UNDP

Accountability

Social and Environmental Compliance Review and Stakeholder Response Mechanism

In June 2014 UNDP adopted mandatory Social and Environmental Standards (SES) for all of UNDP’s projects and programmes effective 1 January 2015. The objectives of the Standards are to:

  • Strengthen the social and environmental outcomes of UNDP projects;
  • Avoid adverse impacts to people and the environment affected by projects;
  • Minimize, mitigate, and manage adverse impacts where avoidance is not possible;
  • Strengthen UNDP and partner capacities for managing social and environmental risks; and
  • Ensure full and effective stakeholder engagement, including through a mechanism to respond to complaints from project-affected people.

The Standards will be underpinned by an Accountability Mechanism with two key components:

1. A compliance review

A compliance review to respond to claims that UNDP is not in compliance with applicable environmental and social policies

view compliance review

2. A stakeholder response mechanism (SRM)

A stakeholder response mechanism (SRM) that ensures individuals, peoples, and communities affected by projects have access to appropriate grievance resolution procedures for hearing and addressing project-related complaints and disputes.

view srm

The Social and Environmental Compliance Unit (SECU) investigates alleged non-compliance with UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards and Screening Procedures from project-affected stakeholders and recommends measures to address findings of non-compliance.

The Stakeholder Response Mechanism(link is external) helps project-affected stakeholders, UNDP’s partners (governments, NGOs, businesses) and others jointly address grievances or disputes related to the social and/or environmental impacts of UNDP-supported projects.

Affected people have a choice: They can ask SECU to pursue a compliance review examining UNDP’s compliance with UNDP social and environmental commitments, they can attempt to resolve complaints and disputes through the Stakeholder Response Mechanism or they can ask both for compliance review and for an effort to resolve their concerns­­.

Get involved - Share your feedback and receive updates on UNDP's Social and Environmental Compliance Unit and Stakeholder Response Mechanism

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For specific inquiries:

Social and Environmental Compliance Unit:
secuhotline@undp.org

Stakeholder Response Mechanism:
stakeholder.response@undp.org

SECU Case Registry

SECU's Case Registry contains detailed information about SECU's current and prior compliance cases.

Visit SECU's Case Registry here (link is external)

SRM Case Registry

SRM Case Registry contains detailed information about SRM's current and prior problem solving cases.

Visit SRM's Case Registry here (link is external)

Submitting a Request

You may submit requests via our telephone, post, email or social media applications. For more information on these options, please see below.

Complaints should be as specific as possible, describing current or potential adverse impacts that have a plausible causal link to a UNDP-supported project/programme and, if possible, the UNDP social and environmental standards/commitments(link is external) that are believed to have been violated.