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Democracy, equality and freedom of expression are the corner-stones of Arab reform, President Mubarak tells conference

Alexandria, 12 March—Egypt’s President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak told a gathering of reform-minded representatives of the Arab civil society today that democracy, respect for human rights and the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women were the foundations of the Arab quest for reform.

Addressing more than 170 leaders of civil society organizations in the Arab world who are meeting at the Library of Alexandria for a three-day conference on Arab reform, the President called for an institutional framework where the civil society would have a primary role in safeguarding civil rights, dignity and the inculcation of the values of human rights.

In an unprecedented gesture towards representatives of civil society, the President highlighted “respect for the constitution, the rule of law, the rights of citizenship and the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women” as fundamental principles, and that a supporting political and cultural environment should be developed to achieve this. The President announced that he has initiated a review of the relevant legislation towards that end.

President Mubarak told the audience that past achievements were not enough, and that development and modernization required to push the reform efforts with more determination. At the same time, he added, there should be strong external support of Arab, home grown efforts for modernization and reform, without any attempt to impose a uniform foreign model. He said that international agreements that strengthen cooperation with the outside world existed and he cited Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, the partnership agreements with the European Union and the free trade agreement with the United States as examples.

In his statement, President Mubarak outlined a comprehensive vision of an overall Arab strategy for reform that spelled out the following:

• Wider public participation in the political and social reform process;
• Development of political institutions, led by political parties, to provide true expression of the aspirations the people;
• A determination to implement new ideas and develop a visionto face the major challenges that could confront the march towards reform;
• The evolvement of a democratic environment to ensure the right of citizenship, equal opportunities and freedom of expression as basic rights that would strengthen public participation and the role of civil society.
• - Guarantees for equality among all, free exercise of civil and political rights as provided for by the constitution and a framework of freedom, respect for human rights, the rule of law under the umbrella of a just and impartial judiciary.

It was the Egyptian President’s strongest indication to-date that a process of comprehensive reform was unfolding, not only within Egypt, but also in response to reform demands in the Arab world. For Egyptians and Arab reformists alike, he was sending an unequivocal signal that Egypt was embracing the reform movement that is seeking to improve the political, economic, social and cultural conditions in the region.

In announcing a series of positive steps, President Mubarak called for coordinating reform efforts within the Arab League and efforts by individual Arab states towards political, economic and social reform. He added that reform efforts should be based on the fact that Islam calls for modernization, development keeping up with the times. “Hence, the international community should not deal with Islam as a culture of extremism and violence”, he said.

President Mubarak said “our views and comments regarding the initiatives intended for the reform of the Arab world does not represent a rejection of, or a retreat from our commitment (to reform) at all official and grass-roots levels. Rather, it reflects a commitment that we will exert greater efforts if these initiatives took as a starting point the objective of strengthening the ability of Arab countries to undertake their own reforms”.

The President was making a significant contribution to the deliberations of the conference without prejudging its outcome. It was the first time President Mubarak inaugurated a non-governmental organization’s meeting and went out of his way to travel outside Cairo to speak to a gathering of intellectuals and representatives of grass-roots movements in the Arab world. He made it clear that the civil society was best placed to paint a consistent picture for the Arab world’s partners in development and to reflect political, economic and cultural trends in the region.

The three-day conference, which is organized by the Library of Alexandria in collaboration with major civil society organizations, including businessmen, economic institutions, human rights and women organizations, will consider four aspects of reform. These include political forum, an economic forum, a social forum and a cultural forum. In addition, the conference will have special sessions dealing with youth employment and the status of women.

The Arab Reform conference will conclude its meetings on Sunday and a press conference is expected to follow.

Full text (Arabic)
Economic Forum
Youth Employment Forum
Women Forum