United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro will open the 13th Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) Meeting at 09:15 am on November 3 at the UN House-Beirut.

In addition to Migiro, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN-ESCWA Executive Secretary Bader Omar AlDafa will deliver an opening statement at the meeting.

This year’s RCM Meeting, which will last until Wednesday 4 November, will be held jointly with the Regional Directors Team (RDT) (and it is the 2nd expanded meeting of the RDT), as a result of the combined efforts of both teams to address the potential and challenges of coordinated UN work in the region .

The aim of this meeting is to discuss broad issues of regional relevance, to address the lessons learned and the challenges faced in coordinating joint activities, and to outline the way forward, looking to strengthen the work and role of both the RCM and the RDT. It will also allow for the reflection on priority areas identified by both mechanisms in order to arrive to a concrete work arrangement that is efficient and of benefit to all.

The meeting will review all the related issues such the adoption of the RCM-TOR, the regional responses to global crises, the Human Rights in the Arab World, thematic interventions etc…In addition to that, there will be a presentation on the “Regional Mapping Study: Priority Areas of Work for UN agencies in Arab region”, as it was recommended to be implemented in the 12th RCM meeting held last year in September 2008.

The RCM intends to strengthen coherence and cooperation among UN organizations in the Arab region; exchange information at the inter-agency level; and facilitate coordination and promote joint action in order to better serve the countries of the region and to maximize combined impact of the UN work.