Summary (English)

The present document provides an overview of the guide on incorporating social justice principles
into development plans and programmes in Arab countries. The Economic and Social Commission for
Western Asia (ESCWA) is preparing this guide within the framework of implementing the Tunis
Declaration on Social Justice in the Arab region, adopted by ESCWA at its twenty-eighth session (Tunis,
15-18 September 2014), and under the project on “Promoting social justice in selected countries in the
Arab region”, funded by the Development Account. At its tenth session (Rabat, 8-9 September 2015), the
Commission for Social Development requested the secretariat to develop capacity-building and training
programmes to assist member States in designing, implementing and evaluating national human rightsbased
development programmes aimed at achieving social justice.
In this context, ESCWA has included a series of activities in its work programme, such as preparing
tools/guides to assist member States in incorporating the principles of social justice into national and local
development plans, policies and programmes, and conducting national capacity-building workshops to
test, apply and disseminate such tools/guides.
Below is a summary of the contents of this guide, which is still under preparation and review.