VZCZCXRO2922
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHYN #2313/01 3501304
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161304Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8631
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0100
RUEHKB/AMEMBASSY BAKU 0008
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0277
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0039
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0006
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0011
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 0008
RUSBPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR 0036

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SANAA 002313 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR DAS KENT PATTON 
NEA/ARP FOR NATASHA FRANCESCHI, 
NEA/PI FOR KENNETH GROSS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID KDEM KMPI PGOV PREL YM
SUBJECT: FOURTH PARALLEL FORUM LAUNCHES NEW ERA OF HOPE FOR 
CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  Over 300 people, representing over 200 civil 
society groups, met at the Fourth Civil Society Parallel 
Forum in Sana'a on November 30-December 2 in order to tackle 
the issues of freedom of expression, the legal environment 
for NGOs, education, women empowerment, youth political 
participation and the private sector's role in promoting 
democratic reform.  Six workshop groups devised concrete 
action plans in order to address these issues and also 
elected representatives to the upcoming Forum for the Future. 
 The Parallel Forum published a report which described the 
"state of emergency" facing freedom of expression and the 
legal environment for civil society in the Middle East. 
Despite the serious obstacles which face civil society in 
promoting democratic reform, many participants hailed the 
Fourth Civil Society Parallel Forum as "a real revolution and 
new road" for civil society in the region.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  Yemen hosted the Fourth Civil Society Parallel Forum to 
the Forum for the Future on November 30-December 2.  The 
event was co-chaired by Germany and was funded by the U.S. 
State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative and the 
British and Dutch Governments.  The Parallel Forum was 
organized by a coalition of 28 Yemeni Civil Society 
Organizations (CSOs) and attracted over 300 representatives 
from the government, private sector, civil society 
organizations, media, unions and syndicates from every 
country of the broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA), 
including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan. 
 
¶3.  According to Ezzadine al-Asbahi, the General Director of 
the Yemeni Human Rights Information Training Center and main 
organizer of the event, the main purpose of the Parallel 
Forum was twofold:  1) to create alliances and bridges 
between the government, private sector, and non-government 
organizations to advance democratic reform and freedom of 
expression, and 2) to identify tasks and action plans (not 
just issue recommendations).  The 300 participants were 
divided into six workshop groups, which were given the task 
of coming up with action plans in different areas:  a) 
Freedom of Expression and Opinion; b) Legal Environment for 
the Operation of Civil Society; c) Education and the Labor 
Market; d) Women and Political Empowerment; e) Youth and 
Political Participation; and f) the Role of Private Sector in 
Advancing Democratic Reforms.  Each workshop group also 
elected four representatives to participate in the upcoming 
Forum for the Future.  (Note:  The Parallel Forum finalized 
the list of Civil Society Delegation members, who will attend 
official meetings at the upcoming Forum for the Future.  The 
delegation consists of 56 members:  24 were selected by the 
workshop groups, another 30 were chosen by the Democracy 
Assistance Dialogue (DAD) Group and 2 were organizers of 
previous Parallel Civil Society Fora.  End note.) 
 
STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRATIC REFORM 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶4.  The workshop groups came up with the following 
recommendations/action plans: 
 
¶5.  The "Freedom of Expression" Group lamented the 
deterioration in freedom of expression throughout the MENA 
because no official mechanism for monitoring freedom of 
expression had been set up after the Third Parallel Forum (in 
Jordan in November 2006) and noted that there has been a lack 
of external pressure on MENA governments to respect freedom 
of expression.  The group declared a "state of emergency" in 
the monitoring of official violations against freedom of 
expression not only by the governments, but also by extremist 
religious groups and big businessmen.  The group recommended: 
a) civil society organizations should prepare "shadow 
reports" in response to government-published reports on human 
rights; b) the independence of the judiciary should be 
strengthened; c) they should organize fora on international 
laws/conventions on the "freedom of expression;" d) the 
governments' monopoly of the media should be ended and 
independent media organizations should be established; e) 
civil society organizations should be given the right to own 
media organizations; f) governments should have specific 
points of contact for members of the media; and g) defense 
 
SANAA 00002313  002 OF 003 
 
 
mechanisms should be established in order to protect 
journalists. 
 
¶6.  The "Legal Environment for the Operation of Civil 
Society" Group demanded a) the cancellation of licensing 
procedures for civil society organizations (CSOs) and their 
replacement with a notification system; b) the cancellation 
of government powers to dissolve NGOs, unions and 
professional organizations; c) the cancellation of the 
restrictions on "freedom of assembly" and punitive actions 
connected to "freedom of assembly;" d) the promotion of 
private sector support of CSOs; e) the guaranteeing that NGO 
laws comply with international standards, coupled with reform 
of non-compliant laws; f) the forging of alliances between 
local and regional organizations on CSO legislative issues; 
g) technical assistance and capacity-building measures for 
CSOs on non-profit law and legislative reform issues; and h) 
greater coordination with the Arab League and the U.N. Human 
Rights Commission Rapporteur. 
 
¶7.  The "Education and the Labor Market" Group advocated for 
a) the holding of a workshop on special issues related to 
education and regulatory reform; b) conducting a study on the 
labor force in the MENA region; c) providing free education 
and training courses for the poor; d) involving more women in 
the literacy process; e) private sector sponsoring and 
funding talented students involved in scientific research; 
and f) the G-8 and international NGO financing projects to 
collect CSO statistics on education and the labor market. 
 
¶8.  The "Women and Empowerment" Group called for the adoption 
of a quota system in which women would hold 30 percent of 
positions in political parties and government offices.  They 
also proposed publishing an annual report on the "Political 
Empowerment of Arab Women."  The group devised an action 
plan:  On March 8, 2008, they would officially launch the 
Arab Network for the Political Empowerment of Women Committee 
in Cairo, Egypt on the occasion of International Women's Day. 
 They would then conduct public awareness campaigns between 
March-November 2008 and would publish the first "Report on 
the Political Empowerment of Arab Women" in December 2008. 
 
¶9.  The "Youth and Political Participation" Group told the 
Parallel Forum that problems with youth stem from the 
restrictive social environment, the voting age, the lack of 
alignment between skills taught in schools and the labor 
market, the mass media not adopting objective strategies and 
the lack of government involvement in youth development 
issues.  The group recommended:  a) increasing the 
participation of youth organizations in the political 
process; b) educating/training youth in how to participate in 
the political process; and c) canceling all laws which impede 
CSOs and youth organizations.  The group plans to organize a 
workshop during the first half of 2008 on the relationship of 
youth and the labor market, followed by training courses and 
another workshop. 
 
¶10.  The "Role of the Private Sector in Advancing Democratic 
Reforms" Group indicated that the "private sector not only 
includes millionaires, but also small and medium-sized 
enterprises (SMEs)."  The group recommended a) ensuring the 
independence of business associations and chambers of 
commerce from government interference; b) the passing of 
strong anti-corruption legislation; and c) education, 
training and capacity-building in harmonization of business 
skills with the labor market, attracting investment and 
discouraging capital flight. 
 
REPORT CRITICIZES LACK OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶11.  At the end of the Parallel Forum, a report was issued on 
the "State of Democracy in the Middle East and North Africa" 
which concluded that there are many unjustifiable 
restrictions on the freedom of association and expression 
which are embedded within legislation in the MENA countries. 
The Parallel Forum report also contended that it will be 
impossible to achieve any meaningful democratic 
transformation in the MENA countries without partnership with 
 
SANAA 00002313  003 OF 003 
 
 
NGOs, other political stakeholders and a free and diverse 
media.  The report called for legislative reforms which are 
harmonious with international standards for freedoms of 
association, expression and opinion.  According to the 
report, the legal status of NGOs represents one of the 
cornerstones for the success of reform initiatives within 
MENA countries.  The Parallel Forum report will be 
distributed at the upcoming Forum for the Future.  A copy of 
the report may be obtained from the main desk at NEA/PI or 
from AmEmbassy Sanaa. 
 
A NEW HOPE . . . 
---------------- 
 
¶12.  Many participants, including those who often criticize 
such meetings, were very pleased with the outcome of the 
Parallel Forum.  The spokesperson for the "Private Sector" 
group remarked, "When somebody asked me if there was hope for 
civil society and democratic reform, I responded 'Yes, there 
is hope.'  Reform requires capacity and willingness, which 
have both been demonstrated at the Parallel Forum." 
According to Ezzadine al-Asbahi, this Forum differed from the 
other three for two reasons.  First, there was open 
democratic dialogue.  Second, representatives from 
government, the private sector and NGOs worked together as 
partners on difficult issues, whereas in the past, there was 
a lack of cooperation.  He added that the Fourth Parallel 
Forum not only concentrated on recommendations, but also 
issued concrete action plans. 
 
AND A NEW ROAD 
-------------- 
 
¶13.  Nevertheless, the task ahead for civil society promoting 
democratic reform will be a challenging one.  Al-Asbahi noted 
that "We have reached the start, not the end of the road. 
This will be the beginning of serious work and a hardship for 
us.  CSO representatives at the Forum, when they return to 
their home countries, should promote coalition building with 
CSOs, the private sector and the government.  They should 
task their governments to take this 'partnership' seriously. 
This is a task for all of us." 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶14.  The Fourth Parallel Forum was a success because its 
agenda was driven by internal civil society organizations in 
the Middle East and North Africa, not by external donors. 
According to one Embassy contact, it represented a "new phase 
and a real revolution for civil society in MENA" since it not 
only outlined problems and priorities, but came up with 
concrete solutions and action plans.  Stronger coalitions 
between the government, private sector and non-government 
organizations may provide strong momentum for promoting 
further democratic reform in the region.  End comment. 
 
¶15.  This report has been cleared by NEA/DAS Kent Patton. 
 
¶16.  Minimize considered for Sudan. 
SECHE