The proceedings of the Arab Social-Democratic Forum concluded with the Rabat Declaration, the text of which is as follows:

“We, the parties, members of the Arab Social-Democratic Forum, gathered on 24 and 25 June at the invitation of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces and in implementation of the decision of the Cairo meeting of 20 January 2013, express our complete satisfaction and pride regarding the high level of partisan representation of the 12 social-democratic and socialist parties of the Arab world, which has constituted a historic event in the path of our common activism.

We also welcome the frank and in-depth debate that enriched the Forum's sessions, whether regarding its political identity and organisational lists, or concerning the structuring of its bodies relating to women and youth.

We recall that our initiative for the creation of this Forum is part of the Arab dynamic and the revolts of our peoples who aspire to freedom, dignity, and democracy, which are themselves the founding values of this Forum. We bow before the martyrs who lost their lives on the battlefields facing tyranny and despotism, and we announce the continuation of our adherence to this movement, through the consolidation of a coalition framework for the social-democratic current in the Arab world and the translation of the demands of the Arab peoples into renewable visions, well-conceived strategies, and political programmes based on common values and principles, open to cultural diversity and political multipartyism, capable of strengthening the rule of law and consolidating the values of citizenship, social justice, and human rights.

In this context, the Forum approved the document explaining its political vision, adopted the organisational lists that allowed for the creation of a council composed of all participating parties as well as the organisational commission, and endorsed the recommendations of the Youth Union and the Women's Commission, which announced the constitution of its organisational structures.

As part of the Forum's proceedings, a meeting on Al Qods was organised, which allowed for the unveiling of Israeli colonialist, racist, and genocidal practices aimed at Judaizing this Palestinian Arab city.

The meeting concluded that it is imperative to engage in the path of civil activism with a view to facing all these practices and consolidating the identity of Al Qods in response to the call of the First Secretary of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces, who called at the closing of this conference for the search for new forms of activism to impose sanctions on Israel, boycott its products, and proceed with the withdrawal of its investments.

The Forum decided to hold its next meeting in occupied Al Qods and to charge the Organisation Commission with beginning the necessary preparations for this event.”

We will return to this in our next edition.