Arab leaders made what host Tunisia called a "new beginning" by making a collective commitment here Sunday to promote domestic reform and fight international terrorism.
At the end of a two-day summit in Tunis, the heads of state also condemned for the first time attacks on all civilians "without distinction", as they pressed for a revival of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations after more than three years of deadly violence.
Egypt and other Arab countries are expected to submit the 13-point reform program to the G8 summit of leading industrial nations in the US state of Georgia on June 10.
Delegates described the program as a genuine "Arab" document aimed at undercutting US efforts to impose an alien package of political and economic reforms.
The document approved in the Tunisian capital calls on Arab countries to pursue reform at their own pace and in their own manner.
US President George W. Bush plans to use the G8 talks to launch the Greater Middle East Initiative for political and economic reform in Arab and Muslim countries, reforms Washington deems essential to easing the frustrations and prejudices that breed acts of violence like those of September 11, 2001.
However, diplomats in the region said the United States was happy with the program presented to the summit, saying at least Arab leaders were finally talking about democratic change.
In his closing statement, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali told the gathering that "the shared determination by all to realize comprehensive reforms in our countries in order to bolster democracy, human rights and promote women's rights amounts to a new beginning."
Leaders also agreed to amend the Arab League charter and set the stage for voting and institutional reforms at their next summit in Algiers in a bid to bolster their international clout, officials said.
Arab League chief Amr Mussa and Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia told reporters here that Arab leaders had agreed at the end of their two-day summit in Tunis to amend the charter, which has been in place since the 22-member grouping was founded in 1945.
The move paves the way for changes in voting procedures and enforcing league decisions, as well as the setting up of an Arab parliament and international court of justice.
During the summit here, the leaders also approved a measure concerning the operation of the league's economic and social council, which promotes job-creation schemes and joint investments, Mussa said.
Some eight other reform proposals would be left for the Algiers summit next year.
They include one to set up three kinds of voting procedures: one requiring a simple majority of members for ordinary issues, another stipulating a two-thirds majority vote for more important questions and the third calling for unanimous decision on strategic questions.
All decisions are currently taken by consensus.
Others are to set up an Arab parliament, a National Arab Security Council, an Arab Investment Bank, and a Supreme Arab Council for Culture.
Sanctions have also been envisaged for member states which fail to respect summit decisions.
The Tunis summit tasked Mussa with studying the proposed amendments.
"The goal is to stamp a serious and credible character to Arab decisions with regard to Arab and international public opinion," Ben Yahia said, adding the Arabs "must only commit themselves to things they can carry out."
Arabs and others frequently accuse the Arab League of being powerless to impose its will when it comes to issues of common Arab concern, such as resolving the Palestinian-Israeli dispute or preventing the US-led invasion of Iraq in March last year.
The reforms were based on ideas presented by several countries, including Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.
During the summit here, Algeria proposed that Arab countries take turns occupying the post of secretary general, which has until now been held by a national from Egypt, home to the pan-Arab body's headquarters.
The charter has never stipulated that Egypt or any other Arab country occupy the post.
The post was exceptionally held by a Tunisian, Chedli Klibi, while the Arab states temporarily moved the headquarters to Tunis after suspending Egypt from the league for its 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
Plans to overhaul the league were separate from the commitment leaders made here to carry out political and economic reforms in their countries, under pressure from the United States which believes that Arab political repression and old educational systems have helped breed terrorism.
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