Arab League Background Guide

Diplomatic Crisis in Qatar Chair: Ben Dias

Hello delegates,

My name is Ben Dias, I’m a senior at Eastern, and I am your chair for the Arab League committee. I was born in Philadelphia and raised for the first few years of my life in Cherry Hill before moving to Voorhees. I play tennis, used to debate, and of course, I attend MUN conferences whenever possible. I’m over-talkative by nature, so please excuse most of the awful jokes and puns I will inevitably make during committee. I’m quite extroverted and rather easy going, so I look forward to a smooth committee. As for what I expect from you during committee: I expect that, as usual, the committee adheres to Parli Pro. This means try not to call other delegates out individually (or risk right of reply) and do not bring in pre written resolutions or clauses. If you are discovered, you will be immediately disqualified from winning any award. Just relax, have fun, and please participate. I can promise you now, I will call on all of you and you will all speak. MUN is supposed to be a fun, if not exhilarating experience, so don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone, make a friend, debate aggressively, express yourself, nuke a country (if relevant), and don’t focus on the award, focus on the experience. I hope everyone has a great committee, I am looking forward to it and hope you all do as well.

Sincerely, Benjamin H. Dias

Committee Overview

The Arab League, alternatively known as the League of Arab States, was formed by

Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria on March, 22 1945. Yemen later joined 1

on May 5th, 1945. All seven nations joined together to further similar ideology and to strengthen

diplomatic bonds between themselves. The first major action came in 1953 when the Arab 2

League opened up its doors to recently independent colonial nations. Later, at the Cairo Summit

of 1964, the Arab League created one of the first major organizations to represent the Palestinian

People during the Arab-Israeli Conflict. The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was

founded at this conference and would later become a member of the Arab League in 1976. 3

Currently there are 22 member states of the Arab League. In addition, there are four observant

states: Brazil, Venezuela, India, and Eritrea.

Throughout the Arab League’s history, a number of conflicts of interest among member

states. In 1979, Egyptian President Anwar al Sadat signed the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty and

began to normalize relations between the two countries. Due to the Arab-Israeli conflict being a

longstanding regional theme, this treaty estranged Egypt from the rest of the Arab League

nations. Egypt was expelled from the league in 1979, and league headquarters moved from Cairo

to Tunis. 4

At the Beirut Summit on March 28, 2002, the League adopted the Arab Peace Initiative, a

Saudi-inspired peace plan for the Arab-Israeli conflict. The goal was to maintain the

normalization of Israel, and in return, Israel would return all territories taken in the Six-Day War.

1 "International Democracy Watch." Arab League. Compagnia Di San Paolo, n.d. 20 July 2017. 2 Ibid 3 Ibid 4 http://www.aljazeera.com/focus/arabunity/2008/03/200852517283056234.html

While Israel rejected this plan, the initiative was pushed multiple times in recent history and is

considered one of the best options the Arab League has for solving one of its most important

crises.

Today, the Arab League’s goals are to strengthen ties among member states, coordinate

their policies, and direct them towards a common good. Following the Arab spring uprisings of

early 2011, Arab League countries have been more prolific in involving themselves

internationally. The Arab League backed UN forces against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces in

Libya, and suspended Syria of membership over the government’s repressions of nationwide

protests. The Arab League has also been effective at lower levels in governance, such as shaping

school curricula, preserving manuscripts, and translating modern technical terminology. It has

helped to create a regional telecommunications union. 5

Topic Overview

The Middle East in Recent History

In 1916, during the first World War, the Allies, headed by Britain, found themselves

pitted against the Ottoman Empire. The English attempted to incite rebellion amongst many

Arabian countries to try to force the Ottomans to abandon the war effort and focus on domestic

issues. The Sykes-Picot Agreement between England and France drew up a game plan to divide 6

the territories of the Ottoman Empire. In a 1917 letter from Arthur Balfour to Baron Lionel 7

5 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-15747941 6 Shah, Anup. "The Middle East Conflict." Global Issues. N.p., 30 July 2006. 7 The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Sykes-Picot Agreement.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 31 May 2016.

Rothschild, the British made their support for Zionism public. At this time, World War One was 8

at a stalemate and the English hoped to gain Jewish support from allies in neutral countries.

Once the allies had won the war, England and France obtained control over the Middle East. In

1948, the English decided to pull out of the region; they handed over the land of Palestine to the

United Nations in 1947. More recent developments in the Middle East include international

disputes over natural resources like oil and natural gas, diplomatic tension, terrorism, and

political revolts.

Back in January of 2011, a new political revolution began to successfully sweep

throughout the Middle East; it was called the Arab Spring. It began in Tunisia where protests

and eventually violence forced President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali to flee the state. Revolts then 9

spread to Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, among other nations, in some case with citizens banding

together through social media, and in other cases over controversial political decisions. This was

a major cause of political instability of the region.

In part thanks to a revolving door of governments in the Middle East, and in part due to

countries simply wanting to gain an economic advantage, political tensions have been running

high amongst Middle Eastern nations. Some align themselves with strong allies like the United

States and China, using oil reserves and natural gas surplus to trade, grow, and foster economic

and diplomatic prosperity. Other nations are resentful towards stronger nations either due to

their own lack of success, the success of neighboring nations with aid from the United Nations,

or frustration for past activities other countries conducted without consent.

8 History.com Staff. “The Balfour Declaration.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009. 9 Staff, NPR. “The Arab Spring: A Year Of Revolution.” NPR, NPR, 17 Dec. 2011.

Another pressing issue in the Middle East in recent years is terrorism. During the USSR

and the United States’ Cold War, both combative nations tried to spread their influences to the

Middle East and began fighting proxy wars and inciting rebellion in an attempt to sway countries

to become democracies or communist regimes. In these attempts, many revolutionary and

militant groups like Al Qaeda and the Taliban were created to help overthrow regimes. Instead 10

of disbanding, these organizations remained intact, attempting to control governments through

intimidation and force. Groups like Hamas are considered “state sponsored terrorists”, which are

terrorist groups supported by the funds of a country, usually to sabotage another through violent

means. 11

Introduction to the Diplomatic Crisis in Qatar

In June of 2017, multiple countries including Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia,

and Bahrain have imposed a sea blockade, land blockade, and a no-fly zone over the state of

Qatar. There are two key issues which have angered Qatar’s neighbors and caused them to

impose these measures: Qatar’s support for Islamist groups and its relationship with Iran. Saudi

Arabia accused Qatar of state-sponsored terrorism and violating a 2014 agreement composed by

the Gulf Cooperation Council. The nations who have imposed these isolating measures have

presented the government of Qatar with a list of 13 points they would like it to adhere to as an

ultimatum. The points primarily concern combatting extremism and terrorism in the region.

Qatar is resistant to complying with these demands, saying it would not agree to any measures

that threatened its sovereignty or violated international law.

10 Tesche, Noah, and Laura Etheredge. “Al-Qaeda.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 16 June 2011. 11 “Profile: Hamas Palestinian Movement.” BBC News, 12 May 2017.

Map of the Middle East. Credit to National Geographic.

Qatar in Diplomatic Crisis

Qatar in Recent History

In 1939, the first major development in Qatar’s economy occurred—the country struck

oil. The sale of oil became the most exported and lucrative asset Qatar had, overtaking pearling

and fishing. This prompted Qatar to begin modernizing their infrastructure in the 1950’s and

helped set up Qatar to become an independent nation in 1971, after England pulled out of the

Gulf of Persia.

In 1972, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani took the reins of Qatar’s government, later to be

deposed in a bloodless coup d’etat by his own son, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, in 1995. This

began a period where Qatar’s government was unstable and under constant siege from those

seeking power. For example, in 2000, Sheikh Hamad jailed his own cousin along with 32 others

who plotted insurrection. Qatar participated in the Iraq War, but domestically began to accept

more democratic government. In 2003, voters in Qatar approved a new constitution which states

that “[Qatar’s] religion is Islam, and the Islamic Law is the main source of its legislations” and 12

that “the rule of the State is hereditary in the family of Al Thani...” . In addition, Sheikh Hamad 13

names his younger son, Prince Tamim, the crown prince. In June of 2005, Qatar’s constitution

comes into full effect. In 2013, Prince Tamim becomes Sheikh Tamim after Hamad abdicates. 14

In 2005, in cooperation with the United States, Qatar would launch a $14 billion joint

project to build the world's largest liquefied natural gas plant; however a condition remained

where most of the gas would be exported to the US. In 2007, Qatar, along with Dubai, became

two of the largest shareholders in the London Stock Exchange. In 2010, Qatar won the bid to 15

hold the Fifa World Cup in 2022.

Qatar has had a rather tricky diplomatic situation in the Middle East, in part due to the

“Westernization” of the state, complete with a rapidly growing and modernizing economy and

support from western nations, and in part due to the changing political climate. As previously

noted, Qatar took part in both Gulf Wars. In addition, it became the target of domestic

terrorism, from former Chechen president Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev getting killed in an explosion

in Doha to a car bomb near a British school in Doha which killed one person and injured 12

others. In March of 2008, Qatar amended broken diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia. That same

12 The peninsula. “Constitution of Qatar.” Constitution Society, 16 Apr. 2003, www.constitution.org/cons/qatar/constit_2003.htm. 13 Ibid 14 “Qatar Profile - Timeline.” BBC News, 8 June 2017. 15 IBID

year in December, the two nations were able to solve a border dispute. One month later, in

January of 2009, Qatar proceeded to cut trade ties with Israel after the Gaza Offensive. In 2011,

Qatar held joint military operations with Libya, then hosted a meeting demanding the ruler of

Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, quit, and then reportedly sold arms to Libyan opposition to Gaddafi.

In 2012, the Afghan Taliban claim to set up a political office in Qatar to facilitate talks. Saudi

Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE temporarily withdraw their ambassadors from Qatar after alleging

that it has been meddling in their internal affairs in 2014. Qatar also helps the US and 4 other

Arab nations with air raids on ISIS in Syria. And finally, in 2017, Saudi Arabia leads an air,

land, and sea blockade on Qatar with assistance from other countries to try to stamp out Qatar’s

ties to terrorism and Iran.

Qatar’s Diplomatic Quarrel

Multiple policies of the Qatari government have displeased other Middle Eastern nations

and caused the imposition of the blockade and the severing of diplomatic ties. For instance, the

Qatari government has long been accused of funnelling money to the influential political group

the Muslim Brotherhood. While the group has technically forsworn violence, it has faced

criticism and investigation for alleged terrorist activities, and is considered a terrorist group by

six countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. Qatar has

also angered the countries neighboring them by fostering ties with other hostile groups, including

the Afghan Taliban, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, giving the leaders of

some of them airtime on Al Jazeera, a state-sponsored TV network. These relationships have

become a focal point of the current issue.

While there are relationships between religious groups and the state of Qatar, Qatar

vehemently denies any ties politically, economically, or diplomatically to militant groups such as

Al-Qaeda or ISIS. Despite theses claims, Saudi Arabia, a powerhouse in the Middle East, does

not believe Qatar. In response, Saudi Arabia issued an ultimatum, which led to Saudi Arabia, the

United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain to cut ties with Qatar on June 5th of 2017. In addition, they

also gave Qatari citizens 14 days to leave their territory and banned their own citizens from

travelling to or residing in Qatar. Egypt also cut ties as a show of good faith toward Saudi

Arabia; however the same restrictions on their own and the Qatari citizens were not imposed.

Yemen, Libya, and Maldives later did the same.

In addition to cutting diplomatic ties, a blockade has been instituted by Saudi Arabia over

Qatar. Not only is Qatar physically blocked by being surrounded by countries who severed

diplomatic ties, but their seaways have been blocked and their airspace has been restricted as

well. Also, it is important to note that any ship flying the Qatari flag was to be banned by other

nations’ ports. Oman and Kuwait, the final two members of the Gulf Cooperation Council

(GCC) have not blocked Qatar and Kuwait has offered to mediate for a peaceful resolution. In 16

terms of trying to achieve a peaceful resolution, Saudi Arabia and co. have released a thirteen

point accord as to how repair diplomatic ties. They include but are not limited to: cutting ties

completely with Iran, shutting down Al-Jazeera and other Qatar funded news outlets, sever all

ties to terror organizations and leaders, stop funding individuals and groups who are deemed

terroristic by Bahrain, UAE, Egypt, Saudi, the United States, and many others, amongst other

ways to make reparations. 17

16 “Qatar Crisis: What You Need to Know.” BBC News, BBC, 19 July 2017, 17 Wintour, Patrick. “Qatar given 10 Days to Meet 13 Sweeping Demands by Saudi Arabia.”The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 23 June 2017.

Another cause for the crisis at hand has been Qatar’s relationship with Iran -- the country

with which it shares the world’s largest natural gas field. On August 24th, a new development

ensued. Qatar has decided, after pulling their Iranian ambassador in January, to reinstate

diplomatic relations with Iran, sending over the same ambassador. Most Qatari-Iranian 18

relations are based on shared economic goals, cooperating in the shipping sector and jointly

managing the natural gas field the two nations share. It should be noted that cutting relations

with Iran is one of Saudi’s 13 points for Qatar. During the diplomatic crisis, Iran has provided

diplomatic and economic support to Qatar. On June 5, the day that the crisis erupted, Iran asked

the Arab nations to settle their dispute through dialogue. After Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf

allies blocked Qatar economically, Iran sent food supplies, amounting to 1,100 tons of fruit and

vegetables and 66 tons of beef, to Qatar on a daily basis.

Blocs

Saudi Bloc -- Countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Yemen, Egypt, and Jordan all claim the

only solution is if Qatar adheres to their 13 points.

Qatar Bloc -- Qatar is practically in a bloc by itself. They want to see the blockades alleviated

and diplomatic relationships resumed without giving up economic access to their gas fields or

diplomatic relations with Iran. In addition they want to retain their media and support whichever

Islamist groups they want.

18 Jazeera, Al. “Qatar-Gulf Crisis: All the Latest Updates.” Qatar News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 24 Aug. 2017.

Kuwait and Oman Bloc -- Kuwait and Oman pretty much want a peaceful resolution and to not

get wrapped up in the arguments of either “side”.

Actions the Arab League Can Take

Similar to the United Nations, the Arab League is an assembly of 22 countries (currently

excluding Syria) who attempt to solve geopolitical, diplomatic, and economic disputes through

mediation and funding. There are no methods the Arab League could use to militarily compel

other countries or enforce their own decrees. Rather, it functions behind the idea of trust and

mutual benefit. Many people of the Middle East are frustrated by the lack of production in the

Arab League’s past, citing that there were very few achievements the organization could be

proud of. Given that it has a track record for not being able to solve issues, it can be assumed

that they cannot actually do much other than debate. Despite a lack of enforcement, the Arab

League’s solution will be one that all countries will adhere to or risk expulsion and lack of

protection from the League. Therefore, the resolutions debated and formulated will be far more

based on national sovereignty and what each nation is willing to do rather than what the entity as

a whole can accomplish.

Questions to Consider:

1) Is Qatar sponsoring state terrorism and if so, how does this change the situation?

2) What is the impact on the four-nation blockade on Qatar? On the rest of the region?

3) If Qatar reestablishes diplomatic relations with Iran, how will other nations react?

4) Is it possible for Qatar to adhere to Saudi Arabia’s 13 points and still remain

economically proficient, as well as be able to be respected by foreign nations, both within

and outside of the Middle East?

5) Can nations who disagree with Qatar find different conditions for Qatar to agree to?

Note

It is clear that there are multiple underlying issues which relate to the behavior of the

anti-Qatar nations and Qatar, and it is the aim of delegates to address these issues in their

resolution. Among these, as stated in the brief, are how Arab League countries are to deal with

terrorism and terrorist groups. Relations with Iran are also a primary issue, especially when

considering economic relations such as in the oil and natural gas field. Something not mentioned

extensively in the brief but which delegates can conduct research on is the role state-sponsored

media should or should not play in advancing ideology -- Qatari-sanctioned programming on Al

Jazeera featuring leaders of controversial groups has been a point of contention among Arab

League states. These broad questions should be explored in committee, as well as how to

alleviate the immediate diplomatic crisis.