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Aboul Gheit: US Abandonment of Global Leadership Led to Turkey, Iran’s Violations

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Arab League's secretary general, gestures as he speaks at the Rome Mediterranean summit MED 2018 in Rome, Italy November 22, 2018. Reuters/Max Rossi
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Arab League's secretary general, gestures as he speaks at the Rome Mediterranean summit MED 2018 in Rome, Italy November 22, 2018. Reuters/Max Rossi
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Aboul Gheit: US Abandonment of Global Leadership Led to Turkey, Iran’s Violations

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Arab League's secretary general, gestures as he speaks at the Rome Mediterranean summit MED 2018 in Rome, Italy November 22, 2018. Reuters/Max Rossi
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Arab League's secretary general, gestures as he speaks at the Rome Mediterranean summit MED 2018 in Rome, Italy November 22, 2018. Reuters/Max Rossi

The international system is going through a profound transformation in terms of relations between major powers and the possibilities of competition or conflict between them, said Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

He pointed out that the US withdrawal from the global leadership has led to turmoil in several regions, including the Arab region.

The senior official called on Arabs to highly consider these changes to draw conclusions and look ahead.

In his lecture on Wednesday to the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, he said Iran, Turkey, and Israel pose a varying imminent threat.

Aboul Gheit noted that the US repositioning in the region tempts certain regional powers to cross the red lines in an unprecedented manner.

He referred to the Iranian behavior and its attacks against the Arab Gulf last summer, as well as Turkey’s interventions in Syria, and then more recently in Libya.

Aboul Gheit identified technology development, climate change and migration as three main issues that cause a lot of turmoil in both developed and developing worlds, stressing that Arab countries should prepare to confront these accelerating changes that will have repercussions on their future.

The Secretary-General pointed in particular to the negative role played by the communication and information technology in reshaping people's awareness by using “big data” and algorithms in designing publicity for a specific period in the future.

He also highlighted the various complications raised by the migration issue, especially in light of the sharp political polarization it raises in Western societies.

He stressed the need for these societies, other advanced economies in Japan and China for high-skilled young immigrants to bridge their skills gap in light of its rapidly aging population.

Aboul Gheit affirmed that about 100,000 scientists, engineers, doctors, and experts emigrate every year from eight Arab countries, which negatively affects the development efforts in the Arab world.

Climate change will also have serious impacts on the Arab region, being the world’s largest region facing food deficit.

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Long Waits for Canadian Visas Leave Gazans in Limbo

Reem Alyazouri and her husband, Ashraf Alyazouri, who escaped Gaza and reached Toronto, pose for a photograph in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 30, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio
Reem Alyazouri and her husband, Ashraf Alyazouri, who escaped Gaza and reached Toronto, pose for a photograph in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 30, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio
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Long Waits for Canadian Visas Leave Gazans in Limbo

Reem Alyazouri and her husband, Ashraf Alyazouri, who escaped Gaza and reached Toronto, pose for a photograph in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 30, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio
Reem Alyazouri and her husband, Ashraf Alyazouri, who escaped Gaza and reached Toronto, pose for a photograph in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 30, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

Reem Alyazouri's escape from a bombarded Gaza City through Egypt ended in Toronto on Sept. 4.
But as she and her family wrestle with applications for work permits and health insurance, her mother and father remain stuck in Cairo waiting for Canadian visas after fleeing Israel's war in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza seven months ago, Reuters said.
"My mind is busy with my parents," she said. "I feel guilty, believe me. When I came here and I left them behind they told us, 'Go and start your life. ... Don't worry about us.'"
The family is trying to come to Canada through a temporary residence program for Gazans with relatives here. Alyazouri's brother Hani Abushomar, a Canadian citizen, applied for six of his family members to join him in Canada hours after the program was launched in January.
Nine months and a harrowing exit from Gaza later, his mother and father remain stranded in Cairo. They completed the last major step of the visa application process - submitting biometric information - six months ago.
They are among thousands of Palestinians waiting for visas from Canada, a country that prides itself on welcoming people from around the world.
Canada said in May it would bring in up to 5,000 Gazans - expanding on a pledge in December to take in 1,000 from the Palestinian enclave. Months later, just over 300 have arrived, with 698 applications approved out of over 4,200 submitted.
Reuters spoke with multiple applicants who said they have been waiting for months since submitting biometric information, dashing their hopes of a swift reunion with relatives in Canada.
Canada has made no promises on how long it would take to process visas for Gazans fleeing the conflict and says it has little control over who is able to leave the enclave.
A cross-border attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 last year, in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage, ignited the war that has flattened most of Gaza, displacing most of its 2.3 million people and killing more than 41,800 people, according to Gaza health authorities.
Canada's focus "is on keeping families together and bringing them to safety as quickly as possible," immigration department spokesperson Julie Lafortune wrote in an email. The primary barrier is getting out of Gaza, she added.
Application processing times vary "based on the details and complexity of each file, and many factors are outside of the IRCC's control," Lafortune said, referring to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada department.
The immigration department would not say how many applicants have submitted biometric information and are waiting in Egypt.
BARRIERS TO ENTRY
Immigration lawyers say the wait for Gazans is longer than those faced by other groups fleeing conflict or disaster, and that the small numbers approved contrast with hundreds of thousands of visas granted to Ukrainians under a similar program offering temporary status.
One Canadian immigration expert said some of the visa requirements for Gazans - such as having to provide employment information dating back to when they were 16 - are unusual.
"Canada has a lot of experience in designing temporary, ad hoc programs and this one has an inordinate amount of barriers and hurdles for people to meet," said University of Ottawa law professor Jamie Chai Yun Liew, who focuses on immigration.
Liew said the Gaza program is moving slower than other Canadian temporary immigration programs, including those for Ukranians and survivors of the 2023 earthquake in Syria and Türkiye.
As of April, Canada had approved nearly 963,000 applications under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel since March 2022. So far nearly 300,000 people have arrived in Canada under that program.
Australia has granted about 3,000 visitor visas to people from Gaza since October 2023 and about 1,300 have arrived in the country, said Graham Thom, advocacy coordinator with the Refugee Council of Australia, a research and advocacy group.
'EVERYTHING IS UNCERTAIN'
Gazans who have managed to get to Egypt live in limbo, surviving off savings or donations, without access to government services, said immigration lawyer Debbie Rachlis, adding she represents dozens in that position. Many are survivors of trauma.
They beat the odds just by getting that far, and for most, the escape came at great personal risk. The Gaza City neighborhood where Alyazouri and Abushomar's family lived has been "erased," he said. They were forced to flee from their home multiple times. Alyazouri's daughter was injured.
"Something in my heart is broken," Alyazouri said.
The Canadian government said it continues to put forward the names of applicants to local Israeli officials, "but does not ultimately decide who can exit Gaza."
"Israel has agreed to Canada's request for the exit of extended family members in Gaza as part of their expanding humanitarian efforts. However, at present, the Rafah border crossing is closed,” Lafortune wrote, referring to the main entry point between Gaza and Egypt.
Abushomar has been waiting with his mother and father for visas in Egypt, where people in their position lack papers to work, access health care or open a bank account. He says he will eventually have to return to Canada to work and worries for his parents, especially his mother, who has dementia and joint problems.
For now, Abushomar says, "Everything is uncertain."