al-Aswani to Nobia, and Tartooshi to Central Europe and Tahtawi to France, provided travel literature with what can be the essence of travel, besides pilgrimage which has given an unlimited legacy in that respect. Moreover, wars, conquests, and what had resulted from them left their undeniable fingerprints too in enriching the literature of travel included in succession of the books of spies who were pushed to enter in dangerous adventures in order to obtain useful intelligence for their countries and establishments. After all, we must refer to the origin, namely the books that have made the travel an objective to discover the people's lives, relations and qualities. Travel can lead to uncalculated results. The traveler ends up with choosing very different options compared to the goals for which he started his travel in the first place. This is what can be gleaned from the “The Road to Mecca” journey by Leopold Weiss, after which the track of his life had gone in a different direction. He converted from Judaism to Islam, and changed his name to Mohammed Asad. As many of the travel records were subjected to Academic guidelines in terms of discovery and definitions based on interaction and cohabitation, some aspects that undermined even these aspects are when the traveler loses control of his destiny, as was apparent in the journey of Haroon Bin Yahya to Constantine early in the 10th century AD. He was taken as a prisoner to Constantine, and instead of coming back to the Eastern Mediterranean area (Al Sham) after he was released, he went to Rome. Travel records are not without traces of hatred as shown by Doughty and by Palgrave in their travels to the Arabian desert in the 2nd half of the 19th century. In sum, wherever there is discussion about this kind of writing, we will find the materials and its opposite. There are no clear-cut limits for these records. It is an open-end method of writing representing general rules and is difficult to be accurately organized.

19 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 19

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Articles It has been well-established, in the international regulatory thought, that having only objectives is not enough for an international organization – no matter how comprehensive or noble these objectives are. An international organization must also have specific principles that blueprint a mechanism for implementing these objectives, and identify the methodology of this implementation. Thus, the principles shall work as a guide for the procedures and their consequent ends. It is a fact that any legal political entity, such as an international organization, will not be able to achieve its objectives when there are crises, constraints, conflicts of interest, and contradictions in the interpretations of the provisions. In order for an entity to avoid such problems, it must seek what could help it overcome them. Absence of principles will result in hampering the organization’s procedures and preventing the achievement of its objectives. Moreover, it may contribute to the fragmentation of its thinking and the scattering of visions.

Charter of the League of Arab States and the Arab Spring! By: Dr. Sahar Al-Majali*

The principles of an organization, as international legal norms, may precede the organization in existence. They might, also, be established by the organization itself. In both cases, the principles will be binding for the organization and its members. That is why the principles enshrined in the charters of organizations are not just normal international legal rules, which can be explained by the signatory states. They are characterized by their relative consistency and stability, and they cannot be replaced by other rules – as it is the case with replacing normal rules listed in conventions or treaties, which are bilateral, or between specific parties. Thus, these kinds of irreplaceable principles are called “jus cogens” in international law. They are peremptory principles and norms, which may not be suspended or contradicted by a treaty or acquiescence. As such, they represent a commitment by the states to the entire international community, and not only towards some other countries. The above have been recalled at a time that the Arab Spring was posing many questions in regards to the League of Arab States and its adaptation to the era of the Arab reawakening. In addition, the events are generating a storm of debate and various perspectives on the necessity to reform the League, which may reflect the present comprehensive Arab revival. It goes without saying that the League of Arab States institution represents the only formal collective Arab effort. However, the limitation of its role on defending the official Arab regimes, turning its back on the Arab people, and becoming nothing but a regular office managed by an international employee, made it lose the conviction of the Arabs in its role as an international sponsor of joint Arab action.

* Islamic history lecturey, Al Balqa Applied University, Oman-Jordan 20 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 20

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Articles of the United Nations and its goals. In addition, the treaty is fully compatible with the contents of the UN Charter and relies mostly on international conventions. The Charter of the League of Arab States does not expressly stipulate that its provisions prevail in case they contradict the provisions of other treaties or conventions, whether held between the Member States or between Member States and other countries. The Charter of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf is more progressive than the Charter of the League of Arab States. There is a consensus among the enlightened thinkers and leaders of the Arab Spring that the Charter of the League of Arab States (which was written sixty seven years ago, i.e. in 1945) is defective. This Charter was founded in response to the end of World War II context; the international, regional and local pressure calling for the necessity to establish some sort of joint Arab action; and to contain the concept of the comprehensive Arab unity. This Charter, for instance, refers to only two principles: the principle of the inadmissibility of recourse to force to settle disputes between Member States (Article V); and the principle of respect for the existing system of government in each of these Member States (Article VIII). As such, this Charter has reduced all the principles set forth in charters of international organizations, such as the United Nations, in these two principles only. It ignored (or at best assumptions it did not refer to) the principle of unity among Member States, the principle of good faith in the implementation of the obligations of the joint Arab action, or the principle of refraining from assisting any foreign country that aimed at jeopardizing Arab national security. This means that the Charter of the League of Arab States is in dire need of reformation in order to adapt to the perspective of the Arab Spring and the comprehensiveness of its noble objectives. The Charter also did not refer to the principle of respect for human rights and the fundamental freedoms, a principle that is included in all the charters of international organization. Further, it ignored a reference to the commitment to the principles of international law and justice, or the United Nations Charter. These principles were included in the UN Conventions, the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Organization of African Unity, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organization of Peace and Cooperation in Europe, and even the Warsaw Treaty Organization (1955-1990). It is worth noting that the Charter of the Arab League was initiated at almost the same time of the United Nations Charter, and twelve years before the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community in (1957). Five Arab countries participated in the development of the United Nations Charter and reviewed the purposes and principles of the international organization; however, a significant discrepancy can be seen between the two charters. The Charter of the League of Arab States did not include many of the principles of the UN Charter. It is all the more surprising that the Treaty of Joint Defense and Economic Cooperation (held in 1950) of the Arab League countries came more mature in its field than the Arab League Charter itself and closer to the contents of the UN Charter. In the preamble, the parties to the treaty speak of achieving a joint defense, maintaining peace and security in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the Arab League, and the Charter

Thus, even an accidental reading of the Charter of the League of Arab States shows that this Charter being limited to only two principles, with objective and formal flaws, contributes to the weakening of the Charter itself, hence, a negative impact on the performance and work of the League. This is due to the principles that represent the commitments that the Member States as well as the League should hold, and thus the Member States bear the consequences and responsibilities in case these commitments were violated. In addition, the principles are not only means to accomplish objectives, but they were considered part of these objectives – in the application and the interpretation. In order to tackle and overcome these flaws, the Arab League should issue declarations that include general principles that apply to certain cases in case its Member States do not manage to amend the Charter. All charters of autonomous international organizations explicitly allow adopting declarations, which is a practice or a phenomenon that became common after establishing the League of Nations. The League of Arab States can establish new principles in accordance with the international law, update itself according to the requirements of the twenty first century, increase its effectiveness, improve its collective security, and fill the legal gaps in its Charter. Recently, the Arab League passed through severe adversities that distorted the image of the institutional collective Arab work. Distances between the capitals of the Arab countries and those of the non-Arab countries became closer than those between any Arab capitals. Coordination and dialogue declined (if not disappeared), and many Arab countries became more self-centered. Arab countries are more separated now than they have ever been before. Therefore, a re-reunion of the Arab world and a formulation of joint Arab action seems like a must, even if it requires a massive joint work. This massive joint work, however, should be highly transparent in order to overcome the difficulties, adjust the march, and adapt with the Arab revival movement and its longing for the spring.

21 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 21

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Articles

International Cooperation for Development:

Practices and Prospects By: Dr. Yohanna Abona*

Since ancient times, human civilizations transferred ideas, experiences, and discoveries from one community to another, as well as from one country to another. However, this was a very slow process measured in hundreds or rather thousands of years, because of the reliance on individual initiatives, as well as the often difficult, and sometimes even impossible movement from one geographic location to another. Nevertheless, many civilizations evolved and flourished in different parts of the world, benefiting from the ideas and sciences achieved by other civilizations. Countries in what is now known as the Middle East, were a source of many achievements of thought, literature and philosophy, as well as mathematics, astronomy, law and agriculture, in addition to the divine laws acquired by other countries, particularly in Europe. Thus, the transfer of ideas and knowledge from one community to another and from one location to another was an essential part of the evolution of human civilization. We may not bring anything new when we talk about development assistance provided by certain states, organizations, or entities to other countries, organizations, and entities to help them empower themselves and raise their living standards, as well as to benefit from all the achievements of humanity that had been accumulated in the intellectual, social, scientific and economic spheres through time. The novel fact is the realization that peaceful coexistence can not be achieved in the world without having advanced countries help developing nations. Moreover, there should not be dependence on the slow and spontaneous formulas when benefiting from each other, but instead, it should be conducted in a well-planned, systematic, and intensive manner. From this context, this new phenomenon has emerged, that is the development assistance offered by states or certain institutions to countries or other institutions for its economic growth, to reduce the manifestations of poverty and underdevelopment, and to tackle the problems resulting from natural disasters, wars and famines.

* Expert international cooperation - Ministry of Foreign Affairs\ State of Qatar 22 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 22

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Articles The Intentions of International Cooperation for Development The perception towards international cooperation for development has developed over the past years and can be summed up as follows: The advanced states or institutions in the economic and technological fields provide development assistance through the transfer of its knowledge and expertise, especially the successful and peculiar ones, in economic, social, cultural, and even political fields, to less developed states or institutions. This would be through the contribution to raise their national capacities, both institutional and human resources, as well as the improvement of business environment; i.e. relations and cooperation among various relevant institutions, both governmental and non-governmental organizations. The question that often comes to mind is why donors give, i.e. what are their real motivations? The answer is complicated since motives are numerous, varied, interconnected, and differ from one situation to another, and from one period to another. These motivations could be humanitarian and stem from the desire to help others, such as reducing poverty and raising living standards, preserving human rights, and alleviating the consequences of natural disasters. Other motives fall within the context of solidarity that serve specific goals, such as preservation of the environment, global stability, spreading democracy, and intellectual pluralism. While others arise from self-interest, such as the stability of neighboring countries, reducing illegal immigration, opening new markets, promoting exports, expanding spheres of influence, as well as cultural and ideological penetration.

the "Development Decade”. The UN set up a strategy to transfer capital to developing countries. Moreover, a number of multilateral organizations were created that were involved in providing development assistance; such as the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) which formed part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), as well as regional development banks. At the same time, national institutions in industrialized countries were founded to regulate their development assistance such as the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Canada. A trend was emerging towards comprehensive national programs for planning, development and industrialization led by the state rather than projects with limited objectives, sectors and locations. Attention was also paid to the need of getting rid of aid conditionality. This decade was marked by the continuous and increasing attention and support for development assistance, and notable successes were achieved. In 1970, it was agreed that an international benchmark of 0.7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should be the target for official development assistance. In the 1970s, there was a change to development assistance thinking in terms of objectives and justifications, which led to the cut in the amounts allocated in a number of industrial countries. On the other hand, there was an increase in the amounts allocated by Arab States, and new countries entered the field such as Northern Europe and Japan. Additionally, instead of economic development in general, more attention was paid for poverty and the society’s poor segments, and the basic human needs and services such as education, health, agriculture and the provision of safe drinking water. Development assistance declined during the first half of the 1980s due to recession and inflation confronted by industrial

The Dynamics of Aid Through Time Following World War II, development aid passed through several stages in terms of intentions, objectives and areas of focus, as well as beneficiaries. Differences were limited some times, and wide-ranging in others. These intentions recently reached a sort of conformity and consistency due to the international meetings, follow-ups, and agreements where in the 1940s and 1950s, the focus was on post-war reconstruction and followed by security. At the bilateral level, the first initiative was an American one, represented by the Marshall Plan, which intended to reconstruct Europe after World War II, and the Point Four Program aimed at improving living standards and developing the capacity of the Non-Socialist bloc states. At the international level, the United Nations was founded and included a number of specialized organizations with the expansion of its technical cooperation programs. In addition, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were established to provide economic aid, and to guarantee the international economic and financial stability. With the increase in the need to provide development assistance to the developing and poor countries during the sixties, particularly after the emergence of newly independent States following liberation from colonialism, and their need for stability and growth, the United Nations declared the sixties as

23 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 23

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Articles countries. As such, recipient countries of development assistance were encouraged to open their markets and reduce government spending. With the debt-servicing problem that emerged in aid receiving countries, was a new policy direction spearheaded by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and major industrial countries to restructure the economies of the recipient countries. These policies included financial control; reduction in governmentspending, focusing on basic human services, tax reform, competitive exchange rate, trade liberalization and the reduction of government controls, the promotion of foreign direct investment, and privatization. However, the second half of the decade witnessed an increase in development assistance due to the improvement of economic conditions in donor countries, and its recognition of the ineffectiveness of the structural programs, particularly with regard to the humanitarian aspects. Moreover, this increase was also the result of the media’s focus on a number of natural disasters and famines around the world, and the rise of the NGOs' role in raising funds, and poor community services.

the initiation of coordination mechanism among donor countries. The need for a clear vision for the new millennium has emerged based on experiences of the past and the outcome of summits held over the last decade. With an invitation by the United Nations, the Millennium Summit Conference was held in 2000 and was attended by 189 countries. The conference aimed to liberate men, women and children of the world from the cruelty of extreme poverty and its humiliation. It paid special attention to humanitarian values and principles, elimination of poverty, protecting vulnerable people, peace, disarmament, protecting the environment, human rights, democracy, good governance systems, and strengthening the role of the United Nations and its capabilities in all of these topics. There were eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were adopted and that should be achieved by 2015. The goals would provide the international community with a framework for a joint action in order to accomplish specific and clear results. They were embodied in eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, making primary education accessible to all, achieving gender equality, empowering women, reducing child mortality, promoting maternal health, combating HIV/ AIDS, malaria and other diseases, securing environmental sustainability, and establishing a global partnership for development. The UNDP 2011 report established that despite major obstacles resulting from the global economic crisis in 20082009, the world has regained its course to achieve the poverty reduction goal by 2015. However, it will not be possible to achieve all the MDGs by 2015.

In the early 1990s, development assistance shrank again because of donor countries' "fatigue” and their waning conviction of their effectiveness. This coincided with the end of the Cold War and the entry of Eastern European countries in the competition over development assistance. It also coincided with the need to increase allocations for emergencies due to natural disasters, and regional and local conflicts. Once again, there was a focus on poverty, and the realization increased that the structural policies often aggravate poverty. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) increased its focus on humanitarian development, and began issuing international annual Human Development Reports that included the Human Development Index, followed by regional reports, including the Arab Human Development Reports, which focused on human rights, education, and health. Various international conferences were organized at summit level to examine priorities and to address them. The Development Assistance Committee of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD-DAC) also published comprehensive reports on the objectives, policies and approaches of development cooperation, the identification of clear objectives for the new millennium, and

In an international meeting on the effectiveness of development aid in 2005, where 90 countries participated, including eight Arab countries, 26 organizations, and 14 civil society organizations, the so-called Paris Declaration was issued and included a set of guidelines aimed at upgrading the effectiveness of development aid. This declaration includes a number of guidelines aimed to ameliorate the effectiveness of development aid. Amongst the declaration articles is the strengthening of national development strategy within the partner countries, the increasing of harmony between aid and priorities of partner countries, its systems and procedures, promoting accountability of both donors and partner countries, reducing duplication of efforts, reforming donor policies and the simplification of relevant procedures, and identifying performance standards, accountability, procedures, and systems in partner countries. The declaration also included a number of tangible and effective measures to address the remaining challenges. These challenges include the weakness of the institutional capacities of the partner countries; not bequeathing enough authorization for personnel working in the field from donors; the non- integration of global programs and initiatives in a sufficient manner within the broader development agendas in partner countries, and corruption and the lack of transparency. In 2008, the Accra Agenda for Action was issued with the aim to improve the implementation of the Paris Declaration following a meeting of the heads of bilateral and multilateral donor institutions. It emphasized the consolidation of national lead for the development process; boosting the capacity of recipient countries in leading the process, strengthening partnership and

24 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 24

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Articles

cooperation among various stakeholders - both recipients and donors, including NGOs and civil society organizations. It also highlighted the measurement, record and the presentation of accomplished results with its finances published, and reducing aid partiality and its conditionality, taking into account crises and volatile situations experienced by some countries. In 2011, a meeting held in Busan, South Korea once again focused on the effectiveness of developmental aid. The first decade of the new millennium was marked by the emergence of new states in the world economy such as China, India and Brazil, and the disparity between the countries of "North” and "South” had diminished in many cases. In 2010, DAC countries official development assistance amounted to more than 128 billion dollars. The number of donor governments outside the DAC increased to 30, and the number of institutions and agencies involved in development cooperation at the bilateral level also increased to 242 institutions, including 24 developmental banks and 40 agencies that are part of the United Nations. However, due to all these changes and the emergence of multiple stakeholders, the context has become complicated and aid management within beneficiary countries has grown more difficult.

The Flow of International Development Assistance Development assistance often means Official Development Assistance (ODA), which are the funds allocated by governments and official bodies, either as grants or loans where grants accounted for at least 25% of it. However, tables issued by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) include reference to three other main paragraphs: “Other Official Flows” is the amount of the proportion of grants

that does not reach 25%; “Private Flows” are private sector originated amounts that are subject to market provisions; and the grants endorsed by non-governmental organizations. As mentioned above, official developmental assistance has seen a significant increase through the years of which donations of DAC member States is as follows: Year

Million US$

1994

58.928

2000

53.756

2006

104.814

2007

104.208

2008

121.954

2009

119.778

2010

128.492

*(DAC, Development Committee Report 2011)

It should be noted that official development assistance is classified as follows: bilateral assistance that is any aid granted by one country to another through direct relations including amounts allocated for technical cooperation, food aid, humanitarian aid, subsidies for emergency and written off debt, and administrative expenses. Multilateral assistance is any aid provided by international organizations, including the United Nations system, the World Bank, and the regional development banks. The table below is an overview of the total flows of development assistance over the past four decades in million US$:

25 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 25

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Articles 1970 - 1979

1980 - 1989

1990 - 1999

2000 - 2009

Official Development Assistance

46693

70210

77960

100739

Other Official Flows

12541

11345

12258

- 1758

Special Flows/Market Provisions

77979

74000

110454

146676

Grants By NGOs

Total

4795

5063

8075

15418

142008

160618

208747

261075

*(DAC, Development Committee Report) – In Million US$

As for contributions of the States in official development assistance and ratios of its GDP, in 2010: State

Amount/ USD

Ratio/ GDP

Sweden

4548

1.12

Norway

4081

1.06

Denmark

2810

0.88

Holland

6426

0.82

Britain

11283

0.51

France

12602

0.47

Germany

12079

0.35

Canada

4000

0.30

USA

28831

0.21

Japan

9457

0.18

The total amount of the official developmental assistance in 2010 for 23 eligible countries was US$ 119,779 million i.e. a total ratio 0.31% of its gross domestic product. The Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands exceeded the international benchmark of 0.70%, while the aid levels of major states is much lower.

26 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 26

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Articles The Arab World Developmental Assistance A report issued by the World Bank in 2010 entitled Arab Development Assistance, indicated that Arab developmental assistance over the past four decades, which has relatively not been sufficiently studied, has played an important role in Global Development Finance, and was one of the most generous in the world. In the period between 1973 and 2008, the official Arab development assistance reached 1.5% of its total national income i.e. more than double the target set by the United Nations, which was 0.7% and five folds the average of the states belonging to the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The official Arab developmental assistance represents an average rate of 13% out of the total aid provided by the Development Assistance Committee. It also accounted for nearly three-quarters of the official aid that comes from the non-members of the DAC, while it still exceeds the average rate of DAC countries, as well as the fact that Arab assistance is characterized by being unconditional and unrestricted. The level of Arab assistance witnessed an extraordinary rise in the 1970s and early 1980s according to international standards; however, it decreased by time due to the decline in oil revenues and the increase in national expenditures, financial transfers, debt service and social services for people whose numbers grow continuously. Nonetheless, it has risen again since 2002 in terms of volume and its ratio to the total national income due to high oil prices and the increase in the need of reconstruction in the wake of post-conflicts. Arab donor countries have recently increased the size of their aid, despite the severe global financial crisis. In fact, there are valid reasons in believing that Arab aid will continue to play an important role in international developmental assistance in the near future. Arab assistance has played a main role in the total flows of official

developmental assistance to many developing countries such as Syria, Morocco, Yemen, and Jordan. Arab donor countries expanded the scope of their developmental assistance beyond Arab countries and Muslim-majority countries to include poor countries in SubSaharan Africa such as Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Somalia, and Sudan, and in Asia such as Cambodia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Vietnam. With time, the Arab assistance scope has gone beyond focusing on infrastructure only, to covering agriculture, health, education and social services sectors. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the ratio of developmental assistance to gross national income amounted to more than 12% for the UAE and 8.5% for both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. In this context, Saudi Arabia has doubled its aid over the past two years; (US$ 2 billion) for 2007 and (US$ 5.6 billion) for 2008. As for the Kuwait Fund for Economic Development, it allocated financial and technical aid that totaled US$ 110 million in 2007 and US$ 283 million in 2008 respectively. However, the UAE has cut its developmental assistance from US$ 429 million in 2007 to US$ 88 million in 2008. As for the State of Qatar, its development assistance has grown in volume in recent years. It reached US$ 624 million in 2006 (including 9.8% in the non-governmental sector), US$ 436 million in 2007 (including 16.8% in non-governmental sector), US$ 433 million in 2008 (including 26.5% in nongovernmental sector) and US$ 382 million in 2008 (including 58.3% in non-governmental sector). For the period of 1973-2008, the total allocated development assistance by all Arab countries was US$ 271.950 million according to 2007 prices. During this period, the major recipients of development assistance were Arab countries. These countries in chronological order were Syria and then Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Yemen.

27 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 27

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Articles

It should be noted that specialized Arab financial aid institutions at both national and regional levels have emerged over the past years and have exercised an active role in promoting development efforts in developing countries, including Arab and non-Arab countries. The aid that has been offered through these institutions has increased over the past twenty years in its real value by exceeding 4% per year. In fact, Arab financial institutions enjoy a strong capital base, and are potentially able to offer more assistance. The total aid that they provided since their inception has amounted to US$ 90.5 billion. National institutions are: Kuwait Fund for Economic Development, founded in 1961, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, founded in 1971, and Saudi Fund for Development, founded in 1974. As for the regional institutions, they are: Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, founded in 1971, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, founded in 1973, Islamic Development Bank, founded in 1975, OPEC Fund for International Development, founded in 1976, Arab Monetary Fund, founded in 1976, and Arab Gulf Program for Development, (AGFUND), founded in 1980.

Future Prospects The experiences of past decades have underlined the need to move towards economic and social relations among countries of the world based not only on humanitarian positions, but on common interests; not on confrontation but

on co-operation; not on market protection, but on equitable sharing of markets. They also should not be based on a narrow national vision, but rather on a far-sighted international outlook. These experiences also highlighted the vision of post-development aid to include areas in the flow of private investment and the flow of both personnel and trade. According to these experiments, DAC has stressed a number of facts that can contribute to enhance the effectiveness of development assistance. It includes the central role in which the recipient country has to play in planning, designing and managing technical cooperation, with an emphasis on the "national lead”, i.e. the right of the beneficiary country in the selection of projects and the monitoring of their implementation. Additionally, the principle of partnership should be underlined. This principle refers to the implementation of projects in coordination and partnership between the donor and the beneficiary; both the recipient and donor countries should avoid repetition, division and should seek the optimum use of resources. Development assistance should aim at raising national capacities; both human and institutional, as well as the business environment. They should also adopt an approach based on the implementation of programs that is a coordinated support for objectives and sector policies, instead of limited scope projects. They should also rely as much as possible on local rather than external expertise, and on the existing structures rather than developed structures. The project design should depend on

28 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 28

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Articles outputs rather than inputs, and should be sustainable. In the meantime, cost should be monitored and reduced, while there should be a follow-up to the efficiency and effectiveness of expenditures in a careful and transparent manner. The donor countries have an obligation to coordinate the provision of their assistance efficiently, which would lead to a positive impact to the beneficiaries. Over the past years, major phenomena emerged in relation to the nature and patterns of development assistance including: • Instability, or rather changeability in development assistance over the years that did not reach the agreed ratios. • An increase in the number of donor countries and institutions with wide varieties of objectives, approaches and sources of funding, and the emergence of states and major donor institutions outside the OECD, including the Arab countries. • An increase in the number of institutions, funds and international programs related to development assistance, and the growing complexity of the structure and patterns of development cooperation in the world and the relevant issues. • An increase in the number of countries receiving development assistance, particularly in the post-colonial period, the dissolving of the Soviet Union, and in the expansion and the multiplicity of situations that are in need of assistance. • The emergence of the private sector role in development, and attention should be noted to its potential on this regard.

citizens and the different segments of the society, as well as the needed flexibility to confront crises and to find solutions. • Addressing the need for more transparency, accountability and effectiveness in the development assistance programs. • Tackling the need for beneficiary countries to have a key role in determining the methodology of development aid, and the follow-up of implementation and results. • Confronting specific challenges related to the system of governments in weak and unstable countries. • Issues related to climate change, demographics, employment, and gender equality. • Tackling the problems resulting from slow or declining growth in some developing countries. • Addressing the issues related to peace and regional conflicts and its economic and social impacts, as well as the overlap between development cooperation and peacekeeping. • Encountering global financial crises, such as the ongoing ones, as well as national and regional crises, including the accompanying rise and fluctuations of energy and food prices. • Meeting the requirements of social justice, the needs and aspirations of the population, and fairness in the distribution of wealth among and within nations.

• The emergence of non-governmental aid through NGOs, private actors and individuals. • The emanation of cooperation among countries of the South. • The change in the patterns of aid from projects to programs, and from institutions to sectors. • The direction towards raising national capacity building and the support for budgets. Most of these trends could be considered positive since they assist in increasing the effectiveness of development assistance. However, they represent complexity and require a lot of attention and follow-up by all parties concerned; both donors and beneficiaries. Furthermore, a number of challenges must be observed in the coming years, including: • Confronting the growing need for institutions concerned with development to obtain the ability to diagnose the needs of

29 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 29

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Book Review

International Relations: The Key Concepts

By: Awwad Ali*

Authored by: Martin Griffiths: Senior Lecturer in the School of Political and International Studies at Flinders University, Australia. Terry O'Callaghan: Lecturer in the School of International Studies at the University of South Australia. Publisher: Gulf Research Center, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2008.

* Media consultant, The Diplomatic Institute 30 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 30

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Book Review Featuring 150 entries, “International Relations: Key Concepts” is a comprehensive and up-to-date book and an essential guide for anyone interested in international affairs. It introduces the most important themes in international relations, with an emphasis on contemporary issues. Entries include containment, diplomacy, global warming, terrorism, human rights, rogue states, loose nukes, United Nations, security, arms control, and ethnic cleansing. The book includes references to numerous books, studies and readings on international relations. It also provides a unique list of internet resources and useful websites in this regard. The key concepts in the book can be easily understood, which makes the book an indispensable guide to a field that is widely expanding. Thus, this book is perfect for students and laymen alike. In the preface, the authors suggest that the discipline of international relations is the academic study of the origins and consequences (both empirical and normative) of a world divided among states. So defined, international relations is a very broad discipline, which includes a variety of sub-fields such as diplomatic statecraft and foreign policy analysis, comparative politics, historical sociology, international political economy, international history, strategic studies and military affairs, ethics, and international political theory. In addition to its wide scope, the study of international relations is shaped by the interplay between continuity and change in its subject matter. Accordingly, the contents of this book reflect both the scope of the discipline as well as dramatic developments in world politics that have taken place since the end of the Cold War. The book is neither a dictionary nor a textbook; rather, it combines the strengths of each. It contains 150 key concepts that all diplomats and students in the field should be familiar with as they confront the challenges of understanding our contemporary world. Within the list of key concepts, the book analyzes, for instance, the concept of “containment”, which is a Cold War concept formed and shaped by the American diplomat and historian George Kennan in the late 1940s. Containment was the fundamental goal of US national security vis-à-vis the former Soviet Union post-WWII policy. In 1946, Kennan, who was employed as a staff officer in the American embassy in Moscow, sent a secret cable to Washington. After analysing the history and nature of the Soviet regime, he concluded that this regime would probably expand into the power vacuum in Central and Western Europe. He reminded the US government that America had fought two wars in the twentieth century to prevent Europe of coming under the control of a single militaristic regime. He suggested that this danger could arise again, and he recommended that Soviet expansionism be contained by American policies while there was yet time to do so without having to fight again. Kennan’s analysis and his recommendation of the containment concept were not immediately accepted in

Washington. It was still US policy to work with the Soviets and to try and make the United Nations (UN) succeed. But his articulate and obviously thoughtful essay was circulated first around the State Department, then more widely through the government. Kennan himself was recalled to Washington to explain his ideas further. As the months passed, Kennan’s view gained ground – especially as the Soviet actions in Europe disappointed and frustrated American hopes more and more. His analysis provided a way of understanding what was occurring and why the ideal of organising world politics in the framework of the UN system was failing. As the course that the United States was trying to take in the world proved more and more impossible, Kennan’s approach gained favour as an alternative. By the winter of 1947, it was largely accepted by policy-makers and incorporated into a formal document establishing it as a fundamental goal of the United States. As the Cold War escalated there-after, containment of the Soviet Union became the very bedrock of US foreign policy. So that the American public could better understand the premises of US policy, Kennan published an edited version of his long cable, with secret information about the USSR removed. Entitled “The Sources of Soviet Conduct”, it appeared in the July 1947 issue of Foreign Affairs, which at that time, was the only important American journal devoted to international relations and foreign policy. The article's author was named “Mr. X”, but it soon became widely known that the article presented what was now the American government’s view. As the main justification for containment to appear in public, the “Mr. X” article is probably the most famous essay on US foreign relations in the twentieth century. Each entry in this book is explained by a short essay that defines the term and identifies the historical origins and subsequent development of its use in international relations, and explains the reasons why a term is controversial. This book covers concepts, institutions, and terms that, although well-established in their use, have been the focus of revision in their meaning or application to contemporary international relations. The book also includes numerous terms that have only recently joined the vocabulary of the discipline to describe new phenomena in world politics. Although each entry is self-contained, cross-references to other concepts are frequent, and they are indicated by the use of bold type. At the end of each essay, the authors explicitly crossreference the term to complementary concepts discussed elsewhere in the book. In addition, the authors provide a short list of important further readings that can be found in the bibliography. Finally, this book is unique in the essential key concept series. It provides its readers with a comprehensive guide to internet resources and useful websites that are indispensable research tools in the study of international relations. In order to facilitate the use of the websites, the authors divided them into ten categories: Area Studies; International Organisations; International Relations Resources; Issues and Subjects; Journals; News and Current Affairs Networks; Non-governmental Organisations; Professional Associations and Conferences; Research Centres, Institutes, and Thinktanks; and Resources for Students.

31 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 31

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Publications

A Publication of the Institute:

Sustainable Development Indicators in the State of Qatar 2011 The Diplomatic Institute at the Foreign Ministry in cooperation with Qatar's Statistic Authority, issued a report on the "Indicators of Sustainable Development in the State of Qatar” in 2011, which is the first cooperation between the two institutions. The foreword states that the report was prepared in the context of aiming to achieve the goals and objectives of the Qatar National Vision 2030; and the National Development Strategy 2011 – 2016. These strategies explore the development prospects in the State of Qatar in regards to social, human, economic, and environmental spheres; and call for a balance between available resources and development options in order to achieve sustainability. This report aims to review and evaluate the level of progress made by the State of Qatar in its use of available resources in sustainable ways through a social, demographic, economic, and environmental set of indicators that shed light on these issues. It also aims to evaluate the achievements of the State of Qatar in this regard compared to other developed and developing countries and the future prospects of said set of indicators.

32 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 32

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Publications Population and Social Indicators The report was divided into three chapters. Chapter One addresses the demographic and social indicators that evaluate the progress made by the State of Qatar in the years 20012010, in terms of finding a social environment that enables people to acquire knowledge and enjoy a long dignified illness-free life. Most of the demographic and social indicators witnessed a remarkable improvement. The unemployment rate fell to a significant extent of about 8 times in nine years. This rate was (3.9%) in 2001 and it declined to (0.5%) in 2010. Health indicators have also seen significant progress. Mortality in children under the age of five declined significantly from (11.3) per one thousand in 2001 to (8.5) per one thousand in 2010. The indicator of life expectancy at birth has, also, witnessed a gradual rise from (74.5) in 2001 to (78.2) in 2010. The proportion of population covered by primary healthcare reached 100% since early 2000, and contributed to the eradication of many diseases, such as child polio, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough and others. These diseases have almost disappeared completely from the State of Qatar. The proportion of the newborns and the underweights declined from (9.4%) in 2001 to (7.6%) in 2010. The rate of immunization against infectious childhood diseases has been consistently high, as it did not fall below (96%) throughout the last decade. The indicator of the availability of safe drinking water showed stability, reaching a ratio of (100%) since 2001. Thus, the State had already managed to achieve the second goal of the seventh development objective of the millennium (i.e. ensuring environmental sustainability). The indicator of population growth rate witnessed several fluctuations in the last decade. It reached an unprecedented rise of (18.9) in 2008, about (4) times what it was in 2001. But it dropped sharply in 2010 to (4.6%), with an average decline of more than (7%) per annum. The actual reason for the high rate of population growth in 2008 can be attributed to the massive economic recovery that the State of Qatar experienced at the time. The indicator of total fertility rate for Qatari women declined from (4.2) live-birth per a childbearing woman in 2001 to (3.6) in 2010, a decrease of (0.6) in nearly a decade. The age dependency ratio decreased from (38.6%) in 2001 to (17%) in 2010, a decrease of (2.4%) per annum. The main reason behind the decline in this ratio does not lie in the low fertility rates, but, primarily, in the massive economic recovery that the State has been experiencing, which requires the employment of large numbers of expatriate workers who make up most of the members of the young productive age groups. As for the education indicators, the report points out that the proportion of adults who obtained a high school diploma increased from (54%) of the total population in 2001 to (66.9%) in 2010. This progress is attributed to the State’s keenness to develop education as the most important method to bring about economic, cultural and social progress. The adult literacy rate indicator witnessed a rise from (90.2%) in 2001 to (96.3%) in 2010.

In regards to the registered crimes indicator, and despite the low number of registered crimes in the State in comparison with other countries of the world, this number has increased to over seven-fold in a decade, rising from (320) crimes per 100 thousand inhabitants in 2001 to (2355) crimes in 2010. The rise in crime rate is attributed to: the major openness that the country has been witnessing, the arrival of large numbers of people into the country, and the recent sophistications of criminal methods and techniques which are used in committing crimes. Those criminal methods and practices were alien and not known before to the Qatari society.

Economic Indicators Chapter Two of the report focused on the economic indicators that are related to the macroeconomic performance indicators, the global partnership in development, and the patterns of production and consumption. The State economic indicators were reflected in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita indicators. The GDP per capita indicator has seen a remarkable development during the period under study (2001-2010). It has risen from about (27.3) thousand dollars in 2001 to (74.9) thousand dollars in 2010, achieving an annual growth rate of (11.9%) at current prices. The indicator of the investment ratio to GDP has, also, witnessed a remarkable increase in the period under study. It jumped from (23.4%) in 2001 to (39.6%) in 2009. This percentage exceeded that in developed countries (21.0%), and worldwide (23.9%). The inflation rate indicator witnessed an acceptable increase during the period (2001- 2003), but it started to boost during the period (2004-2008) as it jumped from (6.8%) in 2004 to (15.2%) in 2008, achieving an annual increase of (8.4%). This increase in the inflation rate, during said period, is attributed to the increase in the demand for housing and accommodation rents coupled with high food prices. In 2009-2010, inflation rate declined to score (-4.9% - 2.4%) due to the increase in housings supply and the fall in rents, the decline in the exchange rate of the US dollar by 4.4% in 2010, and the moderate increase in food prices. The employment rate indicator has seen a remarkable increase of (96.1%) in 2001 to about (99.5%) in 2010. This indicates that the Qatar labor market is approaching being operative in its full capacity in comparison with some developed countries, such as the United States of America (90.7%), the United Kingdom (92.2%), and the Euro area (89.9%) in 2010. The rise in the total number of the economically active population led to the increase of the crude economic activity rate from (49.8%) in 2001 to (75.1%) in 2010. This rate has, also, seen some variability during this period in regards to men and/or women crude economic activity, in accordance with the employment policies pursued by the Ministry of Labour and the application of the policy of Qatarization, parallel to the influx of foreign workers that is required for the development process and its various projects. As for the indicators of information and communication technology, the landlines telephone prevalence rate indicator witnessed an evident decline, as it dropped during (20012010) from (25.8) lines for every 100 individuals in 2001 to

33 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 33

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Publications (16.9) lines for every 100 individuals in 2010. The mobile telephone prevalence rate indicator, on the other hand, witnessed a remarkable increase, as it has risen from (28.8) lines for every 100 individuals in 2001 to (161) lines in 2010. The prevalence rate of the mobile telephone in the State of Qatar exceeds that in developed countries (106), and surpasses that in developing countries (52). The internet users indicator has seen a remarkable increase from (6.2) users in each one hundred of the population in 2001 to (29.8) users in each one hundred of the population in 2010. This is attributed to the diversity of the economic and social activities taking place in the State of Qatar, coupled with the increase in the level of education of the majority of the population and the development in internet services. The indicator of personal computer users, also, increased significantly during the period (2004-2010), rising from (17.1%) in 2004 to (37%) in 2010.

(80.5%) in 2009, to rise slightly to (82.3%) in 2010. This can be attributed to the decline in service exports and goods imports on the one hand, and to the increase in the gross domestic product on the other. However, these high ratios show that the State utilizes many programs of trade liberalization in order to enhance the integration process with the global economy. The indicator of development assistance as a percentage of the GDP has, also, fluctuated during the period under study, as it dropped from (0.63%) in 2001 to (0.38%) in 2008, and rose slightly to (0.39%) in 2009. The proportion of development assistance provided by the State of Qatar exceeded its counterpart of the countries of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) throughout the studied period. The former also surpassed the latter more than once in some years. Qatar’s proportion in 2009 reached (0.39%), which is higher than that of the countries of the DAC (0.31%).

With regard to the indicators of the global partnership, the State of Qatar is classified, according to the indicator of the current account as a percentage of the GDP, among the countries that have achieved a positive surplus in the ratio of current account balance to GDP, which amounted to (16.5%) in 2010 in comparison with the developed countries that have a deficit of (-0.2%), the euro area (-0.6%), and the Middle East (6.5%). The indicator of exports and imports as a percentage of the GDP has witnessed a rise, especially in 2006, as the rate reached (98.6%). Yet, it dropped to (80.1%) in 2008, and to

The indicator of remittances to GDP has seen fluctuations, and even declined during (2001-2008), due to the increasing rate of GDP (30.1%) per year, which exceeded the average growth rate of remittances (19.5%). This led to the decline in remittances as a percentage of the GDP, from about (8.6%) in 2001 to (8.2%) in 2010. The indicator of inward foreign direct investment as a percentage of GDP witnessed a remarkable increase from (1.7%) in 2001 to (4.4%) in 2010. The percentage of outward foreign direct investment of GDP increased from (0.6%) in 2001 to (1.5%) in 2010.

34 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 34

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Publications infrastructure construction activities. The nitrogen oxide pollutants are significantly less than the global standard of (100) ug/m3, whereas the micro particles pollutants have exceedingly surpassed the global standard of (50) ug/m3. The indicator of ozone depleting substances has seen a sharp increase. It jumped from no more than (179.30) metric tons in 2001, to (2027) metric tons in 2010, i.e. an annual growth rate of (27.4%). This is attributed to the increase in the import of organic chlorine and fluorine compounds -22.

The report, also, points out the indicators of sustainable consumption and production patterns. In this regard, the energy use indicator has fluctuated during the period under study. The annual individual consumption share of electrical power declined to (15.3) thousand kilowatt per hour (kWh) in 2001 to (13.5) kWh in 2007 and continued falling to (12.7) thousand kWh in 2009. Then, it increased to (14.5) thousand kWh in 2010. However, the per capita annual consumption of electric power exceeds that of the global average. The State of Qatar ranks tenth globally – Iceland ranks first. The indicator of hazardous waste generation witnessed a limited increase during the period (2005-2008) with an the increase of (0.0127) ton per unit of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2005 to (0.0319) ton per unit of GDP in 2008, but it declined during the years 2009 and 2010 to (0.0197) ton per unit of GDP and (0.0166) ton per unit of GDP. However, the hazardous waste generation rate is still low in the State of Qatar compared with its rate in developed countries. The indicator of waste recycling has seen a remarkable increase from (10.480) tons in 2001 to (26319.6) tons in 2008. It is expected that the proportion of waste recycling, in the coming period, will increase due to the rise in production capacities of recycling factories, and due to the State’s inclinations towards adopting the green economy and its applications.

The arable land indicator has seen an increase during the period (2001-2003), rising from about (6329) hectares in 2001 to (7419.9) hectares in 2003. However, it soon declined to (6500) hectares in 2005. The period of (2005-2010) did not see any increase in arable lands. The agricultural pesticides usage indicator fluctuated during the period (2001-2010). The use of pesticides declined from (4.4) kg/ha in 2001 to (1.4) kg/ha in 2002, which transpired into a decrease of (69%). Pesticide usage began to rise gradually to settle at (5.7) kg/ha in 2009, then dropped to (2.6) kg/ha in 2010, with a decrease of (55%). Chapter Three also included the indicator of the annual fishing, which has fluctuated throughout the period (20012010). In 2002, this indicator dropped to (19.3%) in comparison with 2001. Then, it quickly rose, through the period (20032008), to reach (17688) tonnes in 2008. Afterwards, fishing production declined to about (13760) tonnes in 2010. The increase in fishing, which reached an annual growth rate of (4.5%) during the period (2001-2010), can be attributed to the increase in the demand for fish as an important source of nutrition for individuals in the State. Chapter Three was concluded with the indicators of biodiversity. The indicator of the ratio of preserved areas to total area increased significantly. The ratio did not exceed (0.17%) in 2003, but it rose rapidly to reach (29.3%) in 2007. This surpasses the global standard that determines the proportion of reserves by about (10%) of the total area of the State.

Environmental Indicators The report concluded by Chapter Three, which was dedicated to environmental indicators, which is considered as a measurement for the progress that has been made in the State of Qatar in terms of preserving the natural environments’ different components, and reducing related abuses to provide inhabitants with healthy surroundings. The report included several environmental indicators. Pollution indicators, such as the indicator of concentration of air pollutants in urban areas, witnessed an excessive increase during the period (2007-2010). The results of monitoring micro particles in the air show an increase in the rates of pollution in the city of Doha. The micro particles rate has increased from (128.78) ug/m3 in 2007 to (155.7) ug/m3 in 2010. The level of nitrogen oxide pollution of the air environment increased sharply during the period (2007-2010). It rose from (45.13) ug/ m3 in 2007 to (70.41) ug/m3 in 2010. This can be attributed to the increase in the number of vehicles, the impact of the manufacturing sector, and the resulting pollutants from the

35 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 35

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Publications Articles

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Publications:

Foreign Development Aid Report (2010 - 2011)

The Department of International Development in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a report on the 2010-2011 development aid offered by the State of Qatar in the development and humanitarian fields. This report aims to achieve high transparency through a review of the Qatari foreign assistance data, as well as its nature and characteristics. In addition, the report aims at developing the aids’ effectiveness through the assessment of the aids which is provided in accordance with the best international standards and practices. The availability of information will give a strategic dimension to the Qatari foreign aid and will support decision-makers in directing and organizing the aid in alignment with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and Qatar’s external strategy based on international cooperation and human solidarity.

36 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 36

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Publications The report was based on a number of scientific elements in regards to handling foreign aid. A special section was dedicated to commonly used definitions and terminology in the field of foreign aid at the international level. The report also adopted the classification of aid standards of the specialized international organizations that collect and monitor foreign aid in both the humanitarian and developmental fields. The report has categorized aid in accordance with its beneficiaries, be they governmental and intergovernmental organizations or non-governmental organizations and bodies. The report classified aid according to key areas (development - humanitarian) and identified the names of beneficiary sectors within those areas in order to achieve a reasonable degree of compatibility and harmony with the standards of specialized international organizations that follow and monitor foreign aid. This is meant to accomplish a greater degree of information transparency in the foreign aid provided by the State of Qatar. The report was divided into four sections. The first section included the analysis of total government aid and assistance, which amounted to QR1.075 million in 2010, while they doubled to about QR2.656 million in 2011, i.e. an increase of about 150%. This increase reflects the Qatari benevolent interaction with the changes in the Arab region. It is also provided in the context of Qatar’s support for reconciliation efforts, peace and reconstruction. The total amount of both aid and assistance reached QR3.429.236.612, representing 92% of the total aid, while the total aid and assistance provided through foreign NGOs was QR 221.097.111 – i.e. 5.92%. The amount of aid and assistance provided through international multilateral organizations was QR66.342.593, which represents 1.77% of all government aid. The State of Qatar also provides aid and assistance to Qatari non-governmental organizations for the implementation of specific projects and programs. In 2010 and 2011, Qatar’s aid and assistance expanded geographically to include four continents.

15 countries in Europe, and 4 countries in the Americas and the Caribbean. The number of Arab countries that have received the Qatari aid and assistance, directly or indirectly, was 13. This number is relatively large and reflects the attention paid by the State of Qatar to its sister members of the League of Arab States. Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Palestine were the biggest beneficiaries of the aid and assistance provided by the State of Qatar. In regards to the distribution of government aid and assistance, according to areas and sectors, the report pointed out that the amount of humanitarian aids reached QR445.254.947 representing 12% of all government aid and assistance, while the amount of developmental aid reached QR3.286.150.992, i.e. 88% of the total aid. The report also noted that there are twenty-one development and humanitarian sectors which benefited variably from the Qatari aid and assistance. Diverse sectors, or those which are shared by more than one area, were categorized in one cell or another in the following table.

Top ten sectors that benefited from Qatari Governmental aids and subsidies in 2010 - 2011

Sector

Amount QR

Percentage

Budget Support

2.289.949.399

64 %

Relief

437.791.884

12 %

Housing

315.348.970

Culture

129.976.537

Road Construction

125.343.405

General Construction

120.558.558

Health

53.427.152

Fish Wealth

36.500.000

Building Capacities

36.185.082

Education Total

Continental distribution of Qatari governmental assistance and foreign aid in QR throughout 2010 and 2011 Continent

Amount

Africa

2.856.027.684

Asia

681.156.200

Europe

118.324.233

Americas and the Caribbean

75.8

The table shows that Africa was the biggest beneficiary of the aid and assistance provided by the State of Qatar, as it received 76.54% of the total aid. Asia received 18.25%, Europe received 3.17%, and finally the Americas and the Caribbean ranked last with only 2%. The number of African countries that benefited from the Qatari aid and assistance in 2010-2011 was 19. In Asia, the number was 17 countries,

33.796.788

3.578.877.775

100 %

It is worth noting that out of the twenty sectors which benefited from aid in 2010-2011, six sectors were the biggest beneficiaries. The budget support sector ranked first with 64% of the total aid, and the relief sector ranked second with 12%. The housing, culture, road construction, and general construction ranked third with a total percentage of 18.2%. The second section of the report was dedicated to the foreign aid and assistance provided by Qatari nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In 2010 and 2011, aid and Assistance amounted to QR1.606.024.133. Qatar Charitable association came at the forefront of the nongovernmental organizations that provided aid. The Eid Charity Foundation and the Qatari Red Crescent came in second and third respectively.

37 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 37

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

Publications 2010 - 2011 distribution of NGOs foreign aid and assistance in accordance with the development field

Developmental Field

Distribution of NGOs foreign aid and assistance in 2010 - 2011

Amount QR

Education

211.588.929

Building Capacities

165.280.085

Budget Support

137.329.546

Culture

115.616.927

General Construction

101.824.962

Health

90.666.501 42.348.270

The Donor

Amount QR

Qatar Charity

502.202.877

Socio-economy

Sheikh Eid bin Mohammed Al-Thani Charity

470.944.512

Food

11.770.925

Qatar Red Crescent

223.310.869

Water

10.534.715

Organization of the Islamic Call

159.979.022

Housing

9.996.716

Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF)

98.236.607

Transportation and Communication

1.439.994

Silatech

71.334.324

Reach Out To Asia (ROTA)

46.464.482

Qatari Foundation of Al-Fakhoura

27.002.928

Sheikh Jassim Bin Jabor Al-Thani Charitable Foundation

Total

6.548.512 1.606.024.133

NGOs foreign aid and assistance spread to all continents. Asia ranked first, as its share amounted to about QR896.476.448, i.e. 55.79% of the total aid and assistance. Africa came in second place with about QR551.880.826, i.e. 34.35%. Europe ranked third with about QR 94.633.209, i.e. 5.89%. The Americas and the Caribbean received the sum of QR11.626.990, i.e. 0.72%. Oceania (Australia) came last with about QR1.090.736, i.e. 0.07% of the total aids. The report noted that the NGOs aid provided to development purposes exceeded those provided for humanitarian purposes. Aid dedicated to the field of development amounted to QR 898.968.070 i.e. 56% of the total aid, while the share of the humanitarian field amounted to QR 483.316.400 i.e. 30% of the total aid. The NGOs attempts to maintain a balance between development and humanitarian efforts are obvious. Yet, development efforts come at the top of the NGOs priorities list. Preparing for and encountering emergencies and disasters, and prompt responses at times of disasters come second. Sectors that have benefited from the NGOs aid in the development field were 11. The table points out that the education sector has accounted for 24% of the NGOs foreign aid and assistance. Building capacities ranked second with 18.89% of the total NGOs foreign aids and subsidies in the development field. The budget support sector came in third with 15.7%. The cultural sector ranked fourth with 13.2%. These ratios express the great interest of NGOs in regards to the issue of building the human capital as a development platform through providing aid to the sectors of education, building capacities, and culture as key factors through which development efforts elevate. The third section of the report presents a brief description of the activities of Qatari donating humanitarian organizations

Miscellaneous Total

570.500 9898.968.070

such as: Qatar Charitable Association, Sheikh Eid bin Mohammed Al-Thani Charity, Qatar Red Crescent, Organization of the Islamic Call, Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF), Silatech, Reach Out To Asia (ROTA), Qatari Foundation of Al-Fakhoura, Sheikh Jassim Bin Jabor Al-Thani Charitable Foundation. The fourth section deals with the most important Qatari international initiatives and qualitative participations. The State of Qatar international contributions went beyond providing humanitarian and developmental aid. They included posing international humanitarian and developmental initiatives. In 2010 and 2011, the State of Qatar posed a number of initiatives, inter alia: “Hope For” Initiative, Qatar’s Global Dry Land Alliance initiative, and Education Above All. These Qatari initiatives came in compliance with Qatar’s belief in the importance and the need to face the humanitarian and development challenges and within the framework of attempting to find durable solutions to these challenges. These initiatives came, as well, in the context of bridging the gap in the humanitarian and developmental work. They emphasize the need to involve all interested parties in order to develop humanitarian and developmental efforts in the world. The State of Qatar has many qualitative participations. It held the donors conference on “Development and Investment in the Comoros” in Doha in early March 2010. It, also, launched the “Consolidated Humanitarian Appeal” in Doha in November 2010 in collaboration with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations. The State of Qatar pledged to provide 73 million riyals after the earthquakes that hit Haiti in early 2010. For this purpose, the State established a special fund for the reconstruction of Haiti. In addition, the State of Qatar provided Japan with a grant after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami which struck large areas in this country. Qatar, in cooperation with the Japanese government, established the Qatari Japanese Friendship Fund to contribute in the reconstruction efforts in the affected areas.

38 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 38

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

From the

Political Dictionary

War:

War means the use of armed forces in a conflict, especially between countries. In accordance with the conventional view, a conflict is classified as war when it results in at least 1000 deaths on the battlefield. This definition includes other wars, such as civil wars within states, and wars of the third type as well. Despite the fact that every war is unique, it is useful to distinguish between three types of wars as a set of acts of aggression carried out by states initiated through sending their armed forces to cross international borders. The first type of war is the one that can be described as “rational”. These types of wars are waged deliberately by one government or more as a tool for achieving certain national goals. The second type of war are those related to slipping or collision, and in this case, governments plunging into wars as a result of miscalculations of consequences, or failure to recognize the course of events. It is usually difficult to predict the outcome of this type of war. The third type are wars that are instigated because the government in question fears peace and feels that if it did not wage a war momentarily, it would be less probable as a result of prolonged years of peace.

The Cold War:

The Cold War is a phase in the history of the world, which began immediately after World War II ended in the early nineties of the twentieth century. It describes the totality of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union during that period. Although the Cold War is fading quickly in the folds of history, the differences in perspectives with all its features continues to form the expectations about some of the main characteristics of contemporary international relations. For example, those who tend to expect the world to be significantly harmonious without major ideological conflicts view the Cold War as basically a conflict phase. Various perspectives were moulded in regards to the Cold War as a result of a number of claims pertaining to the reasons behind that war, its nature and its end, in addition to the legacy left in the contemporary international relations. Perhaps, the most popular theory is the one that suggests that the Cold War was an intense conflict over supremacy among the super powers. The word “cold” refers to the existence of elements that claimed to restrict the confrontation and prevented the outbreak of “hot” wars. It is useful to note that the Cold War, as a phase in history, had coincided with the beginning of the nuclear age, and the ending of colonialism, and both led to raising the stakes of rivalry. Despite the various

39 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 39

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��

factors that separated the super powers, they had some common interests, which eased their rivalry – especially after the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, when many feared the outbreak of a nuclear war. The fragmentation of Europe, the arms control, and the common interests ensured that the wars in the Third World would not lead to a direct conflict between the super powers. In addition, all of these factors provided a degree of moderation in the Cold War.

and Unjust Wars”, as a limited war that takes place according to a set of rules which are meant to reduce, as much as possible, the use of violence and coercion against the unarmed population. He also points out the following rules that define just and unjust wars:

The Just War:

• The last resort: All diplomatic, political and economic means to resolve the conflict should be exhausted.

Philosophers and thinkers did not agree on determining the concept of just war. This term was manipulated by some leaders (whether political or military) to claim their wars are “just wars”, despite it being unjust by all standards. Thinkers like Machiavelli tried to justify such wars. He affirmed that every war is just, as soon as it becomes necessary. This pattern of thinking transformed the moral value of “justice” into a utilitarian (pragmatic) notion. Thus, war can be a means to unjust objectives and practices. Kant, on the other hand, condemned war – whether just or unjust. His essay “Perpetual Peace” was a reference in establishing the League of Nations’ charter. However, he suggests that: “Lasting peace is impossible, but we can get as close as we can to this goal.” Michael Walzer defines “just war”, in his 1977 book “Just

• A just cause: The decision to wage war should be based on the will to achieve justice. • A just objective or intention: The goal of the war must be a just one, such as repelling an aggression, protecting the innocent, or establishing a just peace.

• A legitimate sovereign: The right authority (legitimate sovereign) initiates the war. • A reasonable hope of success: A war must not be initiated unless there is a hope in achieving the military objective. According to the theory of just war, the practices at war must invoke two significant principles, namely: • Distinction between combatants and noncombatants; war is a fair fight between the combatants. • Relative losses: The devastation caused by war must not exceed the expected gains, i.e. the pros of war must outweigh its cons.

40 Issue 3 - September 2012

Diplomacy English 3.indd 40

��‫‏‬/�‫‏‬/�� :��