Conventional wisdom, based mainly on surveyed household income distribution statistics, suggests that inequality is generally low in Arab countries. At the same time, little attention has been devoted to social inequalities, whether in terms of outcomes or opportunities. This column introduces a forthcoming report, which offers a different narrative: based on the largest research project on the subject to date and covering 12 Arab countries, the authors argue that the region is caught in an inequality trap.

On 17 April 2014, the anniversary of the Syrian Independence day, the United Nations House in Beirut received 100 Syrian young men and women who were brought together by the "National Agenda for the Future of Syria" program ESCWA launched in 2012. Participants gathered to exchange views on the program and its aims, establishing thereby a communication mechanism that would ensure their participation in all stages of implementation of the said program.

Participants in the “National Conference on Integrated Social Policy in Egypt” held by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) and the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity on 7 and 8 February 2007 at the Pyramisa Cairo Hotel will discuss studies on the success stories in a number of developing and advanced countries like Tunisia, the Republic of South Korea, Malaysia, Norway, and Canada with respect to integrated social policy (ISP).

UNESCWA Executive Secretary Mervat Tallawy presented the topics to be covered by Arab ministers participating in the UNESCWA 24th Ministerial Session, chiefly: the New Challenges in the Region and their Impact on the Work of UNESCWA; Facing Youth Unemployment Problems in the UNESCWA Region; Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in the UNESCWA Region: the Damascus Declaration; and Review of the Progress Made by Yemen in the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the decade 2001-2010.