United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) Rima Khalaf pointed out today that it is not an easy matter for a United Nations entity to conclude that a State has established an apartheid regime. In recent years, some have labelled Israeli practices as racist, while others have warned that Israel risks becoming an apartheid State. A few have raised the question as to whether in fact it already has.

Famed American author Ernest Hemingway once said that retirement is the ugliest word in the language. This is mostly true for those who let the word become a state, but not to Anhar Hegazi, whose dedication to her work comes “from love,” as she puts it. Determined and dynamic, Hegazi is well known around ESCWA, where she is the Head of the Sustainable Development and Productivity Division (SDPD).  The Information team spoke with her shortly before retirement, and she had a few words to say about her work in the Regional Commission, the achievements of her division, and on life.

Ministerial delegates participating in the 24th Ministerial Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) called on member countries to make available up-to-date and precise national statistics on youth unemployment; and collect periodic data on all youth-related issues, including employment, education and health, from such sources as administrative records, population censuses, and household and specialized surveys, with a view to establishing national databases on the issues of employment and unemployment and their implications for youth, and for