A new declaration by civil society groups in the Arab world has urged governments to develop new universal social security systems for the region. The 'Declaration on Building Universal Social Protection in the Arab Region', organized by the Arab Region Hub for Social Protection, was signed by a multitude of organisations and individuals from across the Middle East and North Africa including media organisations, think tanks and rights groups. The declaration places responsibility for social protection on the state rather than aid agencies and calls for all citizens to be covered by social protection programmes. @HRW has signed the *Declaration on Building Universal Social Protection in the Arab Region* @ArabReform_ARI. "Regional governments should end their piecemeal and targeted approaches to social protection and develop strategies to enable everyone to realize their economic and social rights" she added.
