This paper deals with the challenges for sustainable human development in the Arab region within the social, economic, and environmental pillars of development. In the social sphere, the main challenges are the empowerment of women, development of youth, and absorption of the elderly. The region suffers from an imbalance between the progress achieved by woman in education and health and their progress in the labor market and in public life. In economic terms, the region has the highest unemployment rates among the developing regions of the world, given the structure of the labor market and the incompatibility between the outputs of the education system and the needs of the labor market. This is reflected in high levels of income poverty and multidimensional poverty in many Arab countries. The environmental pillar of development includes the most dangerous long-term challenges to development such as climate change and water and food security. As a result of a marked increase in temperature the region is suffering the highest level of drought in the world and severe price increases for food. The paper concludes that it is necessary to shift from traditional development planning to new development planning which adopts the model of the green economy to support the three pillars of development.