1. League of Arab States
Yash Shah

2. Emblem of the Arab League

3. Flag of the Arab League

4. What is the League of Arab States?
regional organization of Arab countries in N. Africa, Horn of Africa, & SW Asia
also known as Arab League
formed in Cairo, Egypt on March 22, 1945
6 Founding States:
Iraq Saudi Arabia
Jordan Egypt
Syria Lebanon

5. Charter & Purpose approved on March 22, 1945 official purpose is:
“draw closer the relations between member States and coordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries”

6. History
1942: British begin promoting idea of Arab League in an attempt win over Arabs as allies in war against Germany. :
Cultural Treaty
Joint Defense & Economic Cooperation
Economic & Social Council
UN recognition
ALESCO & PLO established
Common market

7. History
2005: Free trade zone between 17 Arab League countries comes into force
2008: Arab Charter on Human Rights
: Arab Spring
took pro-democracy stance
2011: Syria suspended from Arab League

8. Membership in Arab League

9. Leadership The Council:
Consists of representatives from each member state (one vote each)
Council decisions binding only for states that voted for them

10. Leadership General Secretariat: administrative & executive functions
headed by Secretary General
elections every 5 years
currently Dr. Nabil Elaraby (since 2011)

11. Advantages of Membership
non-binding decisions maintain sovereignty
heightened sense of Arab culture
economic, social, military & educational unity
free trade zones, oil benefits, etc...
united push for democracy

12. Disadvantages of Membership
nonmember involvement in disputes
internal disagreements
Palestine/Israel conflict
Egypt
can diminish nationalism in favor of Arabism

13. International Impact - European Union
strong relations with EU, especially with France
supported Arab League's Peace Initiative of 2002

14. International Impact - China
Chinese economic boom → increased demand for oil → cooperation with Arab League
2008: beginning of annual forums between PRC and Arab League in economics, trade, environmental studies, nuclear weapons

15. International Impact - Russia
Russia holds strong ties in Arab region from Soviet era
trying to regain strength in Arab League by supporting its causes in UN Security Council

16. International Impact - Iran
Iran is not an Arab State (Persian)
Sunni vs. Shi’a dispute
Iran has Shi’a majority
Arab leaders singled out Iran as the greatest threat to regional stability
pushing towards diplomacy in solving nuclear issue to avoid military conflict

17. Works Cited
"Arab League (جامعة الدول العربية)." Arab League. Ed. Klaus Kästle. One World - Nations Online, n.d. Web. 12 Mar
"League of Arab States, Arab Charter on Human Rights, May 22, 2004." University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. University of Minnesota, Web. 15 Mar
"Pact of the League of Arab States, 22 March 1945". The Avalon Project. Yale Law School Archived from the original on 25 July March 2015.
Sly, Liz. "Syria Suspended from Arab League." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 12 Nov Web. 15 Mar
"Timeline: Arab League." BBC News. BBC, 15 Nov Web. 15 Mar
Trager, Eric. "Behind the Arabs' Iran Double Talk." New York Post. NYP Holdings, Inc, 13 Dec Web. 15 Mar