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Human Rights

The pursuit of human rights promotes the freedom, dignity and worth of every person — so too does the pursuit of human development. When rights are made real, the poor can participate in decisions affecting their lives.

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Photo credit: UNDP / United Arab Emirates

UNDP supports 'human rights for development' in more than 100 countries and connects partners in a global network. This work is about expanding choices and protecting rights and freedoms.

At the request of countries, UNDP supports efforts to:

  • Build the capacity of the systems and institutions put in place by nations to promote and protect human rights
  • Promote the use of a human rights-based approach in development programming
  • Engage with international human rights machinery led by the United Nations, forging partnerships with expert institutions.

This work is carried out in many areas: policy development, advocacy, training, civic education, developing national human rights action plans, strengthening human rights institutions, promoting international human rights instruments. Our justice sector programme promotes the independence, impartiality and fairness of judges as well as legal literacy, legal aid, pro-poor laws and civic participation in legal and judicial reform.

UNDP protects and promotes the universal values of human rights and rule of law — guided by the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We work to ensure that the plans, policies and processes of development are anchored in these rights. To make progress in development, progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, every individual must be valued by society and their rights secured and upheld.

How we work

  • Integrating the human-rights based approach

    UNDP's Global Human Rights Strengthening Programming (GHRSP) provides technical support, advisory services, knowledge sharing and practical guidance tools. The explicit integration of human rights into all of our policies and programmes is a UNDP priority. We apply the same approach in our work with governments and international human rights machinery. The UN Practitioner's Portal on HRBA Programming includes a resource database for integrating a human rights-based approach into development programming.
  • Creating a human rights community of practice

    HuriTALK is the UN-wide virtual knowledge network on human rights policy, connecting more than 1,200 development practitioners across the United Nations. Within UNDP, we bring together programme staff from country offices, regional centres and headquarters in a practitioner's community. Together we build synergies and take action to implement our human rights mandate. Members engage in knowledge networking, share experiences and lessons learned, and work to strengthen individual and collective capacity.
  • Assessing the capacity of human rights institutions

    How effective are national institutions in this region in carrying out their mandates to protect and promote human rights? Self-assessments supported by the UNDP Regional Office in Bangkok are looking at what countries in Asia and the Pacific can do now, and what they aim to do in the future.
  • Harmonizing national law with international standards

    Workshops in West Africa and in China have invited government officials to study UN and regional treaties and protocols. The focus is on rules and procedures and, ultimately, more effective implementation by identifying the competencies that countries need.
  • Supporting the Universal Periodic Review process

    The Universal Periodic Review is a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years. UNDP has assisted national governments in preparing their national reports in Bahrain, Egypt, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan and Viet Nam.
  • Developing human rights action plans

    Central Asia's first National Human Rights Action Plan emerged in Kazakhstan in 2009, with support from UNDP. The plan focuses on three areas: improved performance of human rights institutions, aligning legislation with international norms and standards, and promotion of human rights education.

Key Publications and Resources

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