Jordanian Minister of Transport Lina Chbib will inaugurate the 14th Session of ESCWA’s Committee on Transport hosted in Amman on 9 and 10 October 2013, at the Kempinski Hotel.

Profiling what we care about is essential to assess progress, acknowledge gaps, and develop further understandings. In essence, this is why the applications of science and technology and the role they play are crucial for the socio-economic development of the region and its integration.

By initiative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) on International Women’s Day, 58 Arab figures from various intellectual backgrounds today decried violence against women in an appeal that they signed, cognizant of the challenges faced by women in the process of democratic transition in the Arab region. It was circulated in member countries undergoing political transition (Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen) as well as in the ESCWA host country, Lebanon. Below is the complete text of the appeal:

Refugees and internally displaced persons are still ongoing crises in Iraq and in many countries in the Arab region, not only as a result to the armed conflicts, but also as economic and social challenges. These crises are burdening the affected Arab governments and societies from finding comprehensive solutions. The challenges and threats of the refugees’ crisis exceed the national levels, currently it is one of the most fundamental humanitarian crises at the international level. It grabbed the attention of most of the International organizations and governments, working together to draft resolutions and policies to subside this influx and its dimensions. Furthermore, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and mainly in the Goal 16, is considered among the most emphasized plans dealing with issues of refugees, immigrants, and internally displaced persons.
In fact, refugees and internally displaced persons are not only the most vulnerable groups in terms of the basic needs; food, shelter, and medical healthcare, but they are also among the most marginalized groups. They suffer from exclusion, discrimination, and oppression, not only in the hosting country, but also in their own, posing the threat of fragmentation to the social fabric. Analyzing the reasons behind the problems of refugees and internally displaced persons in Iraq by using the approach of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the Goal 16, will help us to assess the challenges and obstacles the refugees may face, to identify their scarcities, and to draft solutions. Using this approach will also allow us to settle the appropriate plans and frames needed, first to ensure integration to all refugees in the hosting community, and second to create the appropriate environment for the refugees to return to the areas they abandoned.