Rule of Law and Human
Rights Global Programme
Impact
Thematic focus
 = Global Focal Point

Africa

Arab states

Asia-Pacific

Europe and Central Asia

Latin America and the Caribbean

Justice Futures CoLab

The Justice Futures CoLab was launched to promote new ways of thinking and approaching complex justice and rule of law challenges. The CoLab illustrates UNDP’s commitment and strategy to do more and do better (and differently). A more strategic, people-centred and rights-based approach is taken to ensure meaningful access to justice for all, starting with those most at risk of being left behind.

Human rights systems

UNDP continues to support strengthening national human rights systems (NHRIs). Independent, effective and pluralistic NHRIs are cornerstones of national systems to promote and protect human rights.

Anti-racism

In 2021, after racial justice protests and movements emerged in the United States and other parts of the world, the United Nations and its various funds, programmes and other entities also took up a renewed commitment to fight against racism and racial discrimination both within the organization and also through their approaches.

Business and human rights

UNDP has been supporting the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) since 2016. This support has involved programming across the three pillars of the protect, respect and remedy framework, engaging with states, business actors and civil society.

Community security

The global context has become ever more challenging with ongoing war, coups d‘état, attempted coups d‘état, turmoil and instability in several countries. In the midst of such widespread political tension and fragility, UNDP has stayed the course towards people-centred security by promoting solutions that strengthen state institutions in line with people’s needs.

Global Focal Point for the Rule of Law

The UN Global Focal Point for the Rule of Law (GFP) is a joint arrangement for delivery of the rule of law in fragile settings. Co-chaired by UNDP and the UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO), GFP reinforces One-UN approach at the global and national levels to address violent conflicts, protect human rights and restore justice and security for people affected by crisis and conflict.

Regional overview - Africa

Regional overview

Impact by Regions,
Countries & Territories
Arab States

Countries in the Arab States region continue to face challenges in achieving equality and ensuring human rights protection, especially considering the need to simultaneously recover from the socioeconomic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and navigate through evolving regional and international conflicts. Political tensions and armed violence persisted in 2022, impacting the possibility to establish an enabling environment for a strong rule of law with functioning, independent, people-centred and accountable institutions. Instability in Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and Sudan, and continuing armed conflict in Syria and Yemen made sustainable peace elusive. This widespread fragility has led to the rise in humanitarian crises within and beyond the region, compromising development efforts and access to rights and services. Women and girls, the forcibly displaced, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups bore the heaviest burden.

Recognizing the challenging context, UNDP’s Regional Bureau for the Arab States (RBAS) focused on strengthening national efforts in delivery of justice and basic services, with a particular emphasis on the leaving no one behind approach. In Lebanon, for example, UNDP supported the development of a national policy for legal aid and the establishment of three pilot legal aid centres. Over 6,000 people (over 50 percent were women and 40 percent refugees, mostly from Syria) received legal support in these centres. In Somalia, UNDP supported various avenues for women to access justice. Over 1,600 women benefited from alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, legal aid and mobile court services in 2022. One-stop sexual assault referral centres provided medical, legal and psychosocial support to 296 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, including 259 women.

In 2022, the support from the Global Programme for Strengthening the Rule of Law, Human Rights, Justice and Security for Sustainable Peace and Development (the Global Programme) was critical for the implementation of the rule of law, security and human rights portfolio in the region. It has enabled expansion in the areas of e-justice, gender justice and business and human rights, as well as the exploration of new areas and approaches.

Digitalization and e-justice

UNDP’s Global Programme supported the exploration of scalability of the Mizan system, an integrated digital court management system developed by the High Judicial Council of the State of Palestine with UNDP support. Having shown to enhance aspects of justice delivery through increased efficiency and transparency, the Mizan system has been recognized as a good practice model in the development process of e-justice solutions.

A methodology brief was developed and utilized to inform the scalability assessment of rule of law and digital components, including an in-person assessment held in January 2023. The assessment results will be finalized in 2023, not only to guide the future application of Mizan but to further advance the regional dialogue on e-justice. UNDP has already facilitated knowledge sharing between the State of Palestine and various Country Offices in the region to support the latter in developing e-justice solutions to advance people-centred justice delivery. The e-justice toolkit developed by the Global Programme in 2022 contributed to the discussions and gave an additional impetus to the e-justice work in the region.

Further, the e-justice work in the Arab States has resulted in a new partnership with UNDP’s Chief Digital Office (CDO) which provided both technical and financial support to identify best solutions for Mizan scalability, complementing the Global Programme’s funding of the e-justice initiative.

Business and Human Rights

Throughout 2022, UNDP worked towards finalizing its internal paper on business and human rights (B+HR). Along with consultations with UNDP Country Offices and partners, the internal reflections paved the way for possible recommendations for future projects and interventions that include awareness-raising and knowledge sharing to support governments and businesses in adhering to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

In Tunisia, UNDP’s work on B+HR has already commenced and has contributed towards the promotion of the B+HR agenda and integration of human rights principles within businesses practices. Looking forward, regional National Human Rights Institute Networks will be a crucial partner for UNDP in accelerating the advancement of the B+HR agenda in the region.

Gender justice

To support gender equality and women’s empowerment, UNDP launched the behavioural insights (BI) project to explore instances when women in the Arab States do not fully exercise their rights or utilize legal services available. The project uses the findings of the Gender Justice and Equality before the Law reports (2018) as an information source and seeks to take the work beyond the legal mapping exercise.

Implemented in coordination with UNDP’s Innovation Team and Gender Team, the exploratory phase of the BI project was initiated to identify and address barriers in justice delivery for women, and to design interventions to improve the access to and impact of legal aid services. The project provided support for survivors of domestic violence in Kuwait, in addressing inheritance rights issues in Tunisia and in expanding reintegration support for women leaving the prison system in Algeria. To ensure a smooth transition from the exploratory to the implementation phase and to enable the Country Offices to design activities based on behavioural insights, UNDP facilitated a series of workshops with the Country Offices and their national stakeholders. The uniqueness of the project encouraged a collaborative process between the Country Offices and national stakeholders (governments and civil society) to identify targeted interventions for amplified impact.

The efforts undertaken in 2022 have laid the foundation for the work ahead. Taking into account the political sensitivities in the region, with new and ongoing conflicts, promotion and protection of the rule of law, security and human rights remain of critical importance. For this cause, UNDP’s Regional Bureau in the Arab States will continue its investment in justice delivery through its work on gender justice and e-justice work while pursuing opportunities for expanding its regional offer on business and human rights.