Reports

International Commission for Security and Cooperation in West Asia
Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research
Doha, QATAR: January 5-7, 2001

The International Commission for Security and Cooperation in West Asia met for the third consecutive year to discuss its next steps under the sponsorship of several non-governmental organizations.

The Commission has been established to promote greater dialogue and cooperation on issues of peace and security among the peoples and governments of West Asia. Its members include distinguished diplomats and scholars primarily from Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and the United Nations secretariat, all in their own personal capacities.

At its first meeting in Istanbul in March 1999, the Commission identified the areas for developing mutual understanding and confidence building among the concerned states. During the second meeting held in Limassol, Cyprus, in May 2000, the Commission focused on arms control, border disputes, as well as social, economic, and cultural cooperation.

At the Doha meeting, the Commission focused on developing the framework for a Regional Center for Dialogue and Cooperation (RCDC) to promote peace, security, and development in the area. The participants agreed that such a center should be an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, and non-governmental organization that is recognized as such by the governments of the littoral states. To ensure its independence, the center should have its own Board of Trustees drawn from distinguished academic, governmental, business, and civil society leaders willing and able to bring moral and material support from both private and public sources.

To plan for the establishment of such a center, the Commission charged a Steering Committee with preparing for a larger conference to be held in Cyprus or Beirut in collaboration with other non-governmental organizations willing to assist.

The co-sponsors of the Commission include: The Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research; the Copenhagen Peace Research Institute (COPRI); the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs; the Center for Islamic and Arab Studies of the Australian National University; and the Iranian Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS).

For additional information, contact Prof. Majid Tehranian, Director, Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1600 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1111, Honolulu, HI 96814, USA; phone (1-808)955-8231; fax (1-808)955-6476; e-mail majid@hawaii.edu; website www.toda.org.

Bulletin of Regional Cooperation in the Middle East Spring 2001
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