Minorities in the Arab world after the uprisings: citizenship or exile?

Leila Nicolas --- Rahbani

Faculty member at LIU University

Researcher in International affairs

Activist in the field of rule of law, peacebuilding, and dialogue

Beirut- Lebanon

leilanicolasr@gmail.com

 Presented at “the outcome of the Arab Spring” conference

Athens – Greece, 2-4 Feb. 2012

Contents

Introduction. 3

Minorities in Arab world. 4

Overview and estimates. 4

Historical background. 5

A-     Before the independence. 5

B-      Creation of the Arab states. 6

C-      Military coups. 6

D-     Minorities in Iraq  after 2003. 7

Arab uprisings: the outcome. 8

-        Syria. 8

-        Libya. 9

-        Tunisia. 9

-        Egypt. 9

Suggested Solutions. 11

1-      “Power sharing” solution. 11

2-      “Bill of rights” solution. 12

Conclusion