Statement of Kemal Derviş,
3 June 2008, Excellencies, It
is a real pleasure to participate in the launch of the final report of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, entitled
“Making the Law Work for Everyone.” I would like to also thank Matthew Bishop of the Economist newspaper for agreeing to moderate
this panel discussion. UNDP has been
pleased to host the Commission, providing both substantive and administrative support. The Commission’s deliberations and
conclusions, of course, are independent and entirely their own. At
the launch of the Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor in September 2005 here at the United Nations in New York,
I challenged the Commission to indeed be independent and expressed the hope that they would offer us compelling arguments
and also ask us for action. And indeed they did. Today
the Commission has presented its Report and its main message is, indeed, very compelling: Four billion people – the majority of the global population – find themselves
excluded from the protection and opportunities provided by the rule of law. This exclusion from the rule of law -- this very
fundamental exclusion, especially at this scale -- has serious consequences, primarily of course for the poor people and communities
that are excluded. But it also has serious consequences for society as a whole and the state. So while legal empowerment is an agenda for and with the poor, and while
it is based upon a strong belief in their capabilities, it also emphasizes the role of the state. It challenges the state
to become more open and inclusive, and to expand its reach to benefit the poor. The logo of the Commission symbolizes the rule of law as supported by the four pillars
of legal empowerment: access to justice and the rule of law; property rights; labour rights; and business rights. Looking
at the logo one can see that the pillars supporting the rule of law are people. Eleanor Roosevelt famously said that human
rights begin in small places close to home; in the world of the individual person. Likewise, the rule of law has to have meaning in the lives of people; it has to
be created and supported by individuals who can use the opportunities it creates. I will leave it to the Commission co-chairs, Madeleine Albright and Hernando de
Soto, to go into the Report in more detail, but I would like to take this opportunity to also say a few words on UNDP’s own
work in the area of Legal Empowerment of the Poor. UNDP’s
work on legal empowerment of the poor Legal
Empowerment of the Poor is a concept that is already strongly anchored in our new Strategic Plan 2008-2011. In it we stress
that in a world of expanding prosperity but exploding inequalities, the effective reduction of poverty depends on the ability
of institutions to provide access to economic assets and opportunities in ways that are fair and equitable. UNDP’s ongoing efforts in areas such as promoting
access to justice, inclusive markets, better inheritance and property rights for women, as well as securing labour rights
through the Decent Work agenda (which we have been working very closely with the International Labour Organization) is guided
by the belief that legal empowerment is essential for human development. Effective
reforms for Legal Empowerment of the Poor can, therefore, be a powerful complement to more established policies and strategies
for achieving the MDGs. It is an agenda that brings two of UNDP’s critical areas of work -- democratic governance and poverty
reduction-- more closely together. In this regard, I would like to highlight two UNDP Country Offices that demonstrate the
importance of this approach. In Albania,
the Government, the Institute of Liberty and Democracy, and UNDP, have a joint programme designed to help the country better
understand the obstacles it faces in modernizing its property and business systems. An extensive analysis revealed that regulatory bottlenecks, unpredictable rules,
and a number of laws that simply do not work are forcing people and businesses in Albania to operate in what is known as the
“extra-legal economy.” The joint Programme for the Transition to the Rule of Law and an Inclusive Market Economy has completed
the diagnostic phase and it will now turn to the formulation of appropriate policy reforms. In Indonesia, legal assistance and access to information are two of the
essential services offered by UNDP’s project on Legal Empowerment and Assistance for the Disadvantaged. This project was designed
to make access to justice a reality at the community level. The project tackles the challenge from two perspectives: first,
building the capacity of civil society and communities to understand and demand their rights and then opening up channels
of constructive engagement between government and civil society. These
two examples of UNDP’s work on legal empowerment of the poor underscore the critical importance of this concept to promoting
our common goals of advancing human development for everyone. The
relevance of this agenda is also demonstrated in the discussions taking place at the Conference on World Food Security that
started today in Rome. There is a growing consensus that today’s food crisis is a reflection of structural issues and long-term
challenges. The Report we are launching today addresses these issues. We have to fight against hunger and poverty as well
as boost agricultural production in developing countries. Poor
farmers around the world-- including rural women who are deeply engaged in agriculture and do more than 70% of post-harvest
work-- need to have recognized rights to the land that they have often cultivated for decades. Only a range of such rights,
reinforced with access to justice can help to ensure that markets work for the poor. As I outlined earlier, the Commission has developed compelling arguments and in
its Report calls on UNDP to take the lead and work with other UN agencies to develop a coherent multilateral agenda for Legal
Empowerment of the Poor. So there is a roadmap provided for us and we are very grateful for that. UNDP is delighted to respond to this call. In the months ahead we will
draw attention to this crucial agenda and work with partners at all levels and from all sectors. UNDP’s senior management
team is committed to mainstreaming Legal Empowerment of the Poor into our focus areas and through our Country Offices. Let me say here, that Olav Kjorven, as the head of
our Bureau for Development Policy, has been associated with this agenda for many years now and believes in it very deeply
and has energised us all. UNDP stands
ready to support all those committed to making the law work for everyone in our fight against poverty and for human development
for all. Thank you.
Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
On the Occasion of the Launch of the Report of the Commission
on Legal Empowerment of the Poor:
“Making the Law Work for Everyone”
United Nations, New York
Commission co-chairs: Secretary Albright, Hernando de Soto
Distinguished Guests,
Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Increasingly,
we witness and see that in terms of institution building, development has to have these fundamental dimensions. There has
to be, of course, the driving force of prosperity and growth which is the private sector, business and private initiative.
We now understand better that without that nothing really happens in development. But at the same time, we also now understand
better the role of the state and the important part the state has to play in terms of the legal and institutional framework;
development strategies are not about choosing between state-led and private-led development. Rather, it really is about how
to bring the two together to provide a framework that affords opportunities for all.
Kemal
Dervis and Madeleine Albright at the launch of "Making the Law Work for Everyone"