H.E. Dr. Marwan Muasher
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Statement for the "Forum of the Future Meeting"
September 24, 2004
New York
Thank you Mr. Secretary,
It gives me a great pleasure to be amongst you all this morning. We meet at a
time when the subject of reform has become a major dimension of the overall
policy of our region. We also believe that reform is no longer a luxury. It is
a necessity for the future of our region. In Jordan, we have realized that fact
at an early stage and acted to ensure that reforms whether political, economic
and social are carried out through a series of coordinated efforts among the
different government agencies and civil society groups. Our aim is to develop
Jordan as a moderate, tolerant, and open society based on the humanistic values
of the Islamic faith. To achieve this, key strategic objectives have been
identified for the next five years. These include, but are not limited to,
freedom of the press,
freedom of assembly; empowering women and youth; developing a more effective
political party life; developing an independent judiciary; implementing
education reform to encourage independent and critical thinking; promoting a
participative civic society, while strengthening the institutions that protect
human rights, and forging ahead with economic liberalization and reform.
I would like to share with you some of the areas we have identified and what we
have achieved so far.
As far as political reform is concerned, a new ministry for
political development has been established, as well as a ministerial committee
for political reform to develop and establish a mechanism to implement the above
mentioned objectives.
As for the Media sector:
The Ministry of Information has been abolished as of October 2003 and a
government spokesperson has been appointed instead to articulate the position of
the government. Several laws have been enacted to restructure the state media
organizations (TV, Radio, press agency) thus disengaging the state from direct
control of these outlets. Furthermore, laws have been enacted to allow private
TV and Radio stations to operate in the kingdom. Four such licenses have
already been given.
On Political Parties law:
A new political parties law will be developed to regulate and encourage
political party development in Jordan. The new law will encourage existing
parties to develop political and economic platforms. In addition, a new
election law will be developed prior to the next elections due in 2007. A
national dialogue involving all sectors of society will precede this process.
On Human Rights:
A new center for human rights has been established last year to act as an
ombudsman for human rights violations in the Kingdom, and to ensure that Jordan
is signatory to all human rights covenants and agreements.
On Women’s participation and Children’s rights:
His Majesty King Abdullah II has
taken steps to increase women’s participation in public life. The present
cabinet, for instance, has
three women out of a total 21 members, a first in Jordan’s history. A quota of
six seats has been allocated for women in the election law for the lower house
of parliament, in addition to any other seats women can win on their own. His
Majesty also appointed seven women to the Senate out of a total of 55 members as
well.
Moreover, work has already begun on reviewing all laws in Jordan that are
discriminatory against women and children, with the aim of amending them in a
manner that does not contradict with Islamic Sharia. In this context the cabinet
has removed past discriminations against women such as the health insurance law
and family protection law. Other laws pertaining to ending all forms of
discrimination against women, and child protection are currently being discussed
in the cabinet. This requires an effort to raise awareness, and reinvigorate
the educational process.
In this context, an ambitious
five-year educational reform plan has been completed. The plan includes four
initiatives focusing on lifelong learning, responsiveness to the economy, access
to information and communications technology, and quality learning whereas the
teacher in class becomes a facilitator and teaching becomes learning.
Ladies and gentlemen,
A serious commitment to reform has to be supported by a strong legal foundation. Therefore, we are undertaking a series of steps to develop our judicial system. A three-year plan for judicial reform has been completed. The plan aims to improve the overall performance of the judicial system in Jordan, enhance its role as an enabler for civic society and national competitiveness while maintaining its independence from other branches of government. In addition, Jordan is spearheading the judicial reform component of a joint initiative of six Arab countries with the OECD and UNDP.
Acknowledging the need for a region-wide compact for development that rests on promoting economic prosperity, social stability, and political inclusion, leading members of the Arab private sector and civil society institutions met in Amman, Jordan, on the eve of the recent World Economic Forum in the Dead Sea, Jordan, to lay the groundwork for the launch of a process that will define the vision for the Arab world in 2010. The initiative comes on the heels of a series of recent initiatives and research on the state of Arab development, including the UNDP Arab Human Development Reports, the work of the Arab Business Council, as well as the Alexandria Library conference and the Sana’a meeting on democracy and human rights. The vision initiative will consolidate the earlier initiatives under one umbrella and build on them to produce a comprehensive, homegrown, and internally-consistent blueprint through establishing benchmarks and milestones, and will articulate practical steps and concrete policies that must be implemented by governments and civil society alike to effect positive change. The process will involve a wide cross-section of the Arab world’s civil society and private sector, who will work over the next eight months to prepare the vision, in time for its launch at the World Economic Forum Meeting at the Dead Sea, Jordan, in May 2005.
A mere commitment to principles is
no longer sufficient. Principles must be translated into a practical action
plan, into real work on the grounds. Having said that, allow me to speak briefly
about the purpose of our meeting here, which is to follow up on the Sea Island
initiatives.
First, the initiatives presented by the G-8 at Sea Island are indeed a step in
the right direction; their implementation will allow for better matchmaking
between labor market requirements and the educational system, facilitate
educational reform, increase financing to small and medium enterprises, and
promote entrepreneurship, among others. The initiatives are also encouraging in
that they are designed to support homegrown and internally driven reforms.
There are two main points, though, that I would like address in this regard.
For reforms, particularly political ones to be successful and achieve the
results desired, it is necessary that the international community realize that
regional instability remains the main cause for the lack of a region-wide
compact for development. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as well as the Iraqi
conflict, belies much of this instability. We do not live in a political,
economic, or social void. It is imperative, therefore, that the international
community reengages in both those conflicts with the aim of reaching a
comprehensive settlement based on international legality.
Second, I would like to mention that not much attention is given in the G-8
initiatives to the issue of public investment. Indeed, a Private Enterprise
Development Facility at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is timely.
Enhancing the business and investment environment and increasing financing
options available for the region’s SMEs is critical in vitalizing economic
activity. Yet, public investment is very much needed in our region to address
basic needs of people, on the one hand, and to provide the environment necessary
for private sector investment to thrive in, on the other. In general, building
schools, hospitals, dams, and road networks, do not easily lend themselves to
private sector investment; indeed much private investment rests on their
existence, prevalence, and quality. Therefore, supporting public investment
ought to be a cornerstone of joint cooperation between the G-8 and the Arab
world.
Parenthetically, I would like to
also not that despite the perception that the region is awash in funds, much of
those funds are actually not public. The idea here is to provide the environment
that would allow such funds to be invested in productive projects. In addition
to that, any new funds should be linked to a performance driven reform efforts.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Yet, for such initiatives, and the overall reform process in the Arab world, to
be successful, the support of the G-8 to the reform efforts of countries in the
Arab world is instrumental in their timely implementation and in ensuring their
success. There is a need for a multilateral process that would engage the
Arab world at different levels, which is aimed, first and foremost at
stimulating economic growth and facilitating openness and liberalization,
similar in structure to the Barcelona Process, through (i) providing direct and
financial assistance, which is tied to reform and beyond the existing bilateral
assistance; (ii) encouraging capital flows to the region; (iii) increasing
trade, both globally and intro-regionally; (iv) facilitating intra-regional
economic integration; and (v) providing technical assistance.
With the realization that regional reforms that reflect the realities of the
region and address the fears of the people and the deficiencies of the existing
systems are undoubtedly necessary, the G-8 countries have much to contribute, in
both resources and expertise. We look forward to joint cooperation to establish
the frameworks necessary to allow for the start of the dialogue between the two
groups and the implementation of the key initiatives included in the G-8 Plan.
We look foreword to cooperating with all the parties in developing the scope and
content of the G-8 Plan, for the benefit of our region and, indeed, global
stability and peace.
I would like to propose holding the 2005 “Forum for the Future” meeting
alongside the next World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea in May of 2005.
Thank you.