II Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
| Date | 01 June 2011 |
| DOI | 10.1177/016934411102900205 |
| Author | Arie Bloed |
| Published date | 01 June 2011 |
| Subject Matter | Part B: Human Rights News |
220 Intersentia
II oRGAnIsAtIon FoR seCURIty
AnD CooPeRAtIon In eURoPe
A B*
1. TURMOIL IN THE ARAB WORLD: OSCE OFFERS
ASSISTANCE
e political unrest in the Arab world is spreading like a wild re. Aer the surprising
removal of the long-time authoritarian leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, the Libyan dictator
Colonel Gadd a decided to ght the rebel lion against his long-last ing dictatorship
with brutal force agai nst the civilia n population. ese actions resulted in a UN-
sanctioned mi litary intervention by NATO and Middle Eastern forces to protect the
civilian p opulation against attacks car ried out by forces stil l loyal to Gadda. Serious
unrest also is erupting and spreading i n various other Arab countries, li ke Yemen,
Bahrain, Jorda n, Syria and Morocco.
Despite t he growing unrest, the OS CE has hardly be en involved in these
developments, which may come as a surprise. However, until recently, the Arab
region seemed to be very stable under usually long-time authorita rian or sometimes
even outright dictatorial leaders. Nevertheless the revolutionary changes i n the
geopolitically i mportant Northern African and Middle Eastern region wi ll have
unpredictable political consequences, and a role for the OSCE should not be excluded.
With its democratisation, post-conict and rehabilitation ex periences, the OSCE is
well positioned to oer assistance pa rticularly in countries w hich are connected with
the OSCE as its so-called ‘Mediterr anean Partners for Co -operation’. ese Par tners
include Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egy pt, Jordan and Israel. For political reas ons the
more dictatorial regimes of Libya and Sy ria never joined the OSCE as a Partner. e
same is true for Leba non.
It goes without s aying that the OSCE participating States are following the
developments in the Northern African a nd Middle Eastern region with great interest,
as they w ill have serious security consequences. Civil wa r in Libya, with a highly
uncertain outcome, and an increase in refu gees and illega l immigration, w ith fewer
border controls in the Nort h-Africa n countries are only two of the many security
* Director of the Asia-Paci c Law Enforcement Instit ute, Bangkok, ai land.
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