Rule of law and early recovery
Putting people’s needs first
By Sébastien Gouraud, Justice and Security Sector Reform Programme Specialist, BCPR

Working on rule of law in an early recovery context helps national stakeholders respond to immediate needs while also laying the building blocks for full-fledged recovery when the security and political situation stabilizes. It offers opportunities to address justice and security priorities during ongoing crisis and immediate post-crisis situations and to ensure a continuum between relief and development efforts.          

Gaps in the justice and security sector during an ongoing conflict leave communities exposed to violence and deprived of physical and legal safety. To address this, UNDP’s approach to rule of law programming seeks to ensure access to justice for displaced and war-affected populations, especially women and youth. It allows affected populations and internally displaced communities to access legal information, counseling and representation. The programme focuses on:

• Strengthening law enforcement
• Providing legal aid
• Supporting the judicial system to fight against impunity
• Promoting confidence building and reconciliation amongst communities
• Building bridges between protagonists of the conflict and the civilian population
  

The UNDP rule of law programmes in Sudan and Somalia illustrate this approach.

Rule of Law in Sudan
The Darfur Programme has helped resolve conflicts between different stakeholders, provided immediate assistance for reparations, and supported legal institutions. An important component of the programme focuses on sexual violence against women and girls, and aims at fighting the current climate of impunity by trying to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable. Its main activities include training legal professionals, providing legal aid services to survivors of sexual violence and their families, and raising awareness of and changing attitudes towards sexual violence amongst local communities and the general public.

Rule of Law in Somalia
The Somalia Rule of Law Programme has focused on developing competent police and judiciary through training and rehabilitation of failing infrastructure, raising awareness of human and legal rights among communities, establishing legal aid clinics, demobilizing armed forces and groups, and studying and supporting traditional conflict resolution mechanisms.

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