MENA Program Highlights MENA Grantee Spotlight 2006 Middle East and North Africa Program Descriptions: Afghanistan Algeria Bahrain Egypt Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Morocco Saudi Arabia Syria Tunisia Turkey West Bank/Gaza Strip Yemen MENA Regional Jump to Regional Programs

Despite setbacks and new challenges that swept the region, NED remained firm in supporting the efforts of civic groups and activists to bring democratic change and consolidate reform. While regional politics on war and terrorism overshadowed domestic agendas in public debates, NED expanded its program in support of trade unions, youth organizations, business and professional associations, and political coalitions. NED support helped civic groups build institutions and associations throughout the region and advance programs on citizen participation, rule of law, transparency, women and human rights, and freedom of expression.

Politics throughout the region were dominated by state sponsored political parties and religious opposition groups, often squeezing out democrats during contentious election campaigns revolving around issues of accountability, freedom of expression, and labor rights. However, calls for democratic and civic reforms became prevalent in the popular press and were echoed by government officials and Islamist political opposition.

Regional concerns over security overshadowed local politics. Relentless violence in Iraq, factional fighting among the Palestinians, the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon have all heightened security concerns and encouraged governments to strengthen their grip on power and further radicalized Islamic opposition groups. Reformers and democrats had less political space and faced more risks. Public opinion turned against groups working with foreign organizations. But despite intimidation and pressure, democracy activists participated in local and national elections held in Palestine, Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen, and Iran.

Brave civic campaigners, human rights defenders, and activists in Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and Bahrain were arrested, detained, or imprisoned. In closed political environments in Syria, Libya and Iran, NED support built the capacity of emerging civil society organizations, created web-based forums, facilitated meetings, and brought together activists and intellectuals to develop ideas and form networks.

At the forefront of the democracy struggle were independent media groups and journalists who continued to challenge governments on freedom of speech and expression. In Yemen, Morocco, Jordan, and Tunisia, scores of journalists and media groups ended up in courts or detention centers. To address the growing needs of the independent media in their fight for freedom of expression, NED supported groups like the International Center for Journalists, Article 19: Campaign for Global Freedom of Expression, and AmmanNet. These groups provide informational resources, capacity building, and advocacy campaign training for journalists and civil society organizations in the region struggling to advance legislative reforms, awareness of journalist abuse, and protections against violations of freedom of the press.

Within an increasingly diminishing space to maintain reform efforts, democrats and civic groups in Palestine participated in historic legislative elections. The outcome brought Hamas to power, triggered international sanctions, crippled the Palestinian economy, halted virtually all government activity, and erupted in sustained factional violence between Fateh and Hamas supporters. Under exceptionally harsh circumstances, NED maintained a solid program of support to civic and democratic projects to promote nonviolent conflict resolution, strengthen political participation by women and young people, encourage the development of strong and independent NGOs, and advocate for democratic reform.

The war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon set back the clock on Lebanon's reconstruction and shifted public attention away from building national accountable democratic institutions and back to pre-civil war power struggles. NED support ensured the continuity of a strong civic voice and reform platforms for democrats and activists among women, young people, business associations, and local communities.

NED programs in Iraq continued in the midst of growing insurgency and deteriorating security. NED helped build the capacity of civic groups throughout Iraq in projects to combat sectarian tensions and support the country's fragile political transition. Grantees like the Student League for Human Rights engaged university students from all over the country in dialogues on national reconciliation. ACILS and CIPE provided critical capacity-building development training for Iraqi labor unions and the business sector, respectively, including working with Iraqi political parties to develop economic policy platforms, as well as working to facilitate development of a national economic policy and advocacy program for Iraqi labor unions.

Increased violence and deteriorating security posed serious challenges to the nascent democratic order and the authority of the Karzai government in Afghanistan. In rural areas, NED supported Afghan civic organizations in civic participation programs and engagement in local democracy projects. NED also supported programs to strengthen media organizations, raise civic awareness among young people and women, and engage local power structures and community leaders. The Welfare Association for Development of Afghanistan (WADAN) ran an extensive voter education program, disseminating democratic principles, and engaging local power holders (maliks) and elders in support of local elections.

For the first time in Kuwait, women candidates and voters were allowed to participate in elections. In Yemen and Bahrain, opposition candidates fought unprecedented election battles. Breaking new ground in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, NED support helped strengthen civil society, broaden the political space, and advance reform agendas for freedom of expression, good governance, and promotion of free market economic principles. ACILS's gulf regional program helped to strengthen the capacity of trade unions in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Yemen; NDI expanded its capacity building training for local council representatives; and through support to a local polling center in Kuwait, IRI helped politicians and activists reach out to citizens and engage in local issues.

While the Egyptian government used emergency laws and the threat of extremism to reduce political space; attack journalists, judges, and politicians; and shut down core institute programs, NED supported grassroots groups in rural communities. NED grantees like the Rural Studies Center and National Association for the Defense of Rights and Freedoms opened new doors for activists and promoted political participation of women and farmers in rural areas of Egypt. In Cairo, NED supported the Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies to raise youth awareness of the work of Parliament and improve communication between members of Parliament and university students.

In its top-down political and economic reforms, Morocco fell short in meeting social, economic, and political reform targets and needed to expand its nascent independent sector. NED supported Moroccan activists to strengthen the capacity of new civil society groups focused on the empowerment of women, civic education for youth, human rights monitoring, and citizen participation on the local level. In neighboring Algeria, NED support was critical to groups at the forefront of government accountability, such as the Collective of Families of the Disappeared in Algeria, the sole advocate for the establishment of an independent truth and justice commission to redress past human rights abuses.