Arab League - Member States

Member States

The Arab League was founded in Cairo in 1945 by seven countries, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Transjordan (Jordan from 1946), and Yemen. There was a continual increase in membership during the second half of the 20th century, with additional 15 Arab States being admitted, with a current total of 21 member States due to Syria's suspension following the 2011 uprising.

On 22 February 2011, following the start of the Libyan civil war and the use of military force against civilians, the Arab League Secretary-General, Amr Moussa, stated that Libya's membership in the Arab League had been suspended: "the organisation has decided to halt the participation of the Libyan delegations from all Arab League sessions". This makes Libya the second country in the League's history to have a frozen membership. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi declared that the League was illegitimate, saying: "The Arab League is finished. There is no such thing as the Arab League." On 25 August 2011, Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby announced it was "about time" Libya's full member status was restored. The National Transitional Council, the partially recognised interim government of Libya, will send a representative to be seated at the Arab League meeting on 17 August to participate in a discussion as to whether to readmit Libya to the organisation.

The Arab Parliament recommended the suspension of member states Syria and Yemen on 20 September 2011, over persistent reports of disproportionate violence against regime opponents and activists during the Arab Spring. A vote on 12 November agreed to formally suspend Syria four days after the vote, giving Assad a last chance to avoid suspension. Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen voted against the motion, while Iraq abstained. A wave of criticism rose as the Arab League sent in December 2011 a commission "monitoring" Syria's violence (massacres) on its own people who protested against its tyranny. The commission was headed by Mohammad Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, who served as head of infamous Omar al-Bashir's military intelligence, while heinous war crimes including genocide were committed on his watch. Syria remains suspended.