Jordan Times
The United Nations is launching its 2004 Arab Human Development Report
(AHDR) on Tuesday providing a new perspective on the range of social,
political and constitutional flaws impeding good governance and
freedoms in the Arab world.
The latest AHDR publication, "Towards
Freedom in the Arab World," presents societies in the region with
strategic vision for promoting good governance as a means of helping
them define their own course towards achieving an Arab renaissance.
The
AHDR, an annual UN production since 2002, builds on some of the key
issues raised in preceding reports and identifies new barriers
hindering development in the region.
Its in-depth and
sometimes critical examination of the realities in Arab world in areas
of human development, knowledge, political leadership and human rights
freedoms, have served as a valuable resources for academics around the
world.
The first AHDR 2002 "Opportunities for Future
Generations," took stock of progress made by Arab countries over the
past three decades towards improved levels of human development.
While
its authors commended the substantial strides made in areas such as
health and social welfare, the report highlighted serious drawbacks in
the fields of governance, women's empowerment and access to knowledge.
The
following publication in 2003 pushed the line further by underlining
the importance of investments in these three areas, particularly in
improved access to knowledge, as a key factor in development.
The
AHDR 2003 entitled, "Building a Knowledge Society" indicated that human
capital could offer a substantial base for an Arab knowledge
renaissance given a more open environment for access to information.
The
report further affirmed that knowledge could expand the scope of human
freedoms, enhance the capacity to guarantee those freedoms through good
governance and achieve the higher moral human goals of justice and
human dignity.
This year's AHDR 2004 will be launched by
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs
and Government Performance Marwan Muasher, and UN Secretary General and
UNDP Regional Bureau Director for Arab States Rima Khalaf.
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