Accelerating Access to Justice for Human Development: Strengthening Responsive Governing Institutions

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Accelerating Access to Justice for Human
Development Strengthening Responsive Governing
Institutions

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UNDPs Strategic Plan 2008-2011

• UNDP Strategic Plan Focus Area 2 Democratic
  governance,
• GOAL To strengthen national and local capacities
  for democratic governance, building upon the
  principles of the Millennium Declaration and the
  World Summit Outcome Document.
• UNDP SP Outcome 6 Effective, responsive,
  accessible and fair justice systems promoting the
  rule of law, including both formal and informal
  processes, with due consideration to the rights
  of the poor, women and vulnerable groups.

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External changes UN inter-agency Rule of Law
Coordination and Resource Group Principal
level OHCHR, UNODC, UNICEF, UNIFEM, OLA, UNHCR,
DPA Working-expert level Rule of law unit in the
DSGs office
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Policy Developments in the UN re the Rule of law

• The Rule of Law is a concept at the very heart
  of the Organizations mission.
• For the United Nations, justice is an ideal of
  accountability and fairness in the protection and
  vindication of rights and the prevention and
  punishment of wrongs.
• From the report Rule of Law and Transitional
  Justice in
• Conflict and Post-Conflict Societies Report of
  the
• Secretary-General (S/2004/616 of 23 August 2004)

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Rule of law guidance note 2008

• Base assistance on international norms and
  standards
• Take account of the political context
• Base assistance on the unique country context
• Advance human rights and gender justice
• Ensure national ownership
• Support national reform constituencies
• Ensure coherent and comprehensive strategic
  approach
• Engage in effective coordination and partnership

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Framework for strengthening the rule of law

• A constitution or equivalent
• A legal framework, and the implementation thereof
• An electoral system
• Institutions of justice , governance, security
  and human rights
• Transitional justice processes and mechanisms
• A public and civil society that contributes to
  strengthening the rule of law and holds public
  officials and institutions accountable

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Internal changes

• Senior Management decision in 2005 - a cross
  practice unit BCPR and BDP/DGG on JSSR
• BCPR set up a JSSR unit in 2007 and crafted a
  global programme
• Cross practice unit in the making

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Global rule of law and justice programmes

• Strengthening the Rule of Law in Conflict and
  Post Conflict situations (managed by BCPR)
  (approved)
• Accelerating Access to Justice and the Rule of
  Law for Human Development in non-crisis and long
  term development settings (managed by DGG/BDP)
  (still in the making).

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Justice and Rule of Law - global Mapping 2006-07
Objective

• To complement concurrent UNDP mapping
  initiatives such as the UNDP Primer on Gender and
  Justice Programming Sarah Douglas (2006)
  Equitable Access to Justice for Women and Men A
  UNDP Primer on Gender and Justice Programming,
  the questionnaire regarding anti-corruption
  launched by BDP, and the Human Rights World Map
  prepared by the Oslo Governance Centre (OGC)

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Coverage

• Electronic survey with general and specific
  questions on justice and rule of law programming
  at UNDP Country and Regional Offices 2006/2007
• Desk review of DGTTF programmes 2002-2006
• fifty-eight Country Offices from all five regions
  
• two Regional Offices and one SURF
• thus, 70 of the total of about eighty-six
  offices active in access to justice and rule of
  law programming provided feedback

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Respondents

• Africa (15 respondents)
• Burundi, Chad, Congo, Congo Democratic Republic,
  Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Mozambique,
  Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Swaziland,
  Tanzania, and Togo
• Arab States (9 respondents)
• Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Occupied
  Palestinian Territories, Somalia, Syria, Yemen
  SURF Arab States
• Asia-Pacific (14 respondents)
• Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India,
  Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal,
  Pakistan, Timor Leste, and the Pacific
  Sub-Regional Centre
• Eastern Europe / CIS (10 respondents)
• Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic,
  Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Tajikistan,
  Turkey, Uzbekistan
• Latin America and the Caribbean (13 respondents)
• Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador,
  Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay,
  Trinidad Tobago, Venezuela, and the Regional
  Bureau (RBLAC)

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Regional demand and funding

• respondents from Africa, the Arab States, and
  Asia-Pacific demonstrated strongest justice
  programming in terms of number and variety of
  activities
• programmes with most funding (3 millions USD and
  above) are almost exclusively located in Africa,
  the Arab States, and Asia-Pacific
• average duration of justice programmes is three
  years

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Key lessons learned

• dialogue building with stakeholders critical to
  ensure a comprehensive approach to justice
  programming
• developing advocacy capacity for legal reform
• solid understanding of local political dynamics
• need to address gender disparities
• coordination among donors and UN agencies
• selection of civil society groups critical for
  successful implementation

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Drivers of future UNDP justice programming

• Successful program delivery/pilot projects
• Significance of justice for democratic
  governance
• Internal restructuring
• EU accession
• Alternative justice mechanisms
• Conflict prevention
• Legal Empowerment of the Poor project
• National ownership

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Partners in the field - coordination

• Bilateral donors (AECI, Belgium, CIDA, DANIDA,
  DFID, Euras Holding, Finland, France, Japan,
  Norway and the Norwegian oil company Statoil,
  Portugal, RNE, SDC, SIDA, USAID)
• Multilateral donos (UNICEF, OHCHR, UNODC, DPKO,
  UNIFEM, UNHCR)
• IFIs (ADB, IADB, WB)
• National and local donors (Ministries of
  Interior, Ministries of Justice, NGOs)

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Accelerating Access to Justice for Human
Development Programme

• Main objective accelerate access to justice for
  the advancement of human development
• Specific objectives
• To increase the capacity of national partners in
  Governments and Justice Sector Institutions to
  embark on the design and implementation of long
  term justice system reform programmes and
  corresponding strategic plans including the
  budgetary and costing process and legislative
  reform processes.
• To strengthen the capacity of UNDP Country
  Offices in supporting national partners in the
  process of justice system and legislative reform
  through the production of policy documents and
  practical guidance tools.
• To strengthen the capacity both quantitatively
  and qualitatively of national institutions
  focusing on legal and judicial training including
  regional and south-south cooperation.

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Outcomes and outputs

• With Regional Bureaux, BCPR, BRSP and Regional
  Centres/SURFs as main corporate partners, the
  Global Programme aims at strengthening the
  knowledge base through the production of guiding
  tools and policies in order to assist UNDPs
  national partners and the Country Offices to
  embark on solid long term justice sector reform
  programmes that promote access to justice, legal
  empowerment and the rule of law for the poor and
  disadvantaged.
• The main outputs of the programme will be
  knowledge production and management supplemented
  by operational and programming engagement in
  selected countries based on defined criteria.
• The programme finally aims at equipping UNDP in
  becoming an active contributor to the global
  debate on access to justice, rule of law and
  security issues. The programme will produce
  lessons learned and identify best practices based
  on UNDPs experiences at the country and regional
  level.

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The Legal Empowerment of the Poor Agenda

• Extending legal protections and property rights
• Bottom up approach
• The complexity of overhauling legal systems

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Making the Law Work for everyoneReport of the
Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor

• Four billion people around the world are robbed
  of the chance to better their lives and climb out
  of poverty, because they are excluded from the
  rule of law
• The remedy for exclusion is inclusion

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The Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor

• Co-Chaired by Madeleine Albright and Hernando de
  Soto
• Comprised of 25 Commissioners, including former
  heads of state and government, cabinet ministers,
  jurists, economic researchers, and other senior
  policy-makers from the North, South, East and
  West.
• Holding diverse views but agreeing on the
  imperative of finding better ways to fight
  poverty and exclusion.

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Commission Findings

• Most of the poor do not live under the shelter of
  the law, but far from the laws protection and
  the opportunities it affords.
• They are vulnerable to abuse by authorities who
  discriminate, seek bribes, or take the side of
  powerful interests against them.
• The law is the platform on which rest the vital
  institutions of society.
• No modern market economy can function without law
  and
• To be legitimate, power itself must submit to the
  law.

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The Four Pillars of Legal Empowerment of the Poor

• Access to Justice and Rule of Law
• Property Rights
• Labour Rights
• Business Rights

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Access to Justice

• Reforming the law on paper is not enough to
  change how the poor experience it day to day.
• Even the best regulations do not help the poor if
  the institutions enforcing them are ineffective,
  corrupt or captured by elites.
• It is vitally important to reform public
  institutions and remove the legal and
  administrative barriers that prevent the poor
  from securing their rights and interests.

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Property Rights

• Property rights are fundamental to the life and
  operation of society and so their reform cannot
  be neglected.
• Protecting existing assets is the first concern
  of the poor. Measures to achieve such protection
  will empower poor people, secure their
  livelihoods and make investments in their future
  more attractive.
• Ensuring that property reforms do not weaken
  womens rights and indigenous or pastoralist
  groups communal rights is notoriously difficult

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Labour Rights

• A well-designed system of labour rights should
  provide both protection and opportunity.
• Most workers have basic rights and protections in
  theory, but not in practice. They do not benefit
  from labour laws and bargaining arrangements.
  They are typically denied access to state or
  employer benefits and social security.
• Recognition and enforcement of the rights of
  individual workers and of their organizations is
  critical for breaking the cycle of poverty.
• .

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Business Rights

• Most of the worlds poor entrepreneurs operate
  informally and are particularly vulnerable to the
  vagaries of corruption and violence of criminals
  and officials.
• Legal registration can dramatically improve the
  profitability of informal businesses by
  increasing their access to capital, enter into
  legally binding contracts and to contain personal
  risk through asset shielding

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A Comprehensive Approach

• Good things go together - the four pillars of
  Legal Empowerment reinforce each other.
• The gender dimension needs critical attention in
  all four domains, as do indigenous peoples
  rights and customary law.
• The poor are not the object of Legal Empowerment
  but the co-designers and facilitators of it.

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Reform Options Justice

• Improved identity registration systems
• Affordable and accessible systems of alternative
  dispute resolution.
• Legal simplification and standardization and
  legal literacy campaigns targeting the poor.
• Stronger legal aid systems and expanded legal
  service cadres with paralegals and law students.
• Structural reform enabling community-based groups
  to pool legal risks.

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Reform OptionsProperty

• Institutionalize a property rights system that
  brings the extralegal economy into the formal
  economy.
• Promote a property rights system that will
  recognize real and immoveable property bought by
  men as the co-property of their wives, as well as
  clear inheritance rules.
• Create a functioning market for the exchange of
  assets that is transparent and accountable.
• Ensure that all owners have access to the same
  rights and standards.
• Reinforce property rights through public
  policies, such as access to housing and low
  interest loans.

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Reform Options Property (2)

• Legal guidelines for forced relocation, including
  fair compensation.
• Recognition of a variety of land tenure,
  including customary rights and indigenous
  peoples rights including their standardisation
  and integration of these practices into the legal
  system.
• State land audits with findings published to
  discourage illegal taking possession of public
  land.
• Simplified procedures to register and transfer
  land and property.

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Reform Options Labour Rights

• Fundamental rights at work, especially freedom of
  association, collective bargaining and
  non-discrimination.
• Improved quality of labour regulation and its
  enforcement.
• Inclusive approaches to social protection,
  delinked from the employment relationship.
• Labour rights (health and safety, hours of work,
  minimum income) extended to workers in the
  informal economy.
• More opportunities for education, training and
  retraining

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Reform Options Business Rights

• Appropriate legal and regulatory frameworks,
  including enforceable commercial contracts,
  private property rights, use of public space.
• Fair commercial transactions between informal
  enterprises and formal firms. Financial, business
  development, and marketing services for informal
  enterprises.
• Micro business incentives, including government
  procurement, tax rebates, and subsidies. Social
  protection for informal entrepreneurs.

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The Commission calls on the United Nations to

• Establish a Global Legal Empowerment Open
  Access Arena
• Support Regional Compacts on Legal Empowerment of
  the Poor
• Provide Support to Legal Empowerment at the
  Country Level
• Fund Knowledge Accumulation and Learning

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Innovative Mechanisms for Legal Empowerment
Support

• Norm setting through a Global Legal Empowerment
  Compact
• Defenders of the Poor
• Knowledge clearinghouse on Legal Empowerment
• Public-private partnerships for Legal Empowerment
  
• Initiative to promote grassroots knowledge and
  social innovation
• Observance of an International Day for Legal
  Empowerment of the Poor