Arab joint-defence treaty? Try something new

Talks are reported to be ongoing between Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Arab League's secretary general Nabil Elarabi about the need to reactivate the Arab joint defence treaty.

Signed in 1950, the treaty had Israel as its primary target, but none of its terms have been implemented since then.

This comes as Sisi is pushing for a united Arab military force, which could take place outside the framework of the Arab League, to "confront terrorism".

Israel is not the target

Sisi's plan related to the current instability in Libya, where a number of militias with extremist ideologies have taken control of parts of the country.

Militants in Sinai continue to launch almost daily attacks on the Egyptian military.

But according to one Egyptian military expert, the unified "counter-terrorism" force risks plunging parts of the Arab world deeper into crisis, and exasperate differences between regional countries.

In a statement made two days ago, Elarabi said that any differences over the formation of a joint force would be on the use of intervention would be dealt with on a 'case-by-case' basis.
 
This issue will top the agenda of the Arab Summit in Cairo at the end of this month.

"Sisi may have failed to achieve an Arab consensus on the formation of an Arab military force outside the Arab League framework, and so he switched to talking about reactivating the joint defence treaty," one Egyptian diplomat told al-Araby al-Jadeed.

There are evident difficulties in forming the joint Arab force given the performance of armies it may include.

Seven of the countries that signed the defence treaty in 1950 - Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and Mauritania – have militaries that have been badly hit by internal divisions and armed conflicts.

The remaining armies, however, are largely ineffective with the exception of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Nevertheless, Elarabi said he intended to consult all Arab leaders, on how to safeguard members from "terrorism".

"The nature of wars has changed, and they are no longer of a military nature," Elarabi said.

According to the Arab League figure, reactivating the joint defence committee would require a meeting between defence and foreign ministries of Arab countries, joined by interior and information ministers.

This would be in order to define the role or each signatory nation. He added that every nation should contribute to the force, as terrorism is a phenomenon affecting the whole Arab world.

The remaining armies, however, are largely ineffective with the exception of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Sharm el-Sheikh conference

Fadel Jawad, Elaraby's assistant, said: "The Arab League hopes a decision will be made at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, scheduled for 28-29 March, to form a joint Arab defence force and activate the Arab joint defence treaty."

One of the key points in the Arab joint defence treaty is article 2:

"The contracting states consider any armed aggression made against any one or more of them or their armed forces, to be directed against them all." 

This would require united action from Arab states, including the use of force, to repel the aggression and restore security and peace.

The article also states that it conforms to article 6 of the Arab League Pact, and article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

If the agreement was activated then relevant international and national organisations would be informed of any act of aggression and the responses that will be taken to counter it.

Also in article 5 is the establishment of a permanent military commission that would be composed of representatives of the signatory countries' armies to draw up joint defence plans.

United mission

Adel Suleiman, a military analyst, said the defence treaty would be different to other military coalitions, such as Nato.

"The treaty does not mean intervening militarily in some Arab countries; it is nothing but a mechanism for coordination between the Arab League member states."

Suleiman says that the goal of the treaty initially was to combat Israeli aggression against any Arab state, and theoretically this is still binding.

The treaty came after the disastrous 1948 defeat, when Israel defeated a combined Arab force opposed to the creation of the Jewish state and looking to defend the Palestinian population in the area.

Suleiman said that a unified military command was good in theory but would almost certainly fail in practice.

It would not include all Arab League member states, and therefore its goal is incomprehensible.

Due to an agreement against military intervention to solve the crises in the Arab region, the formation of the unified military force is a sensitive issue that would infringe on the sovereignty of Arab League member states.

Suleiman said he did not believe that the UN Security Council would approve of such a force.

He said that Egypt's airstrikes on militia bases in Libya was not backed by the 1950 agreement, as Tripoli was not facing external aggression.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of al-Araby al-Jadeed, its editorial board or staff.