What is the Arab League?

With the current situation in Syria, there has been much talk of the role of the Arab League. The political entity sent its officials into the country on a monitoring mission as the violence against the Syrian people had escalated. Recently, they called off their mission because the bloodshed was too prevalent. As a result, they proposed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would call on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down. While the Arab League seems to play an important role and have great influence in the Arab world, many of us are still left wondering: What exactly is the Arab League?

The Arab League owes its creation to the Alexandria Protocol of October 1944. Held in the historic city of Alexandria, Egypt, the countries of Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Transjordan (now Jordan), and Lebanon agreed on the need for a joint Arab organization. On March 22, 1945, Saudi Arabia would join the others as the six of them officially founded the League of Arab States (the Arab League). Like similar organizations such as the African Union or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the league was founded with the purpose of promoting and coordinating the political, economic, and cultural aims of the region. Since its founding, the Arab League has grown to a total of 22 members.

• In one of its first actions, the Arab League intervened on behalf of the Arab population that was being uprooted from Israel as the state emerged in 1948.
• In 1950, its members established a mutual defense treaty officially entitled the "Joint Defense and Economic Cooperation Treaty".
• The Arab League was recognized by the United Nations in 1958 and became their representative for education, science and culture in the Arab region.
• In 1964, the League held its first official summit in Cairo. During the summit, the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALESCO) was created. In a second summit held later that year, the Palestinian Liberation Organization was founded with the purpose of representing the Palestinian people.
• During the Lebanese Civil War in 1976, the Arab League authorized the formation and deployment of a peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
• From 1979 to 1989, Egypt was suspended from the League as a result of their peace agreement with Israel.
• In 1987, towards the end of the Iran-Iraq War, the Arab League announced a statement supporting Iraq in the conflict and criticizing Iran for delaying to accept the ceasefire proposed by the United Nations.
• At a summit in 1990, twelve of the Leagues twenty members condemned the Iraq invasion of Kuwait.
• After bitter dispute, the Arab League ruled in 1996 that water from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers shall be shared amongst Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
• In November 2011, Libya was officially suspended from the League after failing to comply with the terms of a deal that promised the stop of military action and required talks with government opposition.

The Arab League has had a reputation as an organization that lacks teeth and authority. It is compromised of mostly undemocratic nations, and it has often been unwilling to crack down on several of its member countries' unjust actions and treatment of their people. However, the suspension of Libya and subsequent recommendation to the U.N. Security Council that Bashar al-Assad step down from power may be a sign that the Arab League is ready to become a stronger and firmer organization on behalf of the Arab people than it has been in the past.

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