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.

Honduras

In Honduras, UNDP continued its work to promote democratic governance, civic participation, and transparency. In 2021, elections took place in the country. Overall, the year was marked by uncertainty and the long-term effects of violence and conflict.

To improve access to justice, UNDP worked with the Supreme Court of Justice and supported the implementation of e-justice initiatives. Examples include strengthening the Electronic Judicial File System (SEJE), the Judicial Branch Statistical System, the Strategic Planning process (2022-2026), and the electronic case management system.

UNDP, together with the European Union and electoral authorities, promoted citizen participation and the inclusion of all sectors of society, especially groups traditionally under-represented in political and electoral processes. UNDP provided technical assistance to the National Electoral Council (CNE) to develop five trainings for public officials and courses available for the general public. The trainings and courses promoted a human rights-based and gender-sensitive approach to issues such as political participation of LGBTQI+ individuals, youth leadership, political participation of young people, transparency and accountability. Over 3,000 people (1,338 men, 1,866 women, 15 non-binary) benefitted from these training sessions and courses across the country.

To broaden the participation of indigenous and Afro-Honduran peoples (PIAHs) in the elections, UNDP facilitated the design and launch of a targeted campaign through social media, television and radio. The campaign contributed to a 30 percent increase in people’s awareness of their electoral rights and accelerated progress towards citizen participation, electoral education, and human rights enforcement in the electoral cycle in Honduras. In two departments (regions) with the biggest indigenous communities, electoral participation significantly increased compared to the elections in 2017.1

To promote rights-based customary mechanisms for conflict prevention and resolution, UNDP developed a "Manual for the Ancestral and/or Traditional Resolution of conflicts, complaints and disputes of Indigenous and Afro-Honduran Peoples" with the objective of rescuing, systematizing, and disseminating information on these practices. Additionally, UNDP has been developing trainings on traditional methods of conflict resolution in the region of La Moskitia. Thirty people, including prosecutors from the Public Ministry and judges from six municipalities, police commissioners and officials from the Migration Institute will advance their knowledge and skills on conflict prevention and resolution.

UNDP supported the National Registry of Persons in the production and delivery of new National Identification Documents (DNI). In Honduras, for the first time, a biometric registry was introduced, in line with international security standards. The purpose of the identification system is to guarantee the fundamental right of all citizens to have their legal identity, enabling access to social protection, financial inclusion, education and healthcare. In 2021, UNDP led the elaboration of the Human Development Report (HDR) for Honduras, with an in-depth analysis of the progress and changes in the country over the past decade, proposing a set of public policies and tools to strengthen the rule of law. The report addresses the challenges of decentralization, political and electoral reforms, access to justice, citizen security, economy and employment, digital transformation, access to education, health and social protection, and environmental care. The report was developed in close consultation with civil society, academia, businesses, women, youth, religious authorities, indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants. In 2022, the HDR will include an "Atlas of Human Development" with data covering the main trends, advances, challenges and existing imbalances at the national, departmental and municipal levels. Easily accessible and navigated, this tool will support national and local authorities to develop evidence-based multidimensional plans and budgets.

Lenca indigenous community's a lady and her child
A lady and her child from the Lenca indigenous community at her vegetable stand at a street market in La Esperanza, Intibucá. The photographer called this photo “Peace is an opportunity that we can all have”.
“We could achieve a more just and inclusive country, if all parts of the society, including forgotten indigenous communities, could have opportunities to move ahead and improve their lives,” he said.Photo: UNDP/Juan Santos

Key Results: Honduras

UNDP supported the design and implementation of at least four national mechanisms to promote respect for the rule of law and human rights in Honduras: Early Warning System for conflict prevention, IVerify System (tool to fight disinformation), Technological Platform for Accountability, and the National Inter-institutional Table for the prevention of conflicts.

Over 3,000 people (1,338 men, 1,866 women, 15 non-binary) participated in UNDP-facilitated trainings on the issues of political participation, transparency, human rights, conflict prevention and accountability.

Over five million people representing 96% of the adult population of the country (2,769,366 women and 2,518,055 men) enrolled to obtain new identification documents with biometric data