In the context of her visit to the Kingdom of Morocco, to take part in the Second High Level Meeting on Democratic Transitions, which ESCWA held in Rabat on 5 and 6 February 2013, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf visited Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane at the Council of Ministers Headquarters. The meeting was attended by Moroccan Minister of State Abdallah Baha. Discussions tackled the support ESCWA could give to shoulder Moroccan national efforts to further national development.

On 8 February 2013, ESCWA staff members had a grim date with the memorial ceremony for one of their finest colleagues, the Safety and Security Section’s Seargant Haytham Tohmeh, who laid down the arms in his battle with illness before January closed its curtains. Staff members of the Commission came together for a memorial service to remember their colleague as he was, a dedicated professional who embodied the ideals of the international organization since 1 August 2004, the day he officially became a United Nations employee.

On 8 March 2013, ESCWA commemorated International Women’s Day in its Beirut headquarters, in the presence of UN officials, representatives of non-governmental organizations working on women’s rights, and a host of activists, media and academia.

Engaging in regional and global processes, enhancing policy coherence, and promoting coordination on priority issues were the focus areas of the 18th meeting of the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) held on 15 March 2013 at the UN House in Beirut. The meeting, which was attended by regional directors and representatives of UN agencies and regional partners, was inaugurated by ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf, and League of Arab States (LAS) Assistant Secretary-General for Social Affairs Faeqa Saeed Alsaleh.