Reports - United Nations Development Programme

3. UNDP’S STRATEGIC POSITIONING AND PROGRAMME RELEVANCE
Convention on All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the ILO
Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate
Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of
Child Labour.
The overarching economic priorities of the NPAA
are macroeconomic stability, creating a functioning
market economy and improving its competitiveness.
Special emphasis is placed on reducing the role of
the public sector and on public administration reform,
improving the role of independent regulatory bodies and
enhancing the investment environment, including the
promotion of foreign investment, and decentralisation
in economic decision making to reduce regional
disparities and empower the local authorities’ decisionmaking
process.
In addition to the NPAA, the SPO also prepared the
Preliminary National Development Plan (PNDP) in
response to one of the requirements of the European
Commission. The PNDP covers the period 2004-2006 as
an annexe to the NPAA. It establishes a strategic
framework for programming pre-accession financial
assistance for Turkey. Therefore this document is more
focused than the National Development Plan. It covers
only the EU accession related areas and is limited by
funding constraints.
Summary
This review of successive Turkish planning documents
shows a consistent set of overarching themes with an
increasingly sharper focus on four key national goals:
Meeting the political and economic criteria for
EU accession
Macroeconomic stability and sustained economic growth
Reform of public administration and governance,
including decentralisation
Reduction of poverty and regional disparities
These goals respond well to the development
challenges that Turkey faces today. Now the main task
ahead for the Government is to assure the effective
implementation of its goals and programmes in a
constrained resource environment.
For the UNDP, the challenge is how to position itself
strategically so that it responds effectively to the
Government’s priorities while staying true to its
overarching human development mandate. It must also
focus on channelling its own limited resources to those
areas where it has a real comparative advantage.
B. UNDP COOPERATION IN TURKEY:
EVOLVING STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS
The UNDP has been active in Turkey since the 1950s as
a partner of successive Governments and other
stakeholders. Since 1986 it has implemented over 80
programmes in Turkey, of which 22 were ongoing in early
2004. The UNDP is currently operating under the CCF
2001-2005, which succeeded the 5th Country
Programme 1995-1999. Between these two programme
periods, a Country Review of the UNDP’s programme
was carried out in 2000 as an input into the preparation of
the CCF. The CCF also benefited from the preparation
of the UN agency-wide CCA in December 2000 and the
UNDAF of March 2001.
This section briefly reviews the shifting strategic
positioning of the UNDP as it adapted itself to changing
country circumstances and needs, as well as to changing
global priorities of the UN and of the UNDP. The
subsequent section summarises key strategic issues and
challenges for the UNDP.
(i) The 5th Country Programme 1995-1999
The 5th Country Programme 1995-1999 was drawn up
in 1994. It comprised a broad-gauged programme in five
major areas, presented in a manner which clearly linked
each item of support to the national programme priorities
of the Turkish authorities, reflecting the consultative
approach adopted in its preparation:
Implementation of the Global Agenda for
Development, which included as key elements the
preparation of NHDRs, as well as work on the
National Agenda 21, on the National Action Plan for
Social Development and the World Summit for
Social Development, on the National Action Plan for
Women and the World Conference on Women, and
on coordination of other UN agencies.
Urbanisation and the 2nd Conference on Human
Settlements, which included the preparation for
HABITAT-II and support for environmental
institution building and management.
Social Development and Reduction of Disparities,
which covered support for development in the GAP
region, alleviation of the impacts of structural
adjustment, gender and development, and science
and advanced technology development.
Support for Turkish Development Aid Activities,
under the Technical Cooperation among Developing
Countries (TCDC) Programme.
Other Areas of Support, which included the work
under MSAs with the WB, humanitarian
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