December 1, 1994
THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
THE MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS
The multilateral negotiations constitute an integral part of the
peace-making process. While the bilateral talks are meant to end the
conflicts of the past, the multilateral talks are striving to build the
Middle East of the future. As outlined in the Madrid invitation, the
multilateral track deals with a number of issues which are of common
interest to the peoples of the region.
The multilateral negotiations commenced on January 28-29, 1992 at the
Moscow Multilateral Middle-East Conference. Following the opening
presentations by the co-sponsors and the participants thirty six
parties in all the delegations broke up into the five specific working
groups dealing with five areas of common regional concern environment,
arms control and regional security, refugees, water, and economic
development.
The goal of the multilateral framework is twofold to find solutions for
key regional problems, while serving as a confidence building measure
(CBM) to promote the development of normalized relations among the nations
of the Middle East. Issues of regional concern are discussed in a forum
which can foster cooperation and build confidence between the parties.
Shared infrastructure such as highways and water pipelines, shared
development bringing about growth in tourism and trade, and cooperation in
preserving the quality of natural resources and environment are among the
realities envisioned for the region. Open borders and economic partnership
will bring about prosperity, which will, in turn, produce a peace that
constitutes more than merely an end to war.
The Steering Committee
The Steering Committee, comprised of representatives of the key
delegations, coordinates the multilateral talks and sets dates and venues
for the various working groups. The committee hears reports of the working
groups, confirms their decisions and sets priorities for the allocation of
resources. The Steering Committee also discusses such broader issues as
the overall vision of the future of the Middle East, integrating the work
of the individual working groups.
I. The Water Resources Working Group (Greece, November 1994)
The function of this working group is to plan and execute workshops and
projects in the realms of water conservation, training water personnel,
desalination, enhancing water resources as well as water resource data
banks. It last met in Athens, Greece on November 7-9, 1994; the following
proposals were discussed:
- An Israeli proposal to repair and overhaul water systems in small-sized
communities in the region was further explored. These water systems
sometimes lose up to 60% of their water from leaking pipes, and
rehabilitating the system would save thousands of liters of water. The
project has gained momentum in this meeting, and the next step of
identifying sites and establishing a project committee has been approved
by the group.
- The Omani proposal from the last session to establish a desalination
research and technology center in Muscat has also moved forward in this
meeting. Oman will now take concrete steps on the project, including
initiating high level consultations to secure international support for
the center. The Israeli delegation stressed the importance of using solar
energy to operate a desalination plant.
- Other water supply enhancement plans were discussed, including
collecting water in Gaza, desalination of brackish water in Jordan, and a
training course on the use of geothermal water (in hothouses) in agriculture.
- A US/EU plan for regional water data banks was endorsed. Both the US and
Canada will provide funds to support implementation of the project, along
with implementation of a Palestinian water data bank.
- Guidelines and principles for "concepts of regional cooperation and
management of water" are now under discussion. This will ultimately serve
as a framework for cooperation on water issues in the region.
II. The Environment Working Group (Bahrain, October 1994)
The Environment Working Group endeavors to enhance the ability of the
regional parties to deal with maritime pollution, wastewater treatment,
environmental management and desertification. The sixth meeting met in
Manama, Bahrain, on October 25-26 1994. Forty-one delegations participated
and continued discussion on the following projects initiated in previous
meetings:
- Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba Pollution Project: The oil spill contingency project
is ahead of schedule with an early implementation planned. In a previous
meeting, the EU had agreed to forward 2.5 million ECU towards the building
of three center, in Aqaba, Eilat and Nuweiba which would stand ready to
protect these areas against oil spills and other catastrophes relating to
water.
- Environmental Management: The major achievement in this area was the
establishment of a Middle East Environmental Code of Conduct. Discussions
continued on several other activities taking place, including a workshop
on environment monitoring and measurement and the establishment of a
Palestinian Environmental Management Structure.
- Desertification: The World Bank is overseeing a project to address
natural resource degradation of arid lands in the Middle East, which was
discussed and launched at the last working group meeting in Cairo. This
project includes the establishment of grazing lands, wildlife, forestation
and planting of orchards, introducing varieties of vegetation appropriate
for arid climates, and the purification of brackish water, to be
implemented through five local centers. The World Bank is prepared to
contribute $ 0.8 million to support the initiative projects, with the
possibility of additional funds of $ 1.1 million in the subsequent two
years, provided additional funds are available for the project.
The Bahrain Environmental Code of Conduct for the Middle East:
This document was endorsed by the Middle East Peace Process Environmental
Working Group on October 25th, 1994 in Bahrain. In the document, the
following principles were agreed upon by all the regional parties:
- Natural resources of region must be preserved and all activities that
would have an adverse effect must be avoided.
- A comprehensive peace in the region and environment protection are
interdependent, and the regional parties will cooperate on
environmental issues.
- The parties will facilitate and encourage public awareness and
participation by training and education.
- The regional parties will join forces for environmental protection and
conservation and begin working in the following fields: water, marine
and coastal environment, air, waste management, and desertification.
III. Arms Control and Regional Security Working Group (Qatar, May 1994)
This group currently focuses on operational and conceptual issues
pertaining to confidence- and security-building measures, as well as
regional security and arms control issues. Since the last plenary meeting
in Qatar, several intersessional meetings have been held. Talks in Paris
dealt with various arms control concepts, and discussions in Jordan
focused on operative projects and the establishment of a Regional Security
Center. In addition, a naval exercise was conducted in the Mediterranean,
senior naval officials met in Canada, and field trips were arranged to a
German nuclear power plant and a Swiss chemical weapons verification
installation. The next plenary meeting will take place in Tunis in
mid-December.
A. On the operative level, significant progress was made on the following
CBM's:
1. Maritime issues:
- Two papers have been endorsed on the subjects of search and rescue and
incidents at sea: "The Framework for Regional SAR Cooperation" and
"Elements of INCSEA Text".
- It has been agreed to hold a regional conference of senior naval
officers including joint operations and exchange of naval knowledge.
2. Prenotification and Information Exchange:
- Prenotification - An agreement on prenotification of military exercises
is nearing conclusion.
- The parties have agreed to exchange information and formats in the
areas of defense budgets, military personnel and military visits and
contacts.
3. Communications:
- Operating procedures have been agreed upon for a regional
communications center.
- The equipment for a number of stations has been ordered.
- A course will take place in the region for station operators.
- A panel of experts will be established to oversee the general running
of the stations.
4. Regional Security Center/Conflict Prevention Center (RSC/CPC)
The RSC/CPC will be set up in the region (Jordan, Qatar and Tunisia are
possible locales). Its primary objective will be crisis prevention, crisis
management and crisis resolution. Further discussions are being held to
determine the exact structure and functions of the center.
B. Conceptual issues under discussion in the area of arms control and
regional security include the following:
1. Statement on Arms Control and Regional Security - The formulation of
the statement is nearing completion.
2. Discussions have begun on the definition of long-term goals in arms
control and regional security.
3. Threat perception in the Middle East - France has offered to host a
seminar on the subject, and to fund research on regional satellite
cooperation.
4. Talks have begun on the delineation of the Middle East region for
purposes of regional security and arms control.
5. An initial discussion has been held of elements needed to begin
negotiations on arms control in the areas of conventional weapons,
nuclear weapons, chemical and biological warfare and ballistic
missiles.
IV. The Refugee Working Group (Egypt, May 1994)
This working group focuses on the sensitive issue of Middle East refugees.
Family reunification, training and job creation, public health, child
welfare and social and economic infrastructure are among the subjects
addressed by this forum. The underlying principle of this group is to
improve the living conditions for refugees in their present location. The
members of the refugee working group have reached an understanding on the
appropriate frameworks for discussing various aspects of the Palestinian
refugee problem, in accordance with the terms of the Israel-PLO
Declaration of Principles and the Israel-Jordan Common Agenda signed in
September 1993, as follows:
- The question of the 1948 refugees will be discussed within the
framework of the permanent status negotiations between Israel and
the Palestinians.
- Modalities for the admission of persons displaced from the West Bank
and Gaza in 1967 will be decided by an Israeli-Palestinian-
Jordanian-Egyptian committee.
- The re-admission of former Palestinian residents of the West Bank
and Gaza who had overstayed their permits abroad will be discussed
in the bilateral negotiations with Jordan.
The above understanding, achieved in Tunis at the fourth round of talks,
enabled the working group to focus on the humanitarian aspects of the
refugee issue family reunification and improving living conditions. In
this context, Israel agreed to approve 2,000 family reunification requests
annually, thus according permanent resident status to an additional 6,000
persons who had entered the territories as visitors. In a further
humanitarian act, Israel has permitted a number of individuals deported in
the early 1970's due to prior terrorist activities, to return to the
territories, together with their families.
In the latest round, which took place in Cairo (10-12 May), more concrete
plans were developed to ensure a real and positive impact on the lives of
the refugees. A substantial portion of the World Bank's emergency
assistance program will be directed toward this effort. The following
activities were agreed upon:
- Human Resources and Development: Several countries including Israel,
the US, the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey and China will be conducting
courses for the refugees as follows: paramedic training, a drylands
agricultural seminar, a public sector management training course, an
animal health workshop, 'employment guaranteed' skills training program
(to develop small and medium scale enterprises in Gaza and the West
Bank), agricultural training, public health, community planning and
education.
- Child Welfare: Sweden has agreed to make available $2 million for
child welfare programs. A conference on assistance to Palestinian
children in the West Bank, Gaza and neighboring countries will also be
convened.
- Social and Economic Infrastructure: The U.S. is providing aid to
develop housing facilities and rehabilitation for refugees in Syria and
Lebanon.
- Public Health: A regional laboratory is to be established in one of
the West Bank cities in order to compliment a Medical center already in
place.
V. The Regional Economic Development Working Group (Morocco, June 1994)
This group addresses the issues of infrastructure, training and tourism
development in the region, including the West Bank and Gaza. In November
1993, the working group adopted the Copenhagen Action Plan, comprising 35
projects in various fields: communications, transportation, energy,
tourism, agriculture, financial markets and investment, trade, training,
regional networks and bibliography.
The round of talks held at Rabat in June 1994 centered around two major
subjects: advancing the implementation of the Copenhagen Action Plan; and
establishing a Monitoring Committee as a tool to formulate a regional
agenda and set priorities for the working group.
The tasks of the Monitoring Committee were defined as follows:
- To monitor the implementation of the Copenhagen Action Plan;
- To organize expert meetings and subcommittees, as required, in the
various fields of regional economic cooperation;
- To identify and promote priority projects to be presented to the
working group.
It was agreed that the Monitoring Committee would strive:
- to encourage the free movement of people, goods, services, capital
and information among the partners in the region;
- to stimulate economic development and to reduce regional economic
disparities;
- to promote the region's integration in global markets;
- to fully exploit respective advantages by promoting regional trade,
facilitating investment and developing infrastructure.
The Monitoring Committee represents a qualitative leap in the
institutionalization of the regional dialogue. With the establishment of
this committee, the principle of regional cooperation has been anchored in
specific subcommittees in the different fields of economic activity.
The working group heard progress reports on specific projects in the areas
of transportation (highway infrastructure, railways and ports, motor
transportation and civil aviation); energy (linking the electricity grids
of Israel, the autonomy, Egypt and Jordan, and the alternatives of a
Mediterranean-Dead Sea or Red Sea-Dead Sea hydroelectric project); tourism
(regional consultation, cooperation and priorities); agriculture
(veterinary services and plant protection); finance (financial markets and
stock exchanges, training of banking personnel in the autonomy); regional
trade; and training programs.
The following intersessional activities are scheduled:
- The establishment of a regional tourist center in Egypt, probably in
Ismaliya, this coming September.
- A business conference to be held in Casablanca in October/November
1994.
- Meetings of tourist agents to be held in Cairo and Amman in October
and December 1994.
Parallel with these developments, the World Bank is considering holding a
regional workshop to study ways to integrate the private sector in
infrastructure projects.
* Middle East/North Africa Economic Summit - Casablanca
Oct 30 - Nov 1, 1994
At the invitation of King Hassan II of Morocco and with the support and
endorsement of Presidents Bill Clinton of the United States and Boris
Yeltsin of the Russian Federation, the representatives of 61 countries and
1,114 business leaders from all regions of the world gathered for a Middle
East/North Africa Economic Summit in Casablanca from October 30 to
November 1, 1994. Among the accomplishments of the conference were:
a. the endorsement of the decision by the Council for Cooperation of the
Gulf States to ignore the secondary and tertiary aspects of the Arab
boycott;
b. the move towards ending the primary boycott;
c. an agreement to establish four regional centers:
- a Middle East and North Africa Development Bank,
- a Tourist Board to facilitate tourism,
- a regional Chamber of Commerce and Business Council to facilitate
intra-regional trade relations, and
- a Steering Committee charged with following up all issues raised at
the conference.