Profile: Arab League

At that time the issues that dominated the league's agenda were freeing those Arab countries still under colonial rule, and preventing the Jewish community in Palestine from creating a Jewish state.

OVERVIEW

OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | ISSUES

The highest body of the league is the Council, composed of representatives of member states, usually foreign ministers, their representatives or permanent delegates. Each member state has one vote, irrespective of its size. The council meets twice a year, in March and September, and may convene a special session at the request of two members.

Day-to-day, the league is run by the general secretariat. Headed by a secretary-general, it is the administrative body of the league and the executive body of the council and the specialised ministerial councils.

FACTS

OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | ISSUES

LEADERS

OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | ISSUES

Secretary-general: Nabil Elaraby

Nabil Elaraby was elected secretary-general of the Arab League in May 2011, succeeding fellow-Egyptian Amr Moussa. He took office in July.

Born in 1935 and a lawyer by training, Mr Al-Arabi had a long career in the Egyptian diplomatic corps, and played a significant role in negotiations with Israel from the Camp David accords onwards.

During the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak in early 2011 Mr Al-Arabi was one of a group of senior public figures who mediated the president's departure. He briefly served as foreign minister before taking up his post at the Arab League.

All secretaries-general of the League have been Egyptians, except for the period 1979-1991 when Egypt was expelled over its peace treaty with Israel.

ISSUES

OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | ISSUES

The Arab League's effectiveness has been severely hampered by divisions among member states.

For example, during the Cold War some members were Soviet-oriented while others fell within the Western camp. There has been rivalry over leadership, notably between Egypt and Iraq.

Then there have been the hostilities between traditional monarchies - such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Morocco - and new republics, or "revolutionary" states such as Egypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser, Baathist Syria and Iraq, and Libya under Muammar Gaddafi.

Some league countries offered facilities for US-led war in Iraq

The league was severely tested by the US-led attack on Saddam Hussein's Iraq, with some backing the war, some opposing it and others standing on the sidelines.

Because decisions made by the Arab League are binding only on members who voted for them, these divisions have in effect crippled the league in the sphere of "high politics".

Thus it failed to coordinate foreign, defence or economic policies, rendering core league documents such as the Treaty of Joint Defence and Economic Cooperation and key bodies such as the Joint Defence Council completely ineffectual.

More recently the League has shown a greater sense of purpose since the "Arab spring" uprisings in early 2011. It backed UN action against Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Libya and condemned Syria's repressions of nationwide protests.

Where members do agree on a common position, such as support for the Palestinians under Israeli occupation, this rarely if ever goes beyond the issuing of declarations. Perhaps the sole exception has been the economic boycott of Israel, which between 1948 and 1993 was almost total.

However, the Arab League has been a little more effective at lower levels, such as shaping school curricula, preserving manuscripts and translating modern technical terminology. It has helped to create a regional telecommunications union.

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