Declaration of Sarajevo
For the Establishment of the Arab Democrats Network
and the Renewal of Hope in the Arab Reform Movement
October 8, 2023
We, the citizens of the Arab world…
▪ In honor of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for freedom and dignity in the arenas of change during the Arab Spring revolutions and those that preceded and followed them.
▪ Acknowledging our responsibilities towards the victims of tyranny, including prisoners of conscience and the oppressed, and our duty to alleviate their suffering and injustice.
▪ Recognizing the challenges our Arab region faces, caught between the hammer of dictatorship and the anvil of populist extremism, while the democratic model worldwide is declining.
▪ Believing in our nation’s capability to attain liberation, freedom, dignity, democracy, and development through unwavering determination, relentless struggle, and solidarity among the free people.
▪ Fulfilling our duty to future generations, who deserve a bright and secure future, stable and flourishing homelands, and increased values of dignity, freedom, and democracy.
▪ Firmly convinced that the democratic system alone can build a state of law and institutions that serve its people, ensuring justice and freedom, and upholding human dignity.
▪ Recognizing that only democratic states have the potential to create a unified Arab space that fulfills the aspirations of Arab peoples and eases the lives of millions of Arabs.
▪ Understanding that oppression, whether the old rigid type or the new populist one, holds no future other than further drowning our nations in poverty, oppression, division, and conflict.
▪ Convinced that mature and robust democracies are the ones capable of facing the major transformations shaping humanity today, such as climate change and artificial intelligence.
.. hereby declare the following principles at the conclusion of the “Democratic Transition in the Arab World: Roadmap” conference held on October 7-8, 2023, in the city of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a city of captivating beauty, generous hospitality, and a rich history:
First: Establishing a network of Arab democrats that brings together activists for democracy from all Arab countries, irrespective of their age groups, intellectual backgrounds, or political affiliations. This network is a horizontal platform with the goal of coordinating efforts among Arab democrats and those with a hopeful future vision, armed with free thought and positive values. Its aim is to empower democracy throughout the region and disseminate its culture among different segments of the population in all Arab countries. The Arab Democrats Network also seeks to build bridges, forge relationships, and form alliances with all democratic forces in the region and the world to confront despotic and populist tendencies, and to influence the regional system that seeks to hinder democratic transformation paths, driven by selfish and short-term interests.
Second: Adopting a clear roadmap to support and accelerate the paths of democratic transition in the region, contributing to their maturation and steering them away from emotionalism, tendencies of victimization, and hasty reactions. This entails creating common ground among Arab elites, uniting the voices of Arab political forces on the principles of democracy, while recognizing the right to differ in political programs and ideological affiliations, as well as the right to reach the helm of governance through free and fair elections. It involves formulating significant structural and institutional reforms in the fields of politics, economy, and society, innovating solutions to major challenges facing our nations, not just in terms of rights but also in climate change, energy, demographic shifts, and technological developments.
Third: A commitment to joint collective action through peaceful means, whether it is political, intellectual, legal, or media-related, to achieve victory for the Arab democratic project and defeat the alliance of tyranny, corruption, and subservience in the region. This reflects the interconnectedness of paths in Arab countries, promoting a shared destiny among Arab peoples. This requires a significant collective effort to educate the new generations in the peaceful struggle, strategies for change and their conditions, good governance, social justice, civil participation, organizing popular movements, and building leadership capacities using modern technologies. This will enable the new generations to inherit the torch and realize the hopes of their fathers and the dreams of their ancestors.
We call upon the honorable members of our nation and its democratic forces to join us in the “Arab Democrats Network,” unifying efforts with us based on commonalities and transcending differences, in order to secure the conditions for victory in the upcoming battles to resume or advance stalled democratic paths. We are all determined to exert efforts, harness energies, and make sacrifices to close the chapter of tyranny, corruption, and subordination in our countries in the near future and to establish the principle of free and dignified citizenship in our lands, forging effective integration among our Arab peoples based on freedom, dignity, and democracy.