Activities of the Regional Commissions

Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)

Joint ESCWA-World Bank Capacity Building Workshop

The Capacity Building Workshop on Agriculture and the New Trade Agenda: Capturing the Benefits for Middle East, jointly organized by ESCWA and the World Bank will be held in Beirut will be held in Beirut on 2-5 July, 2001. An agreement of cooperation between ESCWA and the World Bank will be signed shortly. About 30 participants from five selected Middle East/ESCWA member countries as well as international and regional organizations will attend the workshop.

The outcome of the WTO negotiations in Agriculture and the New Trade Agenda in the new multilateral trade talks would have significant implications for the countries in the Middle East. The capacity building workshop would aim at assisting officials of the region in evaluating their options in the various issues to be taken up in the negotiations; in formulating strategies to strengthen their negotiating stance; and in identifying country-specific action programmes/projects to further enhance their long-term capacity to benefit from international trade. The capacity building workshop would also demonstrate the use of analytical tools for agricultural policy analyses and the evaluation of specific options and strategies on how to maximize the potential benefits from the next round of multilateral trade negotiations in agriculture and the new WTO agenda. 

UN Regional Coordination Group Stresses Economic and Social Dimensions of Peace-Keeping

The annual meeting of the United Nations Regional Coordination Group which met on 6 April at the United Nations House in Beirut, brought together representatives of thirteen offices of the United Nations system in the West Asia region. They explored means of reinforcing UN regional inter-agency coordination as a crucial tool to achieve sustainable development that would contribute considerably to peace-building. The idea of these regional meeting, the fourth one over the period 1999 to 2001, is to ensure continuing cooperation among United Nations regional offices in issues of common interest.

The economic and social dimensions of peace-building, an issue which cuts across the work of most United Nations system organization was at the center of the discussions. For the ESCWA region, the question of peace building assumes special significance. The region has long suffered from armed conflicts, which have diverted sizeable resources to military expenditure, as well as from adverse economic and social conditions which are mirrored in income disparity and unemployment among others.

The participants focussed on an advocacy role in terms of building a culture of peace by exploring the possibility of establishing a center for peace-building that would address training in areas of furthering humanitarian principles in contingency situations and conflict prevention. The participants also considered capitalizing on the experience gained by war-stricken countries like Lebanon in weathering adversities associated with war, by documenting this experience and transmitting lessons learned to other nations.

ESCWA and NBN TV Launch Women Empowerment Programmes

ESCWA and Lebanon’s National Broadcasting Network (NBN) launched on 19 February, a joint progamme to advocate women empowerment and development. They jointly launched a series of TV programmes that aim at assessing the conditions of Arab women and the UN role in assisting member countries to promote the advancement of women. NBN was exclusively entrusted to produce 14 episodes of one hour each on women's critical areas of concern with the aim of advocating the advancement of women as a prerequisite for the achievement of gender equity and equality as well as sustainable development in the region.

The TV episodes would cover women and health; violence against women; women in power and decision-making, women and human rights; women and poverty; education and training of women; women and armed conflict; women and environment; women and economy; institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women and the child girl. Two additional programmes will be devoted to ESCWA's role in the advancement of Arab women and partnership in the family and the gender roles as the social dimension for the advancement of women. 

ESCWA Meeting to Develop National Statistical Systems in Countries of the Region

ESCWA organized a meeting for the Directors of the Statistical Bodies of its Member Countries with the view of developing statistical systems and providing the documented data necessary for the formulation of economic and social policy as well as monitoring the pace of development. The meeting was held from 3 to 5 April 2001, in Beirut. The meeting considered a number of important statistical issues, such as the coordination of the statistical work of ESCWA and statistical institutions in Governments as well as in relevant Arab organizations. The session considered a collection of statistical reports on specific subjects including the implementation of the 1993 System of National Accounts in the member States and approved the programme of work for the Statistics Division of ESCWA for the biennium 2002-2003. It also reviewed the project on “Development of National Gender Statistics Programmes in the Arab Countries”, the status of sectoral statistics in ESCWA States, as well as a report on the use of information technology in support of statistical work. 

ESCWA Meeting on Technology-Based Initiatives in Lebanon

ESCWA held a meeting on 23 May 2001 in Beirut, on Technology-based Initiatives in Lebanon to explore initiatives to promote new technology inputs for the Lebanese economy.

The meeting was attended by experts and representatives of the specialized United Nations agencies. It was organized by ESCWA and Berytech, one of the first technological ventures in the Arab world. Berytech is a private enterprise which is in partnership with Lebanese and International research centers, Lebanese universities, professional organizations and international agencies.

Future ESCWA activities aimed at supporting technology capacity-building initiatives, such as Berytech, will be carried out in cooperation with other organizations. ESCWA will prepare studies on the role played by capacity building initiatives, e.g., technology park and incubation schemes as well as high-technology clusters.

ESCWA will also provide assistance to its member countries in developing required human resources, in areas such as management of technology incubators, commercialization of R and D outputs, and formulation of legal and organizational frameworks. ESCWA will facilitate exchange of know-how and expertise, and provide linkages between individual initiatives and their counterparts abroad. In supporting initiatives such as Berytech, ESCWA will in effect support Lebanon's efforts in reducing the brain drain, creating employment and attracting direct foreign investments and creating new opportunities for young Lebanese entrepreneurs.

Regional Symposium on Children in the Arab World

A Regional Symposium on Children, organized by ESCWA, UNICEF's Regional Office and the League of Arab States, took place in Beirut on 24-27 April, 2001. The Symposium, which took place in preparation for the Arab High-Level Conference on Children, to be held in early July 2001, focused on the main themes of the Global Agenda for Children and reviewed the major challenges to child rights such as poverty, conflict, child labour, disability, and violence.

Preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development: ESCWA region

ESCWA has been designated by the Council of Arab Ministers responsible for Environment (CAMRE) as the regional coordinator for preparing for Rio + 10, in partnership with the League of Arab States and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).  Preparatory activities in the region will include: (a) Convening an Arab regional thematic round table meeting in ESCWA in Beirut, 9-13 April 2001, that will elaborate concerted proposals and recommend innovative approaches for expediting progress in the implementation of selected priority themes in Agenda 21; and (b) a regional stakeholders’ round table meeting which will be convened in Bahrain, 23-27 September 2001 and which will provide a platform for a multi-stakeholder dialogue. Other activities that are planned to take place in the region include special sessions and ministerial forums.