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United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
( French; Arabic) The United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners. World leaders have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals,1 including the overarching goal of cutting poverty in half by 2015. UNDP's network links and coordinates global and national efforts to reach these goals. UNDP furthermore helps developing countries to attract and use aid effectively, and in all our activities, we aim to promote the production of Human Rights and the Empowerment of Women
UNDP's goals are described in the "Strategic Plan for UNDP 2008-2011, Accelerating Global Progress on Human Development", 2 as endorsed by the Member States of UNDP's Executive Board in 2007. This plan guides UNDP Lebanon’s programmes and projects, around four key “Development Focus Areas”:
- Democratic Governance: Fostering inclusive participation; strengthening responsive governing institutions; promoting governance practices grounded in int'l principles.
- Poverty Reduction and Support for the MDGs: Promoting inclusive growth, gender equality and achievement of MDGs; fostering inclusive globalization; mitigating impact of HIV/AIDS on human development.
- Environment and Sustainable Development: Mainstreaming environment and energy; catalyzing environmental finance; promoting climate change adaptation; developing local capacity to manage environment and expand access to energy service delivery.
- Crisis Prevention and Recovery: Enhancing conflict and disaster risk management capabilities; strengthening post-conflict governance functions; restoring foundations for development at local level.
UNDP works within these areas to enhance its operational role, providing policy and technical support to programme countries by working on and advocating for the multisectoral challenges of poverty reduction, democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery, and environment and sustainable development
UNDP furthermore promotes gender equality and women's empowerment, supporting programme countries in strengthening their own capacities to design and implement development strategies that reflect specific national circumstances and national objectives, within the overall framework of the internationally agreed development goals.
1-Good governance aims at promoting a participatory and collaborative relationship between the state and other national and local actors by developing and improving institutions in a way that responds to the needs of citizens. To promote good and democratic governance, UNDP focuses on engaging citizens, strengthening governing institutions, and better grounding of democratic governance.
UNDP supports the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities in administering more credible, fair and transparent elections while creating a culture of democracy and participation through civic engagement initiatives. Moreover, UNDP is keen on raising public awareness on democracy issues to empower citizens, especially women and youth to exercise their civic rights and understand their responsibilities. UNDP also makes sure that all citizens are equal by law and have access to Justice.
UNDP backs up the Prime Minister’s Office to improve the planning and implementation of development programmes and set up economic and social policies and governmental reforms.
UNDP responds to requests from national partners to better maintain human rights, gender equality, and anti-corruption standards. For instance, UNDP supports the Human Rights committee in the Lebanese parliament to develop a National Action Plan for Human Rights. Moreover, an initiative called “Towards a National Dialogue on Corruption in Lebanon” teamed up with UNDP and the Lebanese Transparency Association with the intend of augmenting transparency and accountability in the public sector.
2- Poverty reduction and support for the MDGs: UNDP's support in the area of poverty reduction focuses on policy and operational support. At the upstream level, UNDP provides policy advice for the development of national policies for social development and poverty reduction, in addition to building the country statistical database for poverty measurement and monitoring. At the downstream level, UNDP supports the implementation of local development/ local governance initiatives in four poorest areas of the country, including southern Lebanon, the Bekaa, North Lebanon and Beirut southern suburbs.
UNDP organizes a series of development initiatives in these areas for poverty alleviation through implementing and promoting activities related to income generation, job creation, economic empowerment of women, strengthening of local government services and partnership with civil society organizations. These interventions are multi-disciplinary linking sectors such as education, health, and employment.
3- The Environment and Energy (E&E) Programme in UNDP Lebanon assists the Lebanese people and government in strengthening institutional capacity and providing policy support for more effective natural resource management.
The programme works through the implementation of several nationally and directly executed projects in a variety of sectors such as:
• The industrial sector for the reduction of Ozone Depleting Substances and the implementation of energy audits to reduce green house gas emissions;
• The agricultural sector for combating desertification and promoting sustainable land management, including flood risk management, while increasing agricultural activities; and,
• The energy sector by promoting energy conservation with a view to reducing the financial burden on the government from the energy sector while reducing carbon emissions.
Most of the projects being implemented by the Energy and Environment programme contain both capacity building and awareness raising components.
4- Crises prevention and recovery: UNDP has been supporting Lebanon's recovery efforts for two decades, in order to quickly recover lives and livelihoods in the affected areas, while paving the way for political stability and the achievement of the MDGs by promoting good governance (public administration, economic reform, social policies, peace building initiatives).
While supporting early recovery interventions on the ground, UNDP is also strengthening the government's own post-conflict aid coordination mechanisms, based in the Prime Minister's Office. These include (i) a transparent and effective donor contributions tracking system, (ii) the Lebanon Recovery Fund designed to channel international assistance rapidly to recovery projects, (iii) the revision of the Social Action Plan from the Paris III Conference, and (iv) the preparation of important socio-economic assessments. In addition, UNDP has engaged actively with civil society, supported the coordination of activities to clear unexploded ordnance (UXOs), and is currently preparing a programme in support of national and local capacities for natural disaster management.
During the armed conflict in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el Bared camp (May-September 2007), UNDP has supported national efforts through the Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee (LPDC), based at the Prime Minister’s Office. UNDP has also actively supported UNRWA's coordination efforts as well as the planning of early recovery interventions. UNDP is presently involved in several actions on the ground covering capacity building, small-scale infrastructure, livelihoods, environmental protection, and electricity.
Contact person: Mona El-Yassir Communication Officer Arab African International Bank Bldg. Riad El-Solh Street, Nejmeh Beirut –Lebanon Tel/fax: 01981935 E-mail: mona.el-yassir@undp.org
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