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A Bloc is a group of countries that form together to work toward a common goal, whether economic, political, or otherwise. Most countries are in more than one bloc. Depending on current politics, some countries may drop out or abstain from participating in some blocs, while other countries simply remain as observers.

Blocs are unstructured and are allowed to form and grow on their own. This may be a frustrating process. A country must always keep its political stands and goals in its negotiations with other countries as it participates in bloc decisions. The view of a particular nation must always take precedence over a bloc’s views, unless the country feels it will receive some benefit from its continued adherence to a bloc’s views.

BLOC’s develop resolutions based on their respective committees purpose and shall remain together for the duration of the conference. The resolutions developed in these committees may be specific or broad in nature. BLOC’s operate under the Parliamentary Procedure Guidelines provided in the manual.

The conference has the following BLOC’s:
European Union (EU)
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Organization of American States (OAS)
African Union (AU)
Arab League (AL)

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Topic 1: Modernization

For years the Middle East has been viewed as an underdeveloped portion of the globe. It has been seen as having little advances in the fields of technology, entertainment, and sciences. However, it controls most of the world’s oil supply and has been gifted with the intelligence, good and bad, to control it. The Middle East region enjoys high but unevenly distributed wealth: the oil producing countries (Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, and Iraq) are at the top of the heap and others (including populous countries such as Egypt) are suffering economically. Thanks to the oil reserves, the wealthiest countries have been able to engage in large infrastructure projects requiring the significant use of labor from neighboring countries, thus creating a two-tier system in which the Gulf States import labor from the less economically fortunate countries (Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian territories, and Lebanon).

Human Resources is shedding its traditional past and adopting new processes in the Middle East. Technology is being widely embraced, sometimes with tremendous zeal. In Jordan, for instance, the number of Internet users experienced an increase of 27 percent in 2001.

Unlike other parts of the world, the public sector in the Middle East was, and still is to a large extent, at the forefront of the IT revolution sweeping over the region. As part of the digitalization of their societies and economies, many Middle Eastern states have embarked on e-government projects, of which the G2E (Government-to-Employee) component is a key part. These G2E initiatives aim at achieving several goals at once:

• Ensuring good governance by providing civil servants with relevant rules and regulations to ensure compliance through a portal. Considering the corruption issues that arise from time to time in different parts of the region, expectations are relatively high.
• Enhancing recruitment experience of future civil servants, especially expatriates.
• Guaranteeing employee development and performance through online training (assessment, knowledge transfer and course tracking and evaluation).
One of the most ambitious e-government projects in the Middle East region is undoubtedly the one launched by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, which, in its HR component, will link the Emirate with its 40,000-strong public sector workforce in a move similar to others being embarked upon by other countries in the region, including Oman and Bahrain.

“According to the Sharia, despite declarations of the equality of the sexes before God, women are considered inferior to men, and have fewer rights and responsibilities. A woman counts as half a man in giving evidence in a court of law, or in matters of inheritance. Her position is less advantageous than a man’s with regard to marriage and divorce. A husband has the moral and religious right and duty to beat his wives for disobedience or for perceived misconduct. A woman does not have the right to choose her husband, or her place of residence, to travel freely or have freedom in her choice of clothing. Women have little or no autonomy and are deemed to need the protection of their fathers, husbands or other male relatives throughout their lives. Any conduct that undermines the idea of male supremacy will fall foul of the Sharia.”

Child labor is another issue in Arab countries. Many children in the Arab work have become vulnerable to participation in illicit activities such as drug trafficking, recruitment by religious extremist, poor health, exposure to unsafe working environments and a lack of access to skills training. Beneath these factors are rising levels of poverty and widening wealth distribution differences. Educational systems unable to retain children and uneven regional economic and social development play strong roles in these causes.

Common misperceptions of the West form stereotypes and ignorance on both sides of the spectrum by movies, popular music, and television. National media, particularly when owned by foreign parties, greatly perpetuates such stereotypes and the problems they cause. The Arab League must help progress and deal with the problems that result.

Questions:

• To what extent is your country modernized or need to modernize?
• What measures are your country taking to achieve technological progress?
• How can the Arab League help the e-government projects of the Arab world?
• How will modernizing help and harm your country socially and economically?
• How can the Arab world support productive technological progress and deal with the problems that arise due to progress?

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Topic 2: Pan-Arabism

Pan-Arabism is the general term for the modern movement for political unification among the Arab nations of the Middle East. Pan-Arabism creates great controversy today between conflicting religious beliefs, but still must find ways to resolve differences and achieve progress for the betterment of the Arab people as a whole. At the beginning of the sixties, the main instrument of pan-Arabism was the Ba’ath Party, active in most of the states in the region, such as in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen. The pan-Arab cause suffered a serious setback after the Arab defeat in the 1967 war with Israel. At the beginning of the Seventies, a plan for unifying Egypt and Libya also proved unsuccessful. Arab states showed renewed cohesion with the use of oil as an economic and political weapon in international relations.

The Iraqi President Saddam Hussein resumed Pan-Arab rhetoric during the 1990 Gulf War, in a vain attempt to rally support from other Arab countries. While the resistance of nationalisms and the split between Shiites and Sunnis has defeated political pan-Arabism, cultural pan-Arabism today has experienced a revival. Globalization and the conflict with the West have brought to screens the images of a more or less united Islamic world. The creations of satellite TV channels in the Arab language (such as Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya) in addition to spreading a shared idiom also represent the mark of a super-national Arab umma (“community”), culturally if not politically united.

There is currently no set Arab nationalism or nationalist group. There is no set economy, nor balance of wealthy and poor countries. Regionalism is sweeping the globe, yet remains unseen in the Middle East. While Europe has developed a unified currency, the middle east still remains divided stately due to complications of currency, religion, and political stance. Due to different religious ideas, Pan-Arabism would have to separate church and state in order to be successful, however difficult considering the differing ideologies of political leaders.

The Arab League due to its role as a central heart for the Arab world seems to be the most sensible and plausible instrument by which Pan-Arabism can be achieved. Additionally, the Arab world must ponder if the Arab League itself requires reform; a possible unified economic system such as with the European Union and/or an international Arabian peacekeeping army such as in the African Union could possibly benefit the Arab world as a whole. Thus the Arab League must work to serve as an arbiter and avatar in strengthening and unifying the Arab nation as a whole.

Questions:

• What are some of the common interests of the Arab countries?
• Will Pan-Arabism be seen as a threat to other countries?
• Is it sensible to have a unified Arabian economic system?
• Would it be necessary to have a unified military system to protect all Arab countries and monitor outbreaks?
• How will oil and the wide economic gap between countries affect Pan-Arabism?

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Topic 3: Political Power & Sovereignty

Each Arab country runs its government extremely differently. Sovereignty is defined as supreme and independent power or authority in government as possessed or claimed by a state or community. With that said, it is the right of the country to protect its sovereignty and govern without the pressure or fear of another state. While the United States backs Ethiopia’s invasion of Somalia, Kuwait was also invaded by Iraq. With the major conflicts on the Gaza Strip it is almost impossible to argue that sovereignty is not violated. Many of these conflicts stem from religious controversies as well as land disputes.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is often claimed to be at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict, is an ongoing dispute between two peoples, Jewish Israelis and Arab Palestinians, that both claim the right to sovereignty over the Land of Israel/Palestine in whole or in part. This situation is both religion and land based.

The British handled Kuwait’s foreign affairs until 1961. One week after the formal termination of this arrangement (through a treaty that recognized Kuwait’s full independence) Iraq unilaterally announced that Kuwait was to be considered Iraqi territory. Ub August 1990 Iraq launched an invasion of Kuwait with two armored divisions, once division of mechanized infantry and a special forces division. The special forces division utilized helicopters and boats and assaulted Kuwait City directly.

Sovereignty is difficult to manage however when human rights are violated in a country. While the conflict in Darfur, Sudan is still on the rise, it is a question of whether or not it is just to violate the countries sovereignty for the sake of its people. Although sovereignty is stressed, it is rarely enforced. Smaller countries are still being overtaken by larger ones, unless backed by foreign Western powers

Political power in Arab countries is often religiously based since countries follow Islamic law. While Saudi Arabia and Jordan are controlled by a king, Somalia is torn between religious extremists groups. It is difficult to retain sovereignty when a country is torn and is not strong enough to govern on its own.

Questions:

• Does your country have any issues concerning sovereignty, either your or another country’s sovereignty in question? If so, what stance has your nation taken on this issue and what measures has it taken to resolve the issue?
• What is your nation’s stance on different issues of sovereignty in the Arab world?
• What can the Arab League do to help the Arab world resolve these different problems of sovereignty and satisfy all involved parties?
• Should sovereignty been violated for the betterment of a country and its people? Who is to determine if a violation of sovereignty is beneficial or not?
• 
  How should the Arab League deal with questions of sovereignty between Arab nations and the allying of Arab nations to various sides, thus perpetuating conflict?
• How should the AL prioritize peace, sovereignty, and the welfare of civilians?.

Works Cited :
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Bard, Mitchell G. “Myths & Facts Online - Human Rights in Arab Countries.” Jewish Virtual Library. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/­jsource/­myths/­mf16.html>.

Child Labour in Arab States. Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. International Labour Office. 26 Apr. 2007. <http://www.ilo.org/dyn/declaris/
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“Common Western perceptions about Islam and the Middle East.” Global Connections. 26 Apr. 2007. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/questions/types/index.html>.

Dickey, Christopher. “A Saudi Desert Fox.” Newsweek 9 Apr. 2007. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17886726/site/newsweek/>.

Farrokh, Kaveh, Dr. “Pan-Arabism’s Legacy of Confrontation with Iran.” Pan-Arabism’s Legacy . 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.venusproject.com/ecs/aFarrokhArab.html>.

“History of Establishment.” Arab Charter on Human Rights. Human Dimension Program. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.diplomacy.edu/arabcharter/league_hist.asp>.

“How technology is reshaping human resources (HR) in the Middle East.” Ame Info. 11 July 2004. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.ameinfo.com/42459.html>.

Little, Jane. “Debate rages over women and Sharia.” BBC News 11 June 2003. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/2977446.stm>.

“Middle East Newspapers and News Sites.” World-Newspapers.com. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.world-newspapers.com/east.html>.

Moussa, Amr. “Neo-Pan-Arabism .” Interview with Dinna Ezzat. Al-Ahram Weekly. 24 July 2002. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/595/sc12.htm>.

“Pan-Arabism.” The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Infoplease. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0837455.html>.

“Pan-Arabism.” Reset - Dialogues on Civilization. 7 Nov. 2006. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.resetdoc.org/EN/Pan-Arabism.php>.

“PNA Continues Consultations on US Compromise Plan: Arafat.” People’s Daily 29 Dec. 2000. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://english.people.com.cn/english/200012/29/eng20001229_59102.html>.

“SUPPORT ISRAEL OVER TYRANNY & TERROR.” Middle-East-Info.org. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.middle-east-info.org/gateway/supportisrael/index.htm>.