UNDP support for
crisis prevention
and recovery.
Empowering the
Lives of Iraqi Women
through Security
A UNDP programme in Iraq is working
to advance rule-of-law programmes that
increase protections and access to
justice for women, part of a greater effort
to improve security in the country.
"The security situation in general has obviously hit the vulnerable populations worst, and when we look at the situation for women, there is a fear that — rather than improving — the situation since 2003 has deteriorated," said Helen Olafsdottir, a UNDP Iraq-based adviser for crisis prevention and recovery. "We've found that there was a huge gap in terms of addressing issues of domestic violence, and gender-based violence in general."
In Iraq, there is not a strong legal framework to protect women from abuse, a challenge compounded by a lack of shelters and adequate training for medical and law enforcement authorities to respond to instances of gender-based violence.
In September 2010, UNDP helped coordinate a training course in Erbil for police officers, social workers, lawyers and judges from across Iraq, showcasing regional best practices for law enforcement responses and support services for survivors of gender-based violence.
Jordanian police trainers helped to teach the first set of 40 Iraqi officers — 20 from the central Government, and 20 from the Kurdistan Region — on how to run family protection directorates. The involvement of Jordanian trainers ensured cultural familiarity with Iraqi police officers, and encouraged regional cooperation.
Through two other UNDP rule-of-law projects, each running through the end of 2011, the Government is conducting a comprehensive training programme to raise awareness among Iraqi judges of international and Iraqi standards on women's rights and the right to fair trial.
The programme consists of 23 training courses on a range of legal and administrative topics, including gender-based violence, gender equity, arbitration, procedural law, conducting fair and just investigations, anti-corruption efforts, human rights, family law, strategic planning, training of trainers and judicial ethics. By January 2011, more than 400 Iraqi judges had attended these training courses.
Gulizar Mohamad Omer is a social worker and the deputy head of Dahuk Women's Shelter in Kurdistan, Iraq, which was established in part with UNDP support. After three years at the shelter, she says that many abused women who come to the shelter for help must return to their communities because they lack other options. Back home they face great difficulties in leading a normal life free from stigmatization.
Increased legal and economic empowerment for survivors of violence can hopefully go a long way toward addressing these major challenges. UNDP is supporting a network of women's shelters as they work to improve their services for women survivors of abuse and help them to better reintegrate into their former lives. (Photo: Martine Perret/UN Photo)
Women in the village of Grand Boulage, in central Haiti, build dry stone walls along the banks of a river, which will limit the effects of erosion. They are participants in a joint UNDP and WFP cash-for-work initiative that is providing temporary work and injecting much-needed cash into the local economy after the January 2010 earthquake. This particular programme is rehabilitating the watershed to prevent and reduce the risks of flooding.
(Photo: Mariana Nissen/UNDP)
Building Back Better after the 2010 Earthquake
On 12 January 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake rocked Haiti, killing over 300,000 and displacing 1.5 million people. The world reacted quickly, sending in aid and recovery teams, pledging money and support for a rebuilding process in a country that was already living with high levels of poverty and inequality. The challenge of 'building back better' in Haiti is a huge undertaking and will take several years.
UNDP's task is to help Haiti rebuild into a more resilient country. Throughout 2010, we worked to enable a rapid transition to long-term recovery by restoring livelihoods, government infrastructure and services, and to offer hope and means to those who survived the crisis to rebuild their lives.
In the past year, UNDP, together with the World Food Programme (WFP), has employed 240,000 people affected by the earthquake; contributed to the clearance of 1 million cubic metres of debris; made significant contributions to international aid coordination and transparency as pledges continue to arrive; and supported the Government at all levels as it re-establishes the physical and human resource infrastructure critical to Haiti's future.
At the same time, recovery from the earthquake goes well beyond rebuilding homes, livelihoods and infrastructure: it requires rebuilding entire communities and institutions. Many government officials and local leaders died in the earthquake, along with thousands of civil servants. Government buildings crumbled and an already weak government infrastructure was almost completely destroyed.
UNDP has been working to establish — in partnership with the Government — a blueprint for longer-term recovery. At the heart of this planning is the belief that true recovery cannot happen without giving Haitians the means to provide for their own recovery.
UNDP's cash-for-work and food-for-work programmes, in partnership with WFP, are part of a greater programme of labour-intensive initiatives that have provided work for those who have lost their livelihoods due to the earthquake. Through employment opportunities, communities themselves have cleared rubble, cleaned water evacuation channels and collected garbage from earthquake-shattered neighbourhoods. These temporary job programmes — undertaken in cooperation with other UN agencies, local communities and NGOs — provide a much-needed injection of cash into the local economy. An estimated 1.2 million people have benefited as a result of this ongoing programme.
Photo Essay | select image number to navigate • hover over slideshow to pause it
1
A view of heavy flooding caused by monsoon rains in Punjab Province, near the city of Multan, Pakistan. The epic floods that affected 18 million people across one fifth of Pakistan in July, August and September of 2010 were the worst ever recorded; parts of southern Pakistan remained under water for months.
Photo: Evan Schneider/UN Photo
2
Pakistanis displaced by heavy monsoon floods take refuge at Sultan Colony, an encampment in Punjab Province, near the city of Multan. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the camp and spoke to victims of the flood in August 2010.
As a result of its long-standing presence in Pakistan, together with the financial support of a range of partners, UNDP was able to rapidly launch an early recovery programme to help communities in the worst-affected areas start to rebuild their lives while supporting Government institutions in their efforts to respond to the urgent needs of the crisis.
Photo: Evan Schneider/UN Photo
3
A beneficiary settles into her new house in the village of Bhago Tewno, located in Dadu Sindh district. The house was built as part of a larger UNDP initiative to quickly rebuild hundreds of destroyed homes following the destructive floods. Hundreds more homes have been constructed in the north-eastern region of Gilgit-Baltistan. Most of them are handed over to women heads of households.
At the onset of the floods, UNDP quickly fielded 31 additional staff, including crisis and recovery experts and operational and support staff from across the world. UNDP also provided $4.7 million from its Crisis Prevention and Recovery Trust Fund, allowing UNDP's Country Office in Pakistan to develop a recovery strategy, commence immediate recovery work and raise an additional $80 million.
Photo: UNDP Pakistan
4
A woman from the village of Shah Wasaiyo in Sindh province stitches clothing for her small business. She learned how to sew through a vocational training conducted by UNDP. After finishing the course, she and her classmates were provided with the required tools of the trade, including sewing machines. Hundreds of men and women across the flood-affected areas have started to earn livelihoods with UNDP support.
Photo: UNDP Pakistan
5
Women from a village in the district of Muzaffargarh in Punjab province sing and dance to celebrate at a goat distribution ceremony, happening right next door to a goat farm newly-established by UNDP after the floods. After participating in a UNDP cash-for-work rebuilding programme, the women decided to buy goats with their salaries. The 137 participating women take turns caring for the goats.
Photo: UNDP Pakistan
6
Fifty-five year-old Hajra Bibi has been selling bangles and henna for 15 years in the main bazaar of Kot Adu city, in the district of Muzaffargarh. After her small shop was destroyed in the floods UNDP helped her to re-start her business with a small grant of 15,000 rupees, allowing her to stock her shelves once again. Her 24-year-old son Arif also took part in a training programme for people running small businesses, done with UNDP's support. Arif was then able to share what he learned with his mother.
Photo: UNDP Pakistan
7
Women line up at a mobile unit in Punjab province to receive new identification cards and other legal documents necessary to claim flood assistance from the Government. The floods washed away public records in many a public office. UNDP, in partnership with Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority, initiated a mobile service throughout the country to help people secure new, critical legal documentation, such as identification cards. Over 10,000 people have benefitted from this service, many of whom are gaining a legal identity for the first time in their lives.
Photo: UNDP Pakistan
8
UNDP helps restore communities through numerous cash-for-work schemes, which help to jumpstart the local economy while providing work to people who lost their livelihoods in the floods. Workers cleared debris, paved roads and built culverts in their communities.
Photo: UNDP Pakistan
9
A cash-for-work beneficiary works on constructing a road after the floods in the province of Kyber Pakhtunkhwa. Thousands of farmers are participating in cash-for-work initiatives through UNDP as part of a project to repair damaged roadways linking farming villages with local markets. These roads are vital for farmers, enabling them to take their produce directly to the city market and so avoiding costly middle men. Carts have been replaced by Suzuki vans and trucks, substantially reducing travel time.
Going forward, UNDP will continue to work with the Government of Pakistan at the federal and local level and with NGO partners in 28 of the worst-affected districts to continue supporting local-level early recovery initiatives.
Photo: UNDP Pakistan
Supporting Sustainable Recovery from the 2010 Floods
The epic floods that affected 18 million people across one fifth of Pakistan in July, August and September of 2010 were the worst ever recorded; parts of southern Pakistan remained under water for months.
As a result of its long-standing presence in Pakistan, together with the financial support of a range of partners, UNDP was able to rapidly launch an early recovery programme to help communities in the worst-affected areas start to rebuild their lives while supporting government institutions in their efforts to respond to the urgent needs of the crisis.
At the onset of the floods, UNDP quickly fielded 31 additional staff, including crisis and recovery experts and operational and support staff from across the world. UNDP also provided $4.7 million from its Crisis Prevention and Recovery Trust Fund, allowing the Country Office in Pakistan to develop a recovery strategy, commence immediate recovery work and raise an additional $80 million.
More than 200,000 people are benefiting directly from UNDP projects to support the first stages in their recovery.
For example, in Punjab province, UNDP provided seeds and fertilizers to small farmers whose land and equipment were destroyed in the floods. Beneficiaries were able to recultivate 7,000 acres of land as a result. Thousands of farmers in the province's south are also participating in cash-for-work initiatives through UNDP as part of a project to repair damaged roadways linking farming villages with local markets.
Also in southern Punjab, more than 1,000 women have teamed up under a UNDP project to clear debris from public buildings, fields and private residences. They receive $176 for 50 days of work, and many are using the income as start-up funds for small businesses.
Across all these areas, hundreds have used the services of UNDP mobile facilities that issue and replace identity papers and other documents necessary as the first step in making claims for assistance. Going forward, UNDP will continue to work with the Government of Pakistan at the federal and local level and with NGO partners in 28 of the worst-affected districts to continue supporting local-level early recovery initiatives.
A woman and her child participate in a procession in Nairobi, Kenya, celebrating the passage of the new Constitution in 2010. Participants are wearing shirts that say 'A new Constitution, a new beginning' in Swahili. (Photo: UNDP Kenya)
UNDP played a critical role in preventing violence in connection with Kenya's 2010 referendum on its Constitution. UNDP worked with national partners on reaching consensus on the draft Constitution prior to elections; instituting credible electoral procedures; and implementing an early warning and response system that used text messaging, media alerts and UNDP-trained 'peace monitors' who were deployed to over 100 districts.
These efforts prevented potential violence in the Rift Valley province. According to a group of 300 Kenyan business leaders, post-election violence in 2008 cost Kenya approximately $3.6 billion and nearly 500,000 lower and middle-income jobs. Over 300,000 people were displaced from their homes and 1,200 lives lost. In contrast, the 2010 referendum did not see a single incident of violence.
