Remarks by J. Scott Carpenter
Deputy Assistant Secretary NEA/PI
at the Middle Eastern NGO Summit
Monday October 25, 2004
Washington, DC
REFORM IN THE MIDDLE EAST: SUPPORTING VOICES OF CHANGE
Thank you. It is an honor to be with you today.
I appreciate this opportunity to speak about the U.S. efforts to support reform -- a matter of promoting shared values, ensuring basic human rights, and protecting our national security.
Critics of reform worry about change reaping instability. But stability is not a static phenomenon that can be taken for granted. Reforms must be undertaken with an eye not just for the problems of today, but with awareness for the challenges of tomorrow. Political systems that do not accommodate the aspirations of their people will become brittle and eventually combust. Systems that are characterized by an absence of political choice, transparent governance, economic opportunities, and personal freedoms create incubators for discontent and extremism.
As this audience is well aware, there is a vibrant conversation on reform taking place throughout the Middle East and North Africa today. This conversation has been brought to center stage by the landmark Arab Human Development Reports and echoed in meetings of Arab and Muslim civil society in Alexandria, Sanaa, Aqaba, Istanbul, and most recently in Beirut and in New York, as part of the Forum for the Future and the G-8's Broader Middle East and North Africa initiative.
The United States has entered this struggle for reform as a force to support regional voices-in both government and civil society-calling for change. Freedom is the desire and the right of all people wherever they are, and political and economic freedom will lead to greater security and prosperity.
In constructing a policy framework for U.S. support for reforms that meets regional requests and needs, we understand that change imposed from the outside has no chance of conferring lasting benefits. Each country in the region is unique and at different stages of political, economic, and social development. Moreover, supporting reform efforts is certainly not a substitute for our other priorities in the region; rather it is part of a broader regional policy. The resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the rebuilding of Iraq are essential to the stability of the region. We are fully committed to pursuing each of these goals with determination and vigor, as we are committed to supporting regional reform efforts.
Reform begins by implementing programs that have a measurable impact on ordinary people's lives; helping people fulfill their aspirations. Political, economic, educational, and social reforms reinforce each other, create hope and opportunity, and have a positive multiplier effect in a society. Even the smallest steps can help to give people the chance to shape their lives, their societies, and their future.
Through the Middle East Partnership Initiative, we are partnering with governments and civil society throughout the region to support expansion of political opportunity, democracy, economic and education reform, and the empowerment of women. This initiative, a broad partnership between governments, the private sector and members of civil society, was launched almost two years ago, and is the primary mechanism linking the President's vision for democracy and freedom to our policy dialogue with Middle East governments and to our assistance programs in the region.
In the area of political reform, an area that I will focus on today, MEPI's emphasis is on strengthening freedoms, the democratic process, and good governance. As I've traveled throughout the region, I've found that on a popular level many equate the adoption of democracy to the holding of elections. While MEPI is providing assistance with elections in seven countries, democracy-as you know-entails so much more.
Building democracy involves supporting the rule of law, strengthening civil society, fostering the concepts of citizenship and participation for all, and offering specific skills trainings for better governance and an independent media. MEPI programs that are supporting political reform efforts across the region reflect these priorities.
In supporting the strengthening of the Rule of Law, we have completed legal system assessments in four countries, are offering programs in judicial training and alternative dispute resolution across the region, and are supporting the formation of a Middle East Justice Institute that will offer judicial training, create an Arab Judges Union, and develop a resource center.
The MEPI small grants program has been instrumental in supporting the reform efforts of civil society throughout the region. This past year, we awarded 53 small grants to 15 different countries that totaled more than $1.2 million. Many of these grants went directly to local NGOs to support capacity building or specific seminars or workshops. For instance, in the West Bank, a MEPI small grant is supporting The Association for Women's Committees for Social Work's campaign to increase women's participation in public life. In Oman, a MEPI grant is enabling the Oman Association for the Disabled to improve its capacity for outreach activities.
Furthermore, in the framework of the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative, MEPI has assisted leaders of civil society to organize first in Beirut and then in New York and to create an agenda of common interests. We will work with these civil society representatives to maintain a working network and dialogue as they seek ways to move forward on the issues that they have targeted and to work with their governments towards further reform.
As for building and integrating the concepts of citizenship and participation, MEPI is working with Ministries of Education and is supporting an Arab Civitas program - civic education for Arab youth - in eight MENA countries. Across the Middle East, young people are taking ownership of their public space and are participating in the development of their communities.
When we speak of participation though, our priority is the participation of women in all forms of public life - be it the political world or the work force. MEPI has sponsored numerous advocacy campaigns on behalf of women's legal rights as well as a legal education campaign; we also convened a Women and the Law conference in Jordan this past winter. MEPI is establishing a regional association for women in the legal profession and is funding a women's campaign school to train electoral candidates in the Levant. A few months ago, we convened similar campaign schools in North Africa, and last year MEPI held one in the Gulf.
We aren't just training women candidates and legal professionals though. MEPI is offering training to parliamentarians, and supporting NDI and IRI programs to strengthen political parties and better governance in 10 MENA countries. MEPI is also funding journalist-training programs in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon, and Bahrain, and looking for further ways to strengthen independent media throughout the region.
To this point, I've spoken almost exclusively about our political programs that support the development of democracies - but the political pillar is just one of four areas in which we work. Along with strengthening political freedoms, the Middle East Partnership Initiative seeks to assist regional partners by creating new economic opportunities. In line with the President's goal to create a Middle East Free Trade Area, MEPI has provided technical assistance to promote reform in the economic sector, build intra-regional trade, and negotiate Free Trade Agreements and Trade and Investment Framework Agreements.
In March, Morocco joined Jordan as the second Arab country to complete free trade negotiations with the United States, and in May, Bahrain became the third. Eight MENA countries have all signed Trade and Investment Framework Agreements with the United States.
Economic prosperity and strong democratic institutions are not possible without a well-educated workforce. To address the knowledge and skills gap, MEPI programming focuses on critical issues, such as curriculum reform, teacher training, and community and private sector involvement in education. Based on innovative local examples, such as the Jordan Education Initiative, we are developing and implementing a "Partnership Schools" model that emphasizes technical expertise to enhance the quality of primary and secondary education. This model demonstrates that reform can take place at the grassroots level with the support of governments, the private sector, and communities.
As I mentioned earlier, across the board, we are trying to help reduce the barriers, whether cultural, legal, regulatory, economic or political, to women's full participation in society. Specific projects geared towards empowering women cut across our three other pillars - from the women's legal right program that I spoke of, to our internship for young Arab businesswomen, to our literacy and skills training programs for women.
While the Middle East Partnership Initiative is the U.S. government's primary mechanism to support reform in the region, more can be done. Deeper coordination with our allies, who currently are undertaking their own programs, will yield greater benefits for local reformers across the region. Through the BMENA initiative, G-8 and MENA governments have established shared objectives, and will create a joint framework to leverage resources and ongoing initiatives in a way that will better bolster reform.
The engine for the BMENA initiative is the Forum for the Future, which will bring together in Morocco this fall regional and G-8 Foreign, Economic, and other Ministers in an on-going dialogue on democracy, rule of law, human rights, and open market economy reforms. Business and civil society leaders will participate in parallel dialogues. A successful preliminary meeting of the Forum, in which 26 Foreign Ministers participated, was held in New York just two weeks ago.
This initiative is a true partnership in that we (and our G-8 allies) are joining with regional leaders in Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Afghanistan, and Turkey as well as international institutions like the World Bank, to sponsor a variety of initiatives designed to increase the opportunities for the people of the region. These initiatives include a microfinance project, a facility to expand financing SMEs, a literacy campaign, entrepreneurial and vocational training, a task force on investment, and a "Network of Funds."
Together, through these kinds of programs and initiatives that bring together regional and G-8 partners, we will try to meet the human development goals outlined by regional leaders and address the challenges of political openness, economic modernization, freedom, and social justice. We understand that reform means very difficult changes that will not take place overnight and in fact will almost certainly require sustained commitment over a generation.
And that commitment and our hard work together today and in the days and years to come will pay off. Democracy and reform will make the region free, stronger, and more prosperous. Promoting reform ensures a better and more secure future for both the people of the Middle East and North Africa and of the United States.
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