ARAB
LEAGUE - INTERNATIONAL
News:
Arab League members
readmit Syria after 12-year suspension
What's
in the news?
●
The Arab League voted to reinstate Syria’s membership after its
suspension more than 10 years ago, underlining the thawing relations
between Damascus and other Arab countries.
●
The decision was taken at a closed-door
meeting, attended by foreign ministers from 13 out of 22 member states of the
organisation, held in Cairo, Egypt.
Key
takeaways:
●
Syria was ousted from the Arab League in
2011 following President Bashar
al-Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, which led to the
ongoing civil war in the country.
●
The conflict has since killed around half
of a million people and displaced about 23 million.
Arab
League:
●
It is a regional organization of Arab
states in the Middle East and parts of
Africa.
Formation:
●
It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945
through adoption of Alexandria Protocol
in 1944.
●
The founding member states were Egypt,
Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
Headquarters:
Cairo, Egypt.
Objective:
●
To strengthen ties among member states,
coordinate their policies and direct them towards a common good.
Members:
●
Currently it has 22 members including Palestine, which the League regards as an
independent state.
22
member states:
●
Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti,
Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman,
Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab
Emirates and Yemen. (Iran – Not a Member)
5
observer states:
●
Armenia, Brazil, Eritrea, India and
Venezuela.
Council:
●
The highest body of the league is the
Council, composed of representatives of member states, usually foreign
ministers, their representatives or permanent delegates.
●
The League makes decisions on a majority basis, but there is no mechanism to
compel members to comply with resolutions.
●
Each member has one vote on the Council,
decisions being binding only on those states that have voted for them.