Pakistan

In Pakistan, UNDP rolled out a project to strengthen human rights and the rule of law in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – two provinces hosting the highest number of Afghan refugees who fled Afghanistan after collapse of the Government and Taliban takeover in August 2021. According to UNHCR estimates, 1.3 million registered Afghan refugees (approximately 76 percent are women, children and older persons) were residing in Pakistan as of June 2022, with over half in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. According to UNDP’s national civil society partners, while the influx of Afghan refugees to the province of Balochistan has continued, officially vetted and updated statistics are unavailable on new arrivals as the provincial government suspended the registration process.

To enable transformative change and improve access to justice for vulnerable and marginalized groups, UNDP adopted a two-pronged strategy:

1. boosting institutional and inter-agency coordination;
2. encouraging direct community engagement and leadership.

Integrated response

For institutional coordination, a High-Level Provincial Human Rights Multi-stakeholders’ Coordination Network was established in Balochistan and KP provinces in October 2022, the first of its kind in Pakistan. National authorities including the National Commission on Human Rights, judiciary and law enforcement bodies, civil society organizations (CSOs), UNDP, UNHCR and other UN agencies, work together to deliver accessible, effective and people-centred services for Afghan refugees and host communities, as well as guarantee inclusive and non-discriminatory access to both judicial and non-judicial remedial mechanisms in response to adverse human rights impacts. To establish this cooperation framework, UNDP leveraged the trust of communities in the development approach and its consistent engagement with the provincial government, national human rights institution, academia and other stakeholders.

Human rights

This interdepartmental network serves also as a platform for leveraging Pakistan’s international human rights obligations relevant for the rights protection of the most-at-risk Afghan refugee groups. The network has encouraged effective cooperation among state institutions, the National Commission on Human Rights, CSOs and academia to follow up on the recommendations Pakistan received from the UN Treaty bodies and as a result of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). A plan of action was developed for 2023 to collaborate on the strategic priority areas for inclusive people-centred justice and promotion of gender equality.

Joint efforts within the coordination network have enabled the expansion and institutionalization of Gender Desks – people-centred service providers which in 2022 prioritized delivering free legal aid and counselling, as well as psychosocial support for the refugees, members of host communities and the most at-risk groups in Quetta, a district in the north-west of Balochistan, on the border with Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Due to UNDP’s advocacy which encompassed sensitization of 45 officials (including 29 women), facilitating contacts between government bodies, CSOs and the communities, Gender Desks were embedded in the national system as the only service of this kind available for Afghan and host populations in the two provinces. The service providers operated via mobile groups conducting weekly visits to the communities with awareness briefings about their rights and the services available. Around 5,000 people, mostly women, were reached. In addition, Gender Desks were stationed at the provincial Department for Women Development where the beneficiaries could come seeking help. Out of 100 cases formally registered with the Gender Desks in 2022, 96 were resolved. More than 2,000 people (including 1,700 women) received legal aid and/or benefitted from psychosocial support.

Leave No One Behind

To ensure wide participation of displaced and host communities, UNDP engaged community volunteers (refugees residing in the same areas as new arrivals), a network developed through partnerships with civil society and grassroot change-makers. In five localities in Quetta, 200 volunteers (20 men and 20 women in each of the five localities) benefitted from UNDP-supported trainings on access to justice, psycho-social support and women’s leadership. The volunteers facilitated communication and helped build trust between communities and service providers, conducted needs assessment and encouraged refugees to seek assistance.

lessons learned

In August 2022, one of the most devastating floods in the history of Pakistan affected 33 million people across the country. Emergency was declared in 12 out of Balochistan's 34 districts, including five project locations in Quetta. Heavy rains swept away mud houses, roads and disrupted communication systems. This severely impacted people’s mobility and their efforts to seek and access legal and psychosocial services through the Gender Desks. UNDP swiftly responded by leveraging its community networks to bring services to the community via mobile groups. For example, 16 group psychosocial sessions were carried out over a four-month period for 2,000 members (including 1,600 women and girls) of Afghan and hosting communities in Quetta. Gender Desks facilitated the humanitarian response, including by distributing relief food packages in partnership with the Balochistan Commission for Human Rights and the KP Human Rights Directorate of the Social Welfare Department.

A key lesson learned pertains to the nexus between displacement and climate change. The floods in Pakistan have significantly worsened pre-existing and emerging vulnerabilities of the displaced Afghan and hosting communities. This intersection needs to be further studied, more deeply understood and factored in to all the community-led interventions for an informed and nuanced preemption and response. To respond to this challenge, UNDP has developed a programme on access to environmental justice in Pakistan to be implemented in 2023.

Human Rights and SDG Integration

With the support of the UNSDG Human Rights Mainstreaming Fund, UNDP and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) continued to support national partners harmonize human rights and SDG monitoring and reporting efforts across the country. Following the launch of the Human Rights Information Management System and the accompanying National Strategic Framework for Coherence and Harmonization of Human Rights Data Collection and Reporting Mechanisms in 2021, UNDP and OHCHR supported the rollout and implementation of the National Strategic Framework in 2022. This was achieved through a series of consultations and capacity building workshops at provincial and federal levels with over 20 government line departments, human rights institutions and civil society organizations represented by over 200 participants.

The National Strategic Framework for Coherence and Harmonization of Human Rights Data Collection and Reporting Mechanisms sets out the overall vision of policy coherence between human rights and sustainable development across the decentralized governments in Pakistan to accompany the use of the new Human Rights and Information Management System.

Partnerships

These efforts have helped to strengthen collaboration across government entities, national and provincial human rights institutions, civil society organizations and UN partners working on human rights and the SDGs as well as reinforce the key role of national human rights institutions and civil society in the implementation of the National Strategic Framework.

Lastly, UNDP and OHCHR supported the Federal Ministry of Human Rights to develop terms of reference for the National Mechanism for Reporting and Follow-up (NMRF) Secretariat, which serves as a foundational document to establish this important mechanism that will support the implementation of the National Strategic Framework.

Business and Human Rights

UNDP advances human rights outcomes in relation to business activity in Pakistan through its support to the Government on implementing Pakistan's National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, and the National Commission for Human Rights for its independent monitoring. UNDP also raises awareness and builds the capacity of Pakistan’s private sector to practice human rights due diligence (HRDD) through B+HR Academy, a global branding of business and human rights training for interested stakeholders.

In 2022, UNDP, with the support of the Government of Japan and in partnership with Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Pakistan-Japan Business Forum, organized the first B+HR Academy to train over 40 companies on responsible business practices and HRDD.

Looking ahead, with the support of the European Union and the Governments of Norway and Japan, UNDP will offer country and sector-specific training and guidance on HRDD to the private sector including through partnerships with major companies, such as Adidas; support the government on designing legislation to strengthen business-related human rights and environmental protections; and promote the right to work of marginalized communities. This underpins UNDP's commitment to fostering a business environment in Pakistan that upholds human rights, promotes environmental justice and ensures that marginalized communities are not left behind.