Resources

A decade marked for accelerated action and delivery towards sustainable development has been disrupted by a global health threat that has severely impacted the Arab region. The focus now is on urgent action to save lives and repair livelihoods. This crisis is a stark reminder of why an efficient and effective public sector is the first line of defence in addressing systemic risks. This perilous pandemic is spreading through the Arab region at a…

The first ESCWA Award on Advancing Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women was presented by Ms. Rima Khalaf, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), to three staff members. The award is delivered for the first time and constitutes a milestone for ESCWA, which is integrating gender perspectives in its plans, policies and programmes. At a ceremony held…

In Latin America and the Caribbean, a large number of innovations and reforms linked to the promotion of open government occur in subnational territories. That is the scale on which governments can collaborate with citizens and other actors more directly and closely. The creation of spaces and mechanisms for participation, transparency and accountability allows those who inhabit the territories to have a greater impact on public policies,…

Laws and regulations related to access to information and openness are very important for the implementation of open government principles. These laws cover several areas, such as access to information, protection of personal data, citizen participation and anti-corruption. However, the access information law is the basis and core stone for open government. The adoption of this law, and its implementation are of great importance for launching…

Building on the findings of the Arab Sustainable Development Report 2020 (ASDR 2020), the first in the region to offer a quantitative and qualitative analysis of all 17 SDGs, ESCWA and the WHO EMRO are jointly organizing a high-level discussion in collaboration with UNICEF and UNFPA on:   - What is COVID-19 telling us about the region’s progress on SDG 3 and efforts to ensure the health and well-being of 430+ million people in the Arab world…

The report contributes to  three reflections that could be a little light on the current debate; The first is that there must necessarily be a reformulation of the seventeen SDGs or in any case a prioritization of their implementation. In this line, and in line with the proposal of authors specialized in development and what is expressed by international organizations themselves, the collaborative action between the State and society should…

Initiative: Justicia Digital: La visión 360º de la Seguridadded. Institution: Ministerio de Justicia de España Problem: Traditional forms of accessing, using and sharing judicial information, through physical access to documentation, was slow, cumbersome, difficult to access and prone to security challenges. The Ministry of Justice has worked to streamline and digitize judicial procedures to benefit both professionals working in the area and…

ESCWA is organizing a series of training webinar on Groundwater Management in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The training is the culmination of collaborative efforts by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, the Arab Integrated Water Resources Management Network (AWARENET) and the International Network for Capacity Development in Sustainable Water Management (Cap-Net).  The aim of the training is to improve…