Australia and the Arab-Israeli conflict: from ‘choosing the least of a number of evils’ to ‘strong backers of a two-state solution’

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Since the early days of Israel’s creation, the Australian Government’s position on the Arab-Israeli conflict has been of much public and political interest. The Parliamentary Library has just published two comprehensive Background Notes, Australia and the Middle East conflict: a history of key Government statements (1947–2007) and The Rudd and Gillard Governments and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: November 2007–May 2012, which outline the evolution of Australia’s position on the dispute and proposed solutions by exploring public statements made by each Australian Government over the past 65 years.

The expulsion of Syrian diplomats

Image source: Voice of America

On 29 May 2012 the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Bob Carr, announced that the highest ranking Syrian diplomat in Australia, Chargé d'Affaires Jawdat Ali, was being expelled from the country in response to recent atrocities in Syria. Ali and one other Syrian diplomat were given 72 hours to leave Australia.

Syria’s constitutional referendum—‘quite laughable’ or ‘better late than never’?



'Down with Bashar al-[Assad]'. Image source: Flikr user Jan Sefti

On Sunday 26 February 2012 Syria conducted a referendum on a new constitution. An amended constitution is one of the concessions promised by the Syrian Government in response to long-running unrest. Votes are currently being counted, and results should be released in coming days. This post briefly discusses the proposed changes to the constitution, as well as domestic and international reactions to the referendum.

The Egyptian constitutional referendum of March 2011: a new beginning?

The ousting of the Egyptian Government in February 2011 was followed by a referendum on constitutional changes, held on 19 March. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the interim ruling body following the departure of President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February, suspended the 1971 constitution and dissolved parliament on 13 February. A drafting committee of jurists was appointed to write proposed constitutional amendments, the idea being that once a referendum on the changes was held, parliamentary, followed by presidential elections, could be held.

Libya and the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1973

The wave of protests sweeping across the Middle East in recent months has seen demands for democratic reforms and regime change in several countries, including Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain. However, Libya quickly became the focus of international attention as government forces began firing upon their own civilians with heavy weaponry, and bombing population centres from the ground and air. An overview of how the unrest evolved into a humanitarian crisis is covered in more detail in a previous post. As the world’s attention turned to condemnation, calls for UN intervention grew stronger and more insistent. Following the failure of the Libyan Government to heed the warnings issued on 26 February under UNSCR 1970, on 17 March the UN Security Council ultimately passed UNSCR 1973 authorising member states to ‘take all necessary measures’ to protect Libyan civilians. This included the declaration of a no-fly zone over Libya, but specifically excluded a UN-mandated occupying ground force. Outlined below are brief answers in response to some of the frequently asked questions on the issue.

The Libyan conflict in the context of Middle East revolutions

Over the past three months a wave of popular dissent triggered by long-standing grievances over poor living standards and insufficient domestic reforms has swept across the Middle East and North Africa. Thousands of citizens in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and other regional countries demanded a change of political leadership, and immediate social, political and economic reforms.