Despite positive strides in recent decades, social protection policy in the ESCWA region is still short of realizing two important objectives: First, social protection policy should be linked to citizenship rights and integrated into the wider social, economic and political frameworks in which it operates. Second, the success of social protection policies and programmes thrives on transparent, accountable and participatory approaches.



The meeting aimed to formulate a set of expert recommendations on how the Arab Region should pursue monitoring and reporting on the water-related Sustainable Development Goals over the coming fifteen years.

As the deadline for achieving the MDGs draws near, the ongoing process of the new UN-led Development Agenda that will culminate in New York in September 2015 constitutes a vital opportunity for different stakeholders in the Arab region to identify the regional priorities for the future development framework and express the needs and aspirations of Arab people to achieve inclusive and integrated development. In parallel, another important UN process is taking place in the context of financing development.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia organized on 18-19 April 2016 a two-day expert group meeting at the UN-House in Beirut, under the theme “Promoting market-driven access to modern energy services in the Arab rural regions”.

The expert group meeting was organized and implemented by the Sustainable Development Policies Division to provide a fresh drive and innovative thinking on the topic of appropriate green energy technology access in rural areas in the Arab region, with a special focus on the rural productive sectors.