 Foreign ministers and diplomats from 21 Arab countries and the Palestinian Authority have met in Cairo to begin talks on reforming the 60-year-old Arab League and rewriting its charter. Opening the talks on Thursday, Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib, Jordan's foreign minister, urged colleagues to improve decision-making process in the League, which has long been seen as ineffective.
| Or perhaps non-existent... |
The league's rules state that decisions should be taken by consensus, and many member states want that to be changed. "The Arab world faces increasing challenges which should be met with increased joint efforts," al-Khatib told the gathering at the league's headquarters in Cairo. Aljazeera's correspondent in Cairo, Lina al-Ghadhban, reports that a number of delegates submitted proposals to amend the league charter with regard to voting on decisions. The proposals recommend that agreement should be the basis of decision-making. In case of disagreement, voting should be resorted to, but only when crucial issues such as membership and peace and security are involved. Decisions will be taken in such cases provided they are backed by a two-thirds majority, according to the proposals, al-Ghadhban said. |