Crescent of Crisis: U.S.-European Strategy for the Greater Middle East

Promoting Democracy and Human Rights in Lebanon and Syria

Infuriated by decades of repression and encouraged by international pressures, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese protestors marched on March 14, 2005, in perhaps the biggest demonstration in Lebanon’s history. Loud calls for the withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence agents were accompanied by equally pressing demands for dismantling the state’s apparatus of repression and putting in its stead a solid democratic framework allowing for genuine public participation and political representation. The rapid events that have occurred since—the pullout of Syrian troops, elections in Lebanon, and increasing popular demands for political change in Syria—appear to underline that concerted action by the United States and the European Union can and must help trigger political reforms in the region. Indeed, joint U.S. and French pressures on Syria to withdraw, epitomized by UN Security Council Resolution 1559 (approved September 2, 2004), certainly have generated a momentum for reforms in Lebanon and, albeit to a lesser extent, in Syria. With some justification, U.S. and French officials eagerly claimed credit for having contributed to this momentum. In addition, they expressed their commitment to actively support Lebanon in designing and implementing wide-ranging reforms. In a way, therefore, and as a result of an unexpected twist of events, Lebanon has become a test case for the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative, adopted in June 2004, Promoting Democracy and Human Rights in Lebanon and Syria Eva Goes and Reinoud Leenders 94 04-1689 section3 12/5/05 3:18 PM Page 94 in which the Group of Eight (G-8) expressed a desire to establish a “partnership . . . based on genuine cooperation with the region’s governments, as well as business and civil society representatives to strengthen freedom , democracy, and prosperity for all.”1 Although the initiative was unprecedented in that it was announced at such a high and multilateral level and phrased in such stark terms, its aims and means are far from being novel. For more than a decade and with strikingly modest results, the European Union has engaged Lebanon and Syria on promoting democratization, the rule of law, and civil society. Serious introspection by the donors, starting with an evaluation of the EU’s role in both countries , is therefore crucial for any new or intensified efforts, whether launched under the banner of the G-8 initiative or otherwise, to avoid running into the same pitfalls of the past and failing to capitalize on a genuine momentum for change. The European Reform Agenda for Lebanon and Syria Repeatedly the EU has made it clear that its relations with Lebanon and Syria, similar to its relations with all countries taking part in its EuroMediterranean Partnership, are steered by concerns over democratization and human rights and fueled by a desire to improve its partners’ records in these fields. This approach originated in the mid-1990s in the so-called Barcelona process, in which most of the EU’s southern neighbors sought to establish a close relationship primarily in economic and financial areas and to “encourage actions of support for democratic institutions and for the strengthening of the rule of law and civil society.”2 EU negotiations with Lebanon over an association agreement began in late 1995, resulting in the signing of a full agreement in June 2002 and now awaits ratification by all EU member states while an interim agreement is in force. Although the agreement emphasizes reforms affecting EULebanese trade relations, it also includes a clause stating that “relations between the two parties, as well as the provisions of this Agreement itself, shall be based on democratic principles and fundamental human rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement.” To develop this generally stated pledge, the EU envisions an ongoing “political dialogue” wherein partners like Lebanon are expected to discuss measures to implement sweeping reforms in the fields SYRIA AND LEBANON: A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE 95 04-1689 section3 12/5/05 3:18 PM Page 95 of democratization and human rights. Stressing its sincerity about such a dialogue, the European Commission signaled the need for “reinvigorating ” EU actions in the fields of democratization and human rights by considering them as being part and parcel of the Barcelona process in May 2003 and again in April 2005.3 A similar European approach was taken toward Syria, which in late 1997...