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Middle East Programs

Working with our allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.

Libya

Content

MENASource

Mar 11, 2014

Egypt UN Delegation Critical of UN Human Rights Council Statement

By EgyptSource

During the twenty-fifth Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 7, the Egyptian delegation strongly refuted criticisms of its human rights record expressed in a joint statement of twenty-seven nations. The joint statement, which included endorsement from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Turkey, expressed “concern about the […]

North Africa

MENASource

Mar 11, 2014

Egypt’s New Government and the Workers

By Tom Rollins

Last week Egypt’s new Prime Minister, Ibrahim Mehleb, announced he was banning bottled water in government buildings.  “This step comes from my eagerness to cut spending and share the lifestyle of ordinary people,” Mehleb was cited as telling reporters. On social media, reactions fluctuated between nods of approval and criticism of a “silly PR move” […]

North Africa

In the News

Mar 11, 2014

Mezran on Attempted Sell of Libyan Oil

By Karim Mezran

Bloomberg Businessweek quotes Senior Fellow Karim Mezran on the attempts of a Libyan militia group to sell oil to North Korea:

Libya

MENASource

Mar 11, 2014

It’s Not Too Late For Libya

By Danya Greenfield

Secretary John Kerry’s attendance at the Rome Ministerial Conference on Libya last Thursday is a positive—and much-needed—signal of renewed US attention to that troubled country.

Libya

MENASource

Mar 10, 2014

Shuffling Cabinets: Reproducing Authoritarian Traditions

By Amr Hamzawy

As Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb’s new cabinet is a few days into its role, it is clear that no explanation will be offered by officials, whether from the interim president, the prime minister, or others, for the former cabinet’s resignation. This, together with media coverage of the resignation, has been reminiscent of a pre-January 2011 […]

North Africa

MENASource

Mar 10, 2014

Egypt’s Presidential Elections Law: A Breakdown

By Mai El Sadany

Bringing Egypt one step closer to achieving its transitional roadmap, on March 8, 2014, the Presidency issued the final version of its Presidential Elections Law. Although a date for the elections has not yet been set, the law clarifies a number of important requirements and guidelines for presidential candidates, as well as the nomination and […]

Elections North Africa

MENASource

Mar 8, 2014

A Drop of Light in a Sea of Darkness

By Mohammad Tolba

At the end of the second day at a conference in Beirut, I tried to avoid any distressing news as has been my habit for a long time if I want to sleep through the night, nightmare-free. I tried to steer clear of the story of the young hikers lost in a blizzard on St. […]

North Africa

MENASource

Mar 7, 2014

What Mexico Can Teach Tunisia on Electoral Gender Parity

By Cory Siskind and Duncan Pickard

Tunisia’s new constitution tackles a recurring problem in republican politics: disproportionately low representation of women in national assemblies—a fact worth considering today on International Women’s Day.

North Africa

MENASource

Mar 7, 2014

Dispatch: Libya’s Rome Conference

By Karim Mezran

Libya’s international partners and allies gathered in Rome yesterday in a show of support for the North African country’s transition to democracy since Qaddafi’s ouster in 2011.

Libya

MENASource

Mar 7, 2014

Dispatch from Cairo’s Courts: The Jazeera Trial

By Bel Trew

It was the moment the Egyptian courtroom had been waiting for: the evidence proving three jailed Al-Jazeera English journalists were involved in terrorist activity. It took almost two hours for the presiding judge Mohamed Nagi to inventory the contents of the hotel room of the “Marriot terror cell”, the nickname given by local media to […]

North Africa

Experts