In April 2002, delegates of 160 governments, intergovernmental institutions and NGOs came together at the United Nations Second World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid, Spain, in order to revise the Vienna Plan on Ageing and establish a long-term strategy for aging populations.

The Assembly adopted a document entitled the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), which commits governments to integrate the rights and needs of older persons into national, as well as international, economic and social development policies.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and Carnegie Middle East Centre are organizing a panel discussion on “The Arab Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report: Facing Challenges and Looking Beyond 2015” to be held at 10:00 am on Friday, the 15th of November 2013 at the UN House, Riad El-Solh Square, Beirut. This panel discussion is a follow up to the launching ceremony of the 2013 Arab MDGs Report that took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in September of this year.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) is currently leading efforts to strengthen national capacities in the Arab region on developing green production sectors. On 29-30 September, ESCWA, in partnership with the Economic Commission for Africa’s Sub-regional Office for North Africa (ECA/SRO-NA) and the Moroccan Cleaner Production Center (CMPP), organizes a regional workshop at the Golden Tulip Farah Casablanca Hotel, Morocco, entitled “Innovative Technologies for Waste Management in the Arab Region-Paving the Way for the Transition to a Green Economy.”

Under the patronage of Egyptian Minister of Transport Mohammad Mansour, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) is holding the “Inter-regional Seminar on the Economic Assessment of International Transport Linkages and on Transport Facilitation” at the Grand Tiba Rose Hotel (the Air force Defense Club), Cairo, on 26-28 June 2007.