The Executive Committee plays an important role in steering and coordinating all of the Commission’s activities, tracking the implementations of recommendations and the application of discussed agendas, as well as following up on important regional and global issues including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) joined the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in condemning in the strongest terms the shelling of the Jabalia Elementary Girls’ School on Wednesday, 30 July 2014. The targeted UNRWA-run school was a United Nations-designated shelter in Gaza and a safe haven for 3,300 civilians who had sought refuge there under the banner of the United Nations and international law.

To mark World Water Day 2014, ESCWA cooperated with the Association of the Friends of Ibrahim Abdel Al, the Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI) and the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in holding a seminar entitled "The Water-Energy Nexus: Issues and Challenges", on 21 March, at the Order of the Press in Beirut.

Director of ESCWA Sustainable Development and Productivity Division Roula Majdalani today said that much can be done to increase energy efficiency in most Arab countries, which, in coming years, will suffer from the dangers of falling short of meeting the increased demand for power that will rise by 115 percent during the years 2011-2020. Majdalani was speaking at the opening of the Ninth Session of ESCWA‘s Committee on Energy at the Regency Hotel, Kuwait. The Committee concludes tomorrow Thursday, and is attended by specialized representatives of ESCWA Member States.