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• Support to national justice sector institutions can help such institutions to maintain
institutional independence while effectively protecting property rights and countering
corruption.
• To strengthen relations between Parliament and constituencies, support may be
appropriate for public outreach, the development of a gender caucus, and research
and drafting of legislation by parliamentary committees on issues of importance to
vulnerable people.
• Initiatives to enhance policing practices, capabilities, and infrastructure can make the
police and security forces more effective in combating crime and securing access to
markets, farms, workplaces, and natural resources and more responsive to the needs
of citizens and small businesses. Support is often required to align police policies
and practices with international standards and codes of conduct and to strengthen
civilian oversight mechanisms. Community policing approaches may help to improve
security and enhance community relations with the police. Training programmes for
police and security forces are invariably needed in post-crisis situations.
• Local government bodies often need support to strengthen their institutional capacities
to organize inclusive, participatory processes for recovery planning, budgeting,
service provision, and auditing in collaboration with communities—and to interact
effectively with higher levels of government to promote livelihoods, economic recovery,
and MDG progress. Partnership with UNCDF, which has expertise in local governance,
is important for programming in this area.
Civil society organizations. UNDP programming can help to mobilize the institutional
development of civil society organizations—including NGOs, community-based organizations,
academia, and organizations promoting the rights of both consumers and workers
—through training, funding, and technical and logistical support. 55 Often this support
will focus on empowering communities and civil society organizations to engage in
inclusive, participatory governance processes, especially at the local level, and to play an
active role in the local implementation of policies for livelihoods and economic recovery.
Effective community-based and other civil society organizations can enable citizens to
demand services related to livelihoods and economic recovery, access those services, and
monitor their delivery. Particular areas in which training and other institutional support
can strengthen the capacity of these organizations are as follows:
55 Examples of organizations that promote consumers’
or workers’ rights include citizens’ information
bureaux, trade unions, and labour commissions
with community-based complaints procedures
that promote decent work.
56 For example, in Iraq, UNDP supports the Bar
Association in setting up legal aid clinics in
conflict-affected communities. These clinics focus
on providing legal advice and representation to
women and vulnerable groups on civil matters
covering a range of issues, including access to
land.
• The capacity to raise awareness and build confidence among vulnerable, crisis-affected
individuals who may otherwise hesitate to claim their rights.
• The capacity for advocacy, coalition building, coordination, and organizational skills
so as to overcome political and other sources of division among vulnerable, crisisaffected
individuals and send strong, collective messages to the government.
• The capacity to provide legal assistance to crisis-affected and other vulnerable individuals
with civil issues, such as those related to land rights and access to economic
entitlements. 56 Legal assistance can especially help to address the vulnerabilities that
women face in both crisis and post-crisis situations.
The media. UNDP programming can play an important role in strengthening the media.
UNDP has a wealth of experience in developing media capacity, and has produced a
number of tools to support work in this area. Interventions can promote professionalism in
the media; the development of the media’s role in raising public awareness about rights,
policies, and the government’s performance; and media communication in the context
of national reconciliation efforts (where relevant). Media training can sensitize journalists
Livelihoods & Economic Recovery in Crisis Situations