Human Rights Based Approach Gender Mainstreaming Conflict Prevention etc'

1
Human Rights Based Approach Gender Mainstreaming
Conflict Prevention (etc.)

• How can we be more strategic in addressing
  cross-cutting issues and mainstreaming in the UN?
  
• HRBA Community of Practice Meeting
• for Europe and the CIS
• Prague 25-26 Nov 2005

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The objective of this presentation

• To emphasize similarities in the approaches
• To point out potential challenges and solutions
• NOT to present a recipe but rather to put the
  issue on the table to keep in mind for the
  remainder of the meeting and in the future.

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Mainstreaming requirements in the UN/UNDP

• Human Rights
• In 1997, Secretary-General Kofi Annan adopted his
  Agenda for Reform of the UNusing human rights as
  a cross-cutting theme in all the activities of
  the UN.
• In 1998, UNDP adopted its policy of Integrating
  Human Rights in Sustainable Human Development.
• In 2003, Secretary-General Kofi Annan adopted his
  Agenda for Further Reform of the UN in which (in
  Action 2 ) special priority was given to
  developing the capacity of the UN Country Team to
  apply a human rights based approach.
• In 2003, at the Second UN Inter-Agency Workshop,
  all participating UN agencies adopted the UN
  Statement of a Common Understanding on a Human
  Rights Approach to Development Co-operation,
  which has since been endorsed by UN DGO.
• 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, Para 126, We
  resolve to integrate the promotion and protection
  of human rights into national policies and to
  support the further mainstreaming of human rights
  throughout the United Nations system
• 2005 General Assembly Resolution on HRBA.
• Gender
• Gender mainstreaming recognized as MYFF driver
  for development effectiveness.
• UNDP (2003) Gender policy guidance note
• Conflict prevention
• Secretary-Generals report on Prevention of
  Conflict, UN General Assembly (2001) UN and
  subsequent progress reports, Security Council
  Agenda Item 10, 7 June 2001 (A/55/985-S/2001/574)
  
• UNDG (forthcoming) Prevention of Armed Conflict
  Draft Guidance Note

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Why is this important?

• To address the challenge of mainstreaming
  fatigue and reduce the workload of staff
  members
• To avoid giving conflicting policy and
  programming advice to staff members
• To draw on UNDPs strength of having expertise in
  many different thematic areas which can produce a
  holistic analysis and
• Little has been done within the UN system so far
  to address these issues in an integrated way.

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UN Definitions

• UN HRBA Common Understanding
• All programmes of development co-operation,
  policies and technical assistance should further
  the realisation of human rights
• Human rights standardsguide all development
  cooperation and programming in all sectors and in
  all phases of the programming process.
• Development cooperation contributes to the
  development of the capacities of duty-bearers
  to meet their obligations and/or of
  rights-holders to claim their rights.
• Gender mainstreaming
• the process of assessing the implications for
  women and men of any planned action, including
  legislation, polices and programmes, in all areas
  and at all levels. It is a strategy for making
  womens as well as mens concerns and experiences
  an integral dimension of the design,
  implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
  polices and programmes in all political, economic
  and societal spheres so that women and men
  benefit equally and inequality is not
  perpetuated.
• Institutional capacity for conflict sensitivity
• This means the ability of an organisation to
  develop and use the sum of its human and
  organisational capital to minimise negative and
  maximise positive impacts on the conflict
  dynamics of the environment(s) where it works.
  Human capital includes staff and partner skills,
  knowledge and experience. Organisational capital
  includes departments, structures, financial
  resources, organisational culture and learning.

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Common elements

• Should be included in the assessment process,
  which determines whether and where a development
  challenge exists, its intensity and who is
  affected
• Should also be included in all stages of the
  programming cycle
• Need for disaggregated statistical information to
  identify needs and gaps
• Focus on vulnerable groups (women, minorities,
  poor people etc.).

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Complimentary frameworks
International Human Rights Framework HRBA The
UN Common Understanding
CEDAW Art. 4 Temporary measures
ICCPR Art. 27 Minority rights
Gender Analysis Gender mainstreaming
Conflict Analysis do no harm principle
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The value added of combining the frameworks

• Gender analysis tool for promoting and
  protecting the
• human rights of ALL more effectively
• Insights into the causal factors underlying
  violations.
• Identification of power relations which define
  how men and women are able to exercise their
  human rights.
• Conflict analysis
• Development interventions, without a conflict
  prevention lens,
• may inadvertently exacerbate and reinforce the
  potential for
• violent conflict, for instance through supporting
  corruption,
• increasing competition for resources, creating
  parallel structures
• that undermine existing ones or helping to
  perpetuate structures
• of dominance.

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Examples

• Gender and Human Rights
• Kyrgyzstan UNIFEM - CEDAW used as a tool in the
  MDG reporting.
• UNDP-UNIFEM Regional project Implementation of
  Gender Equality Legislation (work both with duty
  bearers and claim holders).
• Conflict and Human Rights
• Georgia New approach to IDPs The rights of IDPs
  to vote in national elections.
• BiH RMAP project
• Human rights, Gender and Conflict prevention
• Georgia Integrated Development Programme in
  Samtske Javakheti (Area Based Development
  Programme)
• Human rights realization of ESCRs (access to
  micro-credit, health, education)
• Conflict prevention minority issues
• Gender awareness raising, training,
• Work both with duty bearers and claim holders on
  the local level.

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Challenges Solutions

• Notion that addressing the issues in an
  integrated way would be additional work.
• Competition between the different thematic areas
  for recognition.
• Capacity building on these issues are being done
  on separate issues in parallel, e.g. GTTF.
• Only gender is recognized as a UNDP driver in the
  MYFF framework, only MDG on gender not human
  rights and/or conflict.
• Tendency in UNDP to focus on short term
  development results.

• If models are developed it should ease the
  workload of staff over time and avoid overlap.
• Draw on UNDPs strength in having expertise in
  many different fields and make it a UNDP niche
• Document potential development gains in the
  process of integration to promote evidence
  based programming
• Place more emphasis on the Millennium Declaration
  where human rights and conflict play a key role.
• Encourage long term programming where the results
  of HRBA, gender and conflict mainstreaming could
  be more visible.

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Next steps

• Focus on implementation, pilot projects, to
  document lessons learnt
• Support and encourage joint missions, steering
  committees, project teams