home > by publication type > task force reports > Strengthening Palestinian Public Institutions
Email
| Chair: | Michel Rocard |
|---|---|
| Director: | Henry Siegman, Former Senior Fellow and Director for the U.S./Middle East Project, Council on Foreign Relations |
| Publisher: | Council on Foreign Relations Press |
|---|
Release Date: June 1999
123 pages
ISBN 087609258X
$5.00
Task Force Report No. 22
The Palestinian Authority (PA) must improve its ability to govern democratically and effectively—and do so urgently—or risk losing the support of its people, according to this independent Task Force report.
The independent Task Force believes that the PA has made significant achievements to date, but recommends that it go much further in building a more participatory political system and pluralist civil society, as well as developing a free-market economy and sustainable growth. The report notes that although “the PA has achieved levels of service delivery, revenue mobilization, financial accountability, and utilization of international assistance that are at least commensurate with, and in some aspects exceed, those in countries of comparable development and income...much remains to be done.” Specifically, the PA should adopt a constitution; establish accountability for the executive branch to the legislature; centralize all public revenues and expenditures in the Ministry of Finance; and ensure the independence of the judiciary.
Opinion polls among Palestinians show “dissatisfaction with the level of public services, a perception of waste and corruption in the public administration and police, and a loss of faith in the institutions of governance, particularly the Palestinian Legislative Council and the judiciary.”
Confidence in the PA’s institutions affects its contest for legitimacy with radical elements that reject the Oslo accords and claim to do a better job than the PA at delivering certain services to the Palestinian people. This confidence bears on the PA’s ability to negotiate and compromise with Israel and affects Israel’s confidence in the PA’s ability to implement agreements. Good governance is therefore a necessary condition for the success of the peace process. The report, after conducting a comprehensive assessment of the public institutions of the PA, their structure and procedures, and their transparency and accountability, offers a number of steps the PA can take to remedy its problems.
CARL BILDT is chairman of Sweden's Moderate Party. He was prime minister of Sweden.
HANS-DIETRICH GENSCHER was foreign minister of Germany.
FELIPE GONZALEZ is deputy president of the socialist international. He was prime minister of Spain and secretary general of its Socialist Party.
ABDLATIF AL-HAMAD is director general and chairman of the board of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development in Kuwait.
LEE HAMILTON is director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He was a U.S. congressman for thirty-four years and served as chairman of the House Committee on International Relations.
DOUGLAS HURD is deputy chairman of Coutts and Co. He was foreign secretary of the United Kingdom.
NANCY KASSEBAUM BAKER was U.S. senator from Kansas.
OTTO GRAF LAMBSDORFF is chairman of the board of the Friedrich-Naumann Foundation. He was minister of the economy in Germany.
JACQUES DE LAROSIERE is an adviser of Banque Paribas. Formerly, he was managing director of the International Monetary Fund, governor of the French Central Bank, and president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
TERJE ROED-LARSEN is special adviser to the Foreign Minister of Norway. He was UN Special Coordinator in the Occupied Territories.
MIGUEL MORATINOS is European Union special envoy to the Middle East peace process. He was ambassador of Spain to Israel.
ROMANO PRODI is president-designate of the European Commission. He was prime minister of Italy.
MARIO SOARES is president of the European Movement. Formerly, he was president of Portugal.
DICK SPRING is Labor Party spokesperson and member of Parliament of Ireland. Formerly, he was deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Ireland.
DOV ZAKHEIM is chief executive officer of SPC International. He was U.S. deputy undersecretary of defense in the Reagan administration.
To order Task Force reports, Council Special Reports, and Critical Policy Choices, please call, fax, or order online from our distributor, the Brookings Institution Press: phone +1.800.537.5487, fax +1.410.516.6998.
For information on other reports that are not for sale, or for general publications information, please call +1.212.434.9516 or email publications@cfr.org.
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
The report of this bipartisan Task Force of distinguished leaders and experts represents a strong consensus on the importance of repairing America's immigration policy. It makes the case that maintaining America's political and economic leadership depends on attracting talented and hard-working immigrants, and on securing the country's borders in a smart, effective, and humane way.
This report finds that nuclear weapons will remain a fundamental element of U.S. national security in the near term, and makes recommendations on how to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. deterrent nuclear force, prevent nuclear terrorism, and strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime.
About Independent Task Forces at CFR
Complete list of Task Force reports
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
To request permission to reprint or reuse CFR material, please fill out this permissions request form (PDF), referring to the instructions on page 1.
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.