A UNESCO convention aimed at making the recognition of higher education qualifications fairer and more consistent across the Arab region has entered into force, initially binding five countries: Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, the State of Palestine and Yemen.
Lebanon’s ratification brought the number of countries that had ratified the 2022 Revised Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher Education in the Arab States to five, allowing the Convention to enter into force.
The agreement, referred to as the Arab States Recognition Convention, is open to all Arab states.
“Students and graduates in the Arab States now have a regional instrument in place that provides a framework for the recognition of their qualifications across borders,” Stig Arne Skjerven, chair of the bureau for UNESCO’s Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, told The PIE News.
“This matters for academic mobility, and for the people whose qualifications are being assessed.”
While it does not guarantee admission, employment or professional licensing, the Arab States Recognition Convention requires participating states to assess qualifications from one another using shared criteria.
“In practical terms, ratifying countries are now legally bound under international law to apply the Convention’s shared criteria when assessing degrees and qualifications from one another,” said Maysoun Chehab, chief of section at UNESCO’s Regional Office in Beirut.
That includes “evaluating applications within a reasonable timeframe and giving applicants the right to appeal a decision”, she said, rather than relying on “inconsistent or opaque national procedures”.
Chehab said a UNESCO mapping study across 19 member states found that, while most Arab countries had national policies for recognising international qualifications, their requirements and timelines varied widely.
“The Convention replaces that fragmented picture with one shared framework.”
Chehab said the changes should make it easier for students and graduates to have their degrees recognised when pursuing further study, work or professional recognition in another participating country.
“It should mean faster, clearer and more predictable recognition of their degrees,” she said.
She added that the agreement could support greater student and academic mobility, as well as help universities develop exchange partnerships and joint or dual-degree programs.
We see the Convention as particularly meaningful for displaced populations in the region, for whom recognition of prior learning is often a lifeline
Maysoun Chehab, UNESCO
The convention could be particularly relevant for displaced students and scholars in a region affected by conflict, where people can struggle to demonstrate earlier learning or have qualifications recognised when documents are incomplete or inaccessible.
“Given that UNESCO Beirut also works closely on education in emergencies, we see the Convention as particularly meaningful for displaced populations in the region, for whom recognition of prior learning is often a lifeline,” Chehab said.
UNESCO will now focus on implementation, convening ministry representatives from across the region later this year to agree how the agreement will work in practice.
“Our immediate priority is to help translate the Convention from a legal commitment into everyday practice,” Chehab said.
That includes supporting countries to establish or strengthen national recognition bodies and put the Convention’s procedures into practice.
“With the Arab States Recognition Convention now in force, all five UNESCO regional recognition conventions are in force,” Skjerven said.
“Together with the Global Convention, they form a complete global framework for the recognition of higher education qualifications and student mobility.”
