Report urges Arab world reforms

By Jon Leyne
BBC News, Amman

Arab women's rights are still limited, says the report

A report on the Arab world produced under the auspices of the United Nations has strongly condemned the lack of political and social freedom there.

The report was launched in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

It calls for sweeping political and legal reforms and describes how Arab rulers maintain control through states of emergency and compliant judges.

In many Arab countries the right to political participation has become little more than a ritual, it says.

Freedom of expression is limited, as are the rights of women and minorities.

The authors of the report, the third on Arab human development, condemn the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and the US-led occupation of Iraq.

But the report stresses that the problems in the Arab World stem from within and it warns of the danger of violent conflict within Arab society unless something is done.

The report calls for widespread reforms, the abolition of states of emergency, guarantees for the rights of minorities, and guarantees of the independence of judges.

There's nothing radically new about these criticisms or proposals, but they do come from a distinguished group of Arab intellectuals endorsed by the UN.

And the report is, to say the least, very timely.