The report evaluates progress towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in the Arab region and seeks to provide new ideas and alternatives to measure progress.

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   This study is divided into three major chapters. The first chapter discusses the call for creating more incentive rules for innovators in the ESCWA countries. In addition, the second chapter discusses clear legal rules in determining ownership of intellectual property rights. The third chapter deals with the legal reinforcement of the means of exploiting intellectual property rights and its role in stimulating creativity.

Millions of young people in Arab countries suffer exclusion in many areas. The aspects of this exclusion include rising unemployment, low qualifications, exacerbated illiteracy and the decline of social and political participation. Those conditions impede the progress of young people and reduce the possibility of their integration in society. They also hinder taking advantage of the ‘demographic window’ in the countries of the region and of the varied human potential that youth represents, consequently leading to slowing national and regional development.