SANAA, 12 January 2004 — The Arab world sees democracy as the “rescue ship,” a conference on human rights and democracy was told here yesterday.
More than 600 delegates from 40 countries and international organizations are meeting here to discuss ways to promote democracy and strengthen the rule of law.
Addressing the Sanaa Inter-Governmental Regional Conference on Democracy, Human Rights and the Role of the International Criminal Court, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh praised democracy as the “rescue ship,” for political regimes.
“Democracy is the choice of the modern age for all people of the world and the rescue ship for political regimes, particularly in the Third World,” Saleh said. “It is the way to achieve security, stability, development and a better future for our countries.”
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa agreed, calling for “democracy as a process not a decision imposed by others.” He said policies adopted by the world’s big players had hindered the development of democracy in the Middle East.
Moussa said difficulties facing the Arab world had not been caused only by regional political crises, but also due to increasing economic and social problems and the absence of an inter-regional development policy.
At the same time, the Arab League chief urged the United States to “begin a real dialogue with the Arabs, not only confrontation and disputes.”
Emma Bonino, former European Commissioner and founder of the Italian NGO, “No Peace Without Justice,” said: “Democracy is the least bad system for promoting human and economic development. Founded on the principle that the government of a country is based on the will and consent of the governed, democracy promotes choice, voice and access to rights.”
Nonetheless, she felt democracy is an imperfect system. “It is a complex and fragile system, which needs constant care and monitoring. It is a process, not a fixed moment in time. Even well-established democratic political systems can run the risk of being spoiled by controlled or censored information or by limited participation unless there is vigilance by every participant in the system,” said Bonino, whose organization is co-sponsoring the two-day conference.
EU Seeks Arab Support for War Crimes Court
The European Union is lobbying Arab states to join a UN-backed international war crimes tribunal which has been shunned by the United States. Bonino said the EU wanted Arab judges on the tribunal to make it as international as possible.
“Arab countries were very active in the process of establishing the ICC but so many have not ratified agreements to join it,” she told Reuters at an Arab-EU meeting on the role of the court in the Yemeni capital.
Bonino said most Arab states were concerned the ICC would supersede their own judiciaries, putting on trial Arab citizens without the approval of their governments.
