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.

Nigeria

In Nigeria, UNDP received a formal request from the Chief of Staff of the President of the country to support the police reform. The request was filed in November 2021, following the protests across the country when Nigerian citizens, mostly youth, called for the abolishment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and for wider police reform1. The beginning of the reform process was underpinned by the 2020 Police Act which had been enforced few months before the SARS protests commenced.

With the support from the UN Police received through the Global Focal Point for the Rule of Law (GFP), UNDP identified entry points to initiate and develop the reform process. From the side of the Government, under the auspices of the President’s Chief of Staff, key partners came on board, including the Police, the Ministry of Police and others, ensuring the process is nationally led and owned.

UNDP’s support for the reform process was catalytic, and its convening role helped to ensure broader engagement of the donor community. At the end of 2021, the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed a partnership agreement with UNDP to enhance the police reform in Nigeria. Other partners, including the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States have indicated their commitment to support the Government’s agenda for the police reform. Such comprehensive support will ensure that the police and the Office of the President have the governance and leadership capacities to enable sustainable reforms, implement the 2020 Police Act, and define a national approach to community policing. It will also promote the concept for police modernization and training to better respond to security challenges and the safety needs of communities, including the needs of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

In June 2021, UNDP supported the development of a Presidential Roadmap on Police Reform, setting out the vision for the reform and outlining its key principles and approaches. Democratic policing, inclusivity, accountability and respect for human rights were recognized as the fundamental basis for the reform. It proposed critical changes to the system, including demilitarization of the police, robust accountability framework, new approaches to budgeting and welfare, and full implementation of the 2020 Police Act. It is expected that the President of Nigeria will approve and enforce the Roadmap in 2022. In addition, UNDP provided expert advice on the reform process to the Chief of Staff on its initiatives for the police reform that included the expansion of police personnel,2 welfare improvements3 and legislative progress.4

UNDP has leveraged its global positioning on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) through its work in Nigeria. Please visit the Community Security section under Thematic focus for more information.

Conflict-affected communities community members
Community members from one of the conflict-affected communities in Nigeria are having an integrated mental health and psychosocial support session.Photo: UNDP Nigeria

Key Results: Nigeria

The President has pledged “a citizens-led policing system” to Nigeria. As the key partner working with the Government on Police Reform, UNDP has accompanied the process to develop a Presidential Plan on Police Reform which will be launched in 2022.

UNDP has leveraged its global positioning on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) through its work in Nigeria. The scope of this work was expanded following mass surrender of insurgents (reportedly, 50,000 have surrendered since August 2021) in the North-East.