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Introduction

The Council of the Arab League (League Council) consists of heads of state and representatives from each member state to the LAS. Each member state is given a single vote. The League Council makes decisions at three levels:

Summits of Heads of States (Arab League Summit)

The Arab League Summit is the highest decision-making body within the LAS and consists of heads of states from each member state. These meetings take place in Cairo and are held annually in March, preceded by a meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs who prepare the Summit agenda. Additional sessions can be held at the request of a member state or the Secretary General.

The Arab League Summit is responsible for:

  • Appointing the Secretary General of the LAS
  • Accepting new member states
  • International and regional policy concerns
  • Security matters related to the Arab countries
  • Resolutions, reports and recommendations presented by the Council at the level of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs
  • Amendments to the Arab League Charter

How does it help tackle violence against women?

As the highest-decision making authority, the Arab League’s Council has the ability to raise women’s rights and violence against women as an area of international and regional concern and adopt measures to address these concerns.

Note: Currently, there is no opportunity for CSOs or other civil society actors to directly engage with the Summits of Heads of States, though there have been parallel forums organised by CSOs to try influencing their agenda. There have also been occasions where CSOs have provided recommendations to be addressed by the Summit.

Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs

After the Arab League Summits, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs is the 2nd highest decision-making body in the LAS. The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs meet twice a year in Cairo – in March and September – preceded by meetings of the Permanent Representatives. There is also the possibility of additional sessions (i.e. ‘extraordinary sessions’) at the request of two or more member states, or if agreement on the additional session was reached at the previous meeting.

The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs are responsible for:

  • Agreeing on decisions to be considered by the Summit (at March meeting)
  • Implementation of the LAS’s policies, including follow-up on the Summit’s decisions
  • Consider issues referred to it by the Permanent Representatives, individual member states or the Secretary General
  • Resolving disagreements between states parties, taking additional measures in cases where aggression is taken against a state
  • Creation of technical committees

How does it help tackle violence against women?

As the second highest decision-making authority, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs also represents an opportunity to raise concern for the state of women’s rights throughout the region and adopt measures to address violence against women. These measures can also be put onto the Arab League Summits agenda for consideration.

Note: Currently, there is no opportunity for CSOs or other civil society actors to directly engage with the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. However, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs does consider issues referred to it by member states. Therefore, there may be an opportunity for CSOs to work at national level in order to tackle VAW at the regional level.

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