2009 Initial Results
In the first months of 2009, UNDP has already made progress in a number of critical crisis prevention and recovery areas.
Country support
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNDP is working to strengthen access to justice for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in North and South Kivu, establishing partnerships with local authorities and civil society networks (including lawyers’ associations and international non-governmental organizations), UN entities, and the DPKO-led mission MONUC. UNDP is also working with local universities to organize the country’s first human rights and gender-based violence training series for lawyers, legal aid organizations and the police, among others. In addition, UNDP is mapping out the justice system in North and South Kivu to identify additional counterparts for programme outreach and implementation. In North Kivu, UNDP helped the local government carry out a comprehensive conflict analysis to develop a peace and development strategy for the province, conducting consultations with representatives of the territorial administration, traditional and religious groups, grassroots communities and civil society (including women’s and youth organizations) throughout 2008. These findings – validated in April 2009 – will feed into a comprehensive peace and reconciliation programme that is currently being developed.
Access to justice for women is a UNDP priority in Sierra Leone. In close coordination with the British Council and the International Rescue Committee, UNDP developed and finalized a detailed implementation plan for gender-based violence activities. It is strengthening its activities to provide rule of law technical expertise and is expanding its operations to Bo and Makeni to ensure closer access to local governments and communities.
In an effort to scale up its early recovery support in Sri Lanka, UNDP worked with the government and partners to identify key outcomes for 2009. This year’s efforts will specifically target mine action, socioeconomic recovery and post-crisis governance. Activities will include: establishing early recovery coordination mechanisms at national and district levels; scaling up ongoing mine action programmes to facilitate the resettlement of displaced persons in the north, addressing critical early recovery needs in the Jaffna district; and investing in capacity development for the newly elected sub-national democratic institutions in the Eastern Province.
In Tajikistan, planning of the second phase of the UNDP-supported national disaster risk reduction programme has progressed significantly in the early months of 2009. Based on the priorities identified with the government, the new phase will focus on improving disaster risk reduction and response coordination at the national level, enhancing collection and analysis of risk-related data, and addressing urban risks and the impact of climate change.
BCPR is scaling up its support to the UNDP country office in Uganda, having identified key priorities and areas of assistance for the next two years based on national development objectives. These include: sustaining community-based recovery in the northern regions particularly affected by violence in past years; increasing community security; improving access to justice; expanding and diversifying livelihoods; and strengthening local governance structures for improved service delivery.
UNDP IN ACTION
Gaza
On 27 December 2008, the Israeli Military launched a 22-day military operation in Gaza, devastating Palestinian lives, livelihoods and infrastructure. It affected an estimated 100,000 people, and damaged or destroyed over 15,000 homes. Critical infrastructure, including key roads, power and water systems, health facilities and schools, also sustained significant damage.
To ensure the international humanitarian response met the needs of the Palestinian population, the Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator designated UNDP as the lead to coordinate early recovery activities.
In order to respond effectively to the crisis in Gaza, UNDP has had to boost its own internal capacity. To this end, UNDP deployed an immediate crisis response planning team in mid-February 2009 to produce a three-month action plan to boost the UNDP office’s operational capacities and effectively respond to the demands placed on the organization.
An additional seven experts traveled to Gaza to help identify the immediate humanitarian needs and coordinate early recovery planning and programming. These early recovery activities were based upon a humanitarian needs assessment carried out by the Palestinian National Authorities with technical assistance from UNDP, UN partners, the World Bank and the European Commission.The Palestinian National Authorities then used the assessment results to develop the “Gaza Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan based on a Damage and Needs Assessment.” It sets out early recovery priorities and a broad estimate of the scale and scope of the response required. With a total budget of USD 2.8 billion requested over two years, the plan divides the priority interventions into five key areas: social sector, infrastructure, economy, governance, and natural resources and the environment. The plan was launched in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on 2 March 2009 in a high-profile event that attracted over USD 4 billion of commitments from donors.
By utilizing the networks of local organizations and mobilizing youth, UNDP and other partners are working to scale up existing interventions to restore livelihoods and essential social services such as basic healthcare, psychosocial support, education and water. For example, UNDP delivered cash assistance to families whose houses were destroyed and to compensate for damages in the agricultural sector. At the time this report was published, more than 10,000 families had benefited from housing damage compensations.
2009 global initiatives
Building on 2008 achievements, UNDP is scaling up a selected number of flagship global initiatives.
In 2008, UNDP launched a research project on violence and male roles in society to strengthen its approach to working with men and male youth to better prevent genderbased violence. Initial steps included case studies in Indonesia (Aceh) and South Sudan, while additional case studies are being conducted in El Salvador, Kenya, Kosovo, Liberia, Nepal and Uganda. The information produced by these case studies will not only serve to inform country programming and global policy discussions on gender-based violence, but it will form the basis of a UNDP global report on the gender dimensions of violence in crisis contexts, which is scheduled to be published in early 2010.
In 2009, UNDP support to country offices also prioritizes statebuilding. Through its Statebuilding for Peace initiative launched in 2008, UNDP is initially supporting three countries – Liberia, Sierra Leone and possibly Nepal – to strengthen the capacity of the state to deliver essential services to its people. In Liberia and Sierra Leone, technical assistance is offered in partnership with the World Bank. In addition to direct country support, UNDP is developing practical guidance to help practitioners tackle this complex issue.
As a follow-up to the UN policy on “post-conflict employment creation, income generation and reintegration” adopted by the UN Secretary-General in May 2008, UNDP and the International Labour Organization, along with other UN entities and partners, are developing an operational guidance note to support the expansion of employment generation programmes at country level.
