Impact by Regions, Countries & Territories

UNDP’s Global Programme supports crisis-affected contexts across all regions to strengthen the rule of law and human rights. In this section, we present five regional overviews, detailing our priorities and approach depending on the context, as well as feature select country and territory results from 2021.

Five contexts from the list (Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Mali and Yemen) illustrate the achievements of the Global Focal Point for the Rule of Law (GFP). In peacekeeping missions and transition settings, UNDP’s Global Programme works through the GFP to deliver integrated assistance with our UN partners.

GFP Global Focal Point Highlights

Africa

Arab States

Latin America & The Caribbean

Asia-Pacific

Europe & Central Asia

Political
Engagement

The rule of law is essential for sustainable peace and resilient economies, as well as for the prevention or recurrence of conflict. To prevent or address injustice, inequalities or democratic deficits, UNDP works with multiple stakeholders to operate in a way that is consistent with the rule of law and creates opportunities for all individuals to exercise their rights and access justice.

Institution
Building

The importance of strong institutions is more evident than ever as countries and communities respond to disruption, whether because of public health restrictions, climate change or political upheaval. Limitations on public gatherings and travel have revealed the need for institutions that are resilient to disruption.

Community
Security

2021 was a pivotal year that saw various developments affecting peace and security around the world. Civic space continued to shrink and the social contract between states and citizens was increasingly challenged, particularly during and after the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Facing distressing consequences of climate change, states and communities are forced to manage more cross-border conflicts, triggered by the displacement of people seeking increasingly scarce resources.

Human Rights
Systems

The scope of human rights challenges is widening, from eroded public trust and shrinking civic space to ongoing inequality and human rights impacts in the socio-economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and emerging risks in the digital sphere. National human rights institutions (NHRIs), along with other human rights defenders, are facing rising and sophisticated forms of reprisals for carrying out their work.

Access to
Justice

Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) of the 2030 Agenda highlights the importance of access to justice for all for the development of peaceful and inclusive societies. Meaningful access to justice can only be achieved when people know their rights, have the opportunities, agency and capacities to claim them, and have access to independent, inclusive and people-centred justice systems that will respond in a timely, fair and effective manner.

Transitional
Justice

Without justice, there can be no lasting peace. In post-conflict, crisis-affected and fragile contexts, truth-seeking initiatives and reconciliation efforts are essential to bring peace to affected communities. The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down transitional processes as states prioritized their response to the health crisis and measures to support the economy.

Gender
Justice

In 2021, the continued erosion of democracy and the spread of authoritarian trends in politics in many parts of the world contributed to a backlash against women’s rights. The COVID-19 crisis has reversed some of the hard-won gender parity gains by exacerbating pre-existing inequalities and power imbalances. It has also caused a dramatic increase in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). All these challenges have been particularly acute in conflict, fragile and crisis-affected settings.

Innovation

New ideas and new strategies are critical to building sustainable and effective development approaches that really meet people’s needs. Technologies and globalization raise new human rights concerns and threaten the rule of law. Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to limit people’s access to basic services. UNDP connected expertise across the globe to learn and adapt. Creating a culture of curiosity and experimentation, these efforts ensured that local needs and expertise were combined with emerging models to bring strategic thinking to people-centred development goals.

Timor-Leste

In Timor-Leste, UNDP supported the Ministry of Justice to conduct the needs assessment of the women’s correctional facilities as per international standards. There are 15 female prisoners in Gleno prison, one of them with a baby. All are incarcerated in one block, in the same building as male prisoners and with no segregation of communal facilities. The women’s block has little to no running water, broken disposal facilities, and no separate cells for prisoners with babies. UNDP commissioned the refurbishment design of the women’s block to enhance human rights compliance focusing on female prisoners’ specific needs. The engineering designs were approved by the Ministry of Justice and Gleno prison management. The refurbishment will be completed in 2022.

UNDP provided expert support to develop a training curriculum for prison guards and inmates on gender equality, human rights and prevention of gender-based violence (GBV). The training modules were designed in consultation with the National Human Rights Institution, Secretariat of Equality and Inclusion, and the Ministry of Justice, to improve the sensitization of gender equality in correctional facilities and toward the reintegration of inmates. The trainings will be held in spring 2022 for approximately 100 inmates (15 percent women) in Gleno prison and 90-100 correctional officers (35 percent women) across the country.

In 2021, UNDP completed preparations to organize legal consultations in Gleno prison. Many convicts and detainees in Timor-Leste do not have access to a lawyer. To address this, UNDP engaged legal practitioners who will visit individuals deprived of liberty and provide legal consultations as required. The legal aid service will focus on women prisoners. In addition, financial literacy and vocational training for female prisoners, including convicts and pre-trial detainees, will take place. This educational activity will equip and enable women deprived of their liberty to protect their rights, not only in court but also with regards to their living standards, safety and treatment by prison personnel. The needs assessment for these sessions was completed and a training manual was developed and subsequently approved by the Ministry of Justice. The financial literacy training curriculum will include numeracy and bookkeeping skills, information on access to financial support, building a small business, along with vocational training for economic independence on their release.

Financial literacy training for women prisoners in Gleno prison, Timor-Leste. ©UNDP
Financial literacy training for women prisoners in Gleno prison, Timor-Leste.Photo: UNDP

Key Results: Timor-Leste

Preparatory work was completed to provide trainings on gender equality, human rights and prevention of gender-based violence for 100 inmates (15% women) in Gleno prison and for 90-100 correctional officers (35% women) across the country.

An engineering assessment was undertaken and a refurbishment plan was completed to redesign the female block in Gleno prison.

To ensure economic independence of female prisoners upon release, two training modules were developed for female prisoners covering financial literacy and vocational training.