Arab Liberals Discuss Role of Parliaments and Migration at Rabat Conference

Senior members of the Network of Arab Liberals (NAL) convened in Rabat on March 26 and 27, 2010 for a conference titled “Parliaments in the Arab World. Chances and Challenges for Liberal Political Parties”. The opening ceremony was held in the main hall of the Assembly of Councillors, the Upper House of the Moroccan Parliament. It was the first time the Network held a session in an Arab parliament – and, consequently, more than one speaker highlighted the historic importance and the political symbolism of the event. From Palestine Dr. Walid Shomaly and Mr. Aref Jaffal participated in this event as representatives of the Freedom Forum Palestine (FFP), a member in the NAL.

LI-President Hans Van Baalen and FNF’s Regional Director with Egyptian Delegates

Arab-Liberal Working Group on Migration Issues

“I want to pay tribute and respect to the Arab Liberals”, said Hans van Baalen, Member of the European Parliament and President of Liberal International, the world federation of liberal political parties. “We need cooperation, together we can solve problems, alone we cannot”, he said. On the sidelines of his visit to Rabat, van Baalen held political talks with the leaders of the Moroccan liberal parties. These constitute a formidable force in their country and also in parliament.

In his welcoming remarks, Mohamed Abied, the President of Union Constitutionnelle said that Morocco’s “modernization needs a strong liberal component”. Mohaned Lanser, Minister in the Royal Government and Secretary General of the Mouvement Populaire, said that Moroccan liberals “are proud of the renaissance of liberal thought”. He also said: “We are proud to see that this liberal family is extending to all Arab countries”.

In their discussions on the chances and challenges of parliamentary politics in the Arab world, the delegates – most of them sitting or former members of parliament themselves – painted a bleak picture of the situation in their countries: There was a general consensus that most Arab governments do not concede the space that is needed for genuine political competition. This has lead to a diminished role of the opposition parties thus, in turn, effectively eliminating the prerequisites for a peaceful transfer of power from the ruling party. In a programmatic paper, the delegates plead for a stronger role of parliaments in their respective countries as an independent power in a system of checks and balances; they demand transparent and representative elections and an end to the domination of political life by the ruling party. They also ask for a stronger role of women, the youth and minorities in the respective parliaments and uncensored access to the media, which remain under governmental control in many countries.

Human Rights for Migrants

While in Rabat, the Arab liberal politicians continued their dialogue on migration issues with a high level delegation of the European Liberal Democrat Reform Party (ELDR) led by their Vice President Marc Guerrero. This session followed a joint workshop last November in the European Parliament in Brussels where NAL and ELDR hat set out to find common positions in the migration issue. The two sides now issued a joint statement in which they emphasize the importance of protecting the human rights of migrants and call upon the European states to balance between security considerations and issues of development. They also call on their governments to strengthen efforts to develop legal channels of migration and raise awareness among prospective immigrants regarding the economic, social and political situation in Europe.

Please click on the link to read the Joint Statement between the Network of Arab Liberals and the European Liberal Democratic Party on Migration http://www.fnst-egypt.org/arab-europe-liberal-statement-migration-english.html