Suchergebnisse

This report presents and analyses statistics relating to the demographic characteristics and socio-economic situation of persons with disabilities in the Arab region. It is based on data from recent national censuses and surveys that have been harmonized and verified by ESCWA in accordance with international standards.The disability prevalence rate in the region ranges from 0.2 per cent in Qatar to 5.1 per cent in Morocco. Although countries in the region are increasingly committed to realizing the rights of persons with disabilities, progress towards that end is slow. The report shows that in terms of literacy, education and employment, persons with disabilities remain disadvantaged. Women with disabilities in rural areas are particularly marginalized.

Intro -- Dedication -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Contributors -- About the Editor -- Introduction -- The Growth of Research in the Arab Region -- Status of the Regulatory and Ethical Oversight Mechanisms for the Protection of Research Participants -- Summary of Chapters -- References -- Islam and Bioethics -- The Sources of Islamic Law -- The Holy Qur'an -- The Sunnah and Hadith -- Ijma' (Unanimous Consensus) -- Qiyas (Analogy) -- References -- Part I: Ethical Issues in Research -- What Kind of Research Ethics for the Arab Region? -- Universalism or Relativism?: The Inadequacy of the Principlism Approach -- A Research Ethics Informed by Post-colonial Theory -- References -- Exploitation and the Matter of History -- Introduction -- Defining the Concept -- The Colonialist Paradigm: The Importance of History -- Exploitation in Clinical Research -- Responding to Exploitation in Clinical Research -- Research Involving Persons Likely to be Vulnerable -- Introduction -- Definition of Vulnerability -- Categories of Vulnerable Participants -- Vulnerable Groups Relevant to the Arab Region -- Safeguards for Persons Prone to Being Vulnerable -- Conclusion -- References -- Ethical Issues Involving Informed Consent in the Arab Region -- Introduction -- Issues Regarding Informed Consent in the Arab Region -- Social Structure and the Principal of Autonomy -- Literacy and Language Whilst Assuring Comprehension -- When the Culture of Signing Is Problematic -- The Clinical Investigator/Physician and the Therapeutic Misconception -- Ethical Issues Involving Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons -- Investigators' Awareness and Knowledge in Research Ethics and Its Influence on the Consent Process -- Methods to Improve Informed Consent -- Waivers Involving Informed Consent -- Waiver of the Requirement to Obtain a Signed Informed Consent Document

This article summarizes historical and cultural influences on the development of voluntary action in the Arab region. The role of religion is highlighted. Also discussed are demo-graphic, economic, and political factors that have influenced the development of volunteer and civic service programs in the region. Although systematic information and research are limited, civic service program examples are detailed. These examples include religiously based service programs, service-learning programs at the university level, and local programs. Official civic service initiatives and national policies are not specified or widespread, but program developments may have the potential to develop into such policies. More research is recommended regarding the role of the state and civil society in the development of civic service programs and the role of civic service in social and economic development.

AbstractFollowing the uprisings of 2011, only a few Arab countries have made some progress in loosening the shackles of autocracy, the region remaining basically non‐democratic. This paper explains the major factors underlying the general failure of the Arab region to democratize despite the notable socioeconomic development it has generally achieved in the past five or six decades; it concludes with summary observations on the Arab region's prospects for democracy.

This study examines the status of women's representation at several levels of governance, including the legislative, the executive, the judiciary, the public service, and local councils, throughout the Arab region. It finds that although there has been some progress in the representation of women since 2010 across the region, it remains well below global average at all the governance levels examined. To explain this relatively lackluster picture, the study identifies enduring and emerging barriers to women's political representation. It also provides informative case studies on the evolution of women's political presence in four selected Arab States.

The publication presents and applies the Arab Regional Food Security Monitoring Framework developed by the Economic and Social Commission of Western Asia (ESCWA). The Framework aims to help countries effectively assess their food security situation. It was developed in collaboration and partnership with Arab countries, the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and experts with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). It accounts for the complexity and multidimensionality of food security along its multi-pronged definition and allows the monitoring of selected targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. The framework tracks food security through three outcome indicators grouped under a core pillar and 21 causal indicators distributed along the four food security dimensions of availability, access, utilisation and stability. The publication outlines the Framework's development process and rationale for selecting the indicators and introduces an innovative way to show results in the form of a dashboard composed of a double doughnut chart visualising performance and a table summarising key statistics and trends. It also presents the key results of tracking food security at the Arab regional level and the trend over the considered years. It shows that the region records poor performance for all three of the outcome indicators of undernourishment, food insecurity experience and obesity while also presenting the performance and trends for the remaining 21 other indicators. It identifies yields, food import dependency, logistics, food price volatility and low political stability as hotspots needing urgent action, among others. It also reveals declining trends in the prevalence of undernourishment and obesity as well as dietary energy supply, use of water in agriculture and unemployment, to name a few. The publication includes an indicator-by-indicator analysis and outlines selected recommendations.