LocationsDevelopment starts with security. Rule of law makes it last.
September 30, 2026
UNDP works in more than 100 countries and territories to expand access to human rights and justice, create secure environments and advance peacebuilding.
Successful reforms are game changers. They transform courts: from distant and bureaucratic to accessible, fair and digital. Policing becomes a service for people, defined by trust rather than fear. Businesses realize that human rights are not a financial burden, but a road to competitiveness. Justice and human rights become lived reality—every day, for all.
Such reforms do not happen overnight. Progress requires sustained investments, collaboration with national partners and integrated approach.
In more than 100 countries and territories, through the Global Programme on Rule of Law, Human Rights and Justice for Peace, Security and Development, UNDP expands access to human rights and justice, creates secure environments and advances peacebuilding—working alongside governments, communities, civil society and international partners. Locally led solutions are at the heart of this work.
Access to justice and rights as a lifeline
Crisis strips people of safety and security. Services disappear just when they are most needed. Identity documents are lost. People flee their homes, families get separated, violence escalates. These realities cannot wait.
“Rebuilding safety, investing in rights protection and justice is an essential part of the immediate crisis response. Restoring the rule of law is fundamental to helping people survive crisis with dignity and begin to recover.”
– Shoko Noda, Director, UNDP Crisis Bureau
With its unparalleled on-the-ground presence, UNDP enables people to access justice and rights amid violent conflicts and fragility, in disaster-hit or remote areas.
In the past years, across Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, legal aid, mediation and psychosocial support reached almost 90,000 people – mostly women and children. Primarily, the support was provided through the Sawasya Joint Programme.
With help from a mediator, Gaza resident Alaa Abu Zarina claimed financial entitlements.
“The mediator helped me to restore my rights and receive financial entitlements from my husband—something I believed was impossible. The Sawasya Programme gave me a sense of freedom and allowed me to start thinking about my future with hope.”
– Alaa Abu Zarina, Gaza resident
In Myanmar, 100,000 people (64 percent women) received legal aid on housing, land and property rights, labour rights and gender-based violence.
Mobile legal clinics in Guinea-Bissau, operating in partnership with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, brought free civil registration services to remote communities. On the isolated islands of the Bijagós Archipelago vast stretches of sea separate communities from the nearest public services. Here, a single trip to register a child requires days of travel and costs families cannot afford. In 2025, over 1,300 child births (656 girls and 645 boys) were registered. Without registration, children would have remained legally invisible.
Civil registration officer Justani Soares left his home island of Bubaque to receive training in the capital and chose to return to serve his community.
"Many children did not attend school because they had no documents. With their birth certificates, they will be able to go back... Many people here have never had an identity document. Some do not even know their exact age. Each registration is a door that opens."
– Justani Soares, Civil registration officer
Responsible businesses as drivers of recovery
Through a mentorship programme in the State of Palestine, small and medium enterprises improved labour practices, workplace safety and employee engagement. In parallel, 30 judges and prosecutors improved their capacity to consider business-related cases through human rights lens.
This combination—strengthening both the private sector and the judiciary—reflects UNDP’s integrated approach to business and human rights: promoting responsible business conduct while building systems that hold companies to account.
Overall, in 2025, the UNDP Global Business and Human Rights Initiative expanded to over 50 countries and territories worldwide.
In the State of Palestine, UNDP’s approach to business and human rights includes strengthening the private sector and the judiciary.
National human rights systems: Early warning, swift response
Human rights are the foundation of lives lived in safety, equality and respect. Promoting and protecting human rights is essential for sustainable development. Everywhere we work, UNDP stands with people who defend and uphold human rights, strengthens national human rights systems and builds the capacity of states to uphold their human rights obligations.
In Bangladesh, human rights oversight strengthened as the interim government ratified major international treaties, while UNDP supported reforms to align the National Human Rights Commission with the Paris Principles.
In Nigeria, a national Human Rights Observatory recorded more than three million complaints in 2025, signifying increased public. This achievement in data collection has enhanced the national monitoring capacity and enabled institutions to identify patterns of violations and respond to emerging risks.
Peaceful communities are built on trust
Women and youth are powerful agents of peace in their communities. Amid active conflict in Sudan, women and youth peacebuilder networks emerged with UNDP support, creating the foundations for social cohesion and inclusive political participation that will be essential to lasting recovery.
In Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo, early warning systems and community dialogues are strengthening trust between civilians and security forces – building the social fabric that makes communities resilient to escalation before tensions harden into conflict.
In Mauritania and Papua New Guinea, national authorities developed full National Prevention Strategies with UNDP’s assistance, creating institutional capacity that will outlast any single programme.
Crises are local. So are the solutions.
From conflict to climate shocks, those closest to the problem are often closest to the solution. Local actors are the people and institutions nearest to a crisis: municipalities, grassroots organizations, community leaders and volunteers. UNDP’s Local Action approach helps communities become stronger and more self-reliant. Thirty-seven percent of UNDP spending goes directly to local action, reaching 120 countries.
In crisis settings, local governments are often the first to respond, including to restore essential services. Voznesensk, a small town in Mykolaiv region, southern Ukraine, lost more than half its population at the start of the war. Viktoriia Baltser, Secretary of the Voznesensk City Council, is part of a local leadership team working to rebuild trust and continuity amid disruption.
City Council Secretary Viktoriia Baltser works to rebuild trust and continuity amid disruption in Voznesensk, southern Ukraine.
“Locally led recovery without trust is not sustainable. In wartime, needs change very rapidly, so local authorities must have strong tools for research, analysis and needs assessment to make informed decisions.”
– Viktoriia Baltser, Secretary, Voznesensk City Council
Insider mediators are critical local agents when it comes to de-escalating tension, resolving conflict and rebuilding trust They draw on their legitimacy, credibility and trust, gained through the knowledge of the social ties, histories, relationships, and contentions of their communities.
In Sri Lanka, Sudarshana Gunawardana had been a public official until his career path brough him to civil society. Sudarshana’s institutional knowledge, local expertise and new role in activism enabled him to launch a society-wide conversation about power and energy reform. Through a podcast and a public forum model, Sudarshana convened trade unions, engineers, government officials and renewable energy stakeholders into a structured dialogue. When Cyclone Ditwah struck in 2025, he adapted the same model for disaster management response. “When there is a crisis or conflict, there should be credibility to talk to all sides," said Sudarshana. Sudarshana is one of the hundreds of insider mediators UNDP supports around the world, helping trusted local voices de-escalate tension, bridge divides and turn crises into opportunities for lasting, community-led solutions.
Stronger integration for transformative change
In 2026, as conflicts intensify, insecurity grows and more people have to fight for rights and dignity, UNDP has strengthened its rule of law offer, integrating peacebuilding and local action portfolios, alongside rule of law, justice, security, human rights and business and human rights under the framework of phase V of the Global Programme on Rule of Law, Human Rights and Justice for Peace Security and Development.
"To achieve transformative change, we bring these interdependent pillars together under a single framework, supporting countries in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies.”
– Sarah Rattray, Acting co-Director, Governance, Rule of Law and Peacebuilding Hub, UNDP Crisis Bureau
In practice, this means bringing together expertise and partnerships to ensure that communities can access more responsive justice services, stronger protection of their rights and greater opportunities to participate in decisions that affect their lives.
The Global Programme operates thanks to the generous contributions of Austria, European Union, Finland, Generalitat Valenciana, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States.
Explore the UNDP Rule of Law and Human Rights programme’s 2025 Annual Report.
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