New York, June 22 — The high-level meeting on ‘Strengthening the Rule of Law and Human Rights for Sustaining Peace and Fostering Development,’ organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) brought together Member States, governments, UN agencies, civil society, relevant experts, and actors to enable collaboration and outline priorities for improving the rule of law in crisis-affected contexts.

UNDP provides comprehensive rule of law and human rights assistance to support national partners build resilient communities.  The event formally launched the 2017 Annual Rule of Law and Human Rights Report , which highlights numerous country, regional, and global results achieved with UNDP’s partners in nearly 40 crisis-affected contexts around the world.

In his keynote remarks, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner emphasized that the rule of law is not only about guaranteeing rights, but is an enabler of good governance and sustainable development. He further discussed how strengthening the rule of law is an integral part of UNDP’s work and the UN’s focus on prevention.

The event explored means to enhance rule of law assistance as a vital part of a multi-dimensional governance approach to sustaining peace and implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a specific focus on Goal 16 to promote peaceful, just, and inclusive societies. The high-level panel stressed the need for the international community to prioritize efforts for the prevention of violent conflict and to work closer together to comprehensively address complex global challenges.  

Key partnerships for the rule of law and human rights were featured throughout the event, including the UNDP and UNHCR Partnership on the Rule of Law and Governance, the UNDP - OHCHR-Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions Partnership to Support National Human Rights Institutions, and the Global Alliance for Reporting Progress on Promoting Peaceful, Just, and Inclusive Societies.

The event also included a presentation of the preliminary findings of the forthcoming independent review of the Global Focal Point (GFP) for Police, Justice, and Corrections – an arrangement created by the Secretary-General in 2012 to increase collaboration on UN rule of law efforts. The GFP is co-led by UNDP and DPKO and has become a model of UN coherence in delivering joint rule of law support to crisis-affected contexts.

Looking forward, the discussions highlighted the need for UNDP and UNHCR to deepen their collaboration, a strategy for the UN rule of law community to directly contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals and the High-Level Political Forum in July, as well as a strengthened platform of rule of law and human rights support for UN Resident Coordinators in the field.

Fabrizio Hochschild, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination, on behalf of the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations closed the high-level session. He stated that, "promoting governance systems founded on respect for human rights and the rule of law can help to address historical inequalities and patterns of discrimination that fuel chronic unrest…Whole-of-system responses are essential. This is why we are focused on bringing the system together to tighten the humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding nexus.”

The four-day (19-22 June) meeting was attended by nearly 200 people, including ministerial representatives from countries supported by UNDP i.e. Sierra Leone and Haiti; representatives of Member States; technical specialists; Global Focal Point partners and UN entities (EOSG, UNDP, DPKO, OHCHR, UNODC, and UN Women), think tanks; and civil society.

Other Quotes:

- H.E. Professor Dr. Beate Rudolf, Chairperson of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, “If we continue our efforts to strengthen NHRIs to be effective and independent, their work will have a meaningful impact for people on the ground.”

-Mr. Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP, “Everything we do, we do through the lens of conflict prevention, and we use our available tools to strengthen democratic transitions, to promote inclusion, accountability, and to further human rights.”

Contact Information

Sangita Khadka, Communications Specialist, UNDP Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, email: sangita.khadka@undp.org Tel: +1 212 906 5043