study guide undp rymun

7/31/2019 Study Guide Undp Rymun

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The United Nations DevelopmentProgramme

Hassan Bokhari and Muhammad bin Majid


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The UnitedTopic 1: Democratic Governance and UNDP Nations

Aid DevelopmentProgramme

INTRODUCTION

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the chief agency of the United Nations that is

dedicated to promoting democratic governance. It believes that democratic governance is crucial to

bringing about positive change in nations and communities, and supports governments to establish

responsive and independent electoral, judicial and security institutions and methods that promote fair,

inclusive elections and rule of law.1

Indeed, it is the belief of the UNDP that countries which adopt democratic values are best poised to achieve

the Millennium Development Goals in an equitable and sustainable manner.2

This is why in the year 2010,

UNDP helped over 130 countries and devoted US$1.36 billion in resources to democratic governance,

making UNDP the world's largest provider of democratic governance assistance.3

Over on-third of the

UNDPs budget, in fact, is further committed to furthering democratic governance initiatives in the field.4

1 UNDP Corporate Brochure2 Bureau for Development Policy, Democratic Governance Group. A Guide to UNDP Democratic Governance Practice. New York:

United Nations Development Programme, 2010. Print. Pg 5.3 United Nations Development Programme. "Democratic Governance: Overview." Undp.org. United Nations Development Programme.

Web. .4 United Nations Development Programme. "Fast Facts: Democratic Governance." Undp.org. United Nations Development Programme.

Web. .

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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ratified by the General Assembly in 1948, contains clauses

which favour democracy as the ideal system of governance, most notably Articles 20 and 21. These articles

affirm the right to peaceful assembly and voting leaders into power5, which are the cornerstones of

democracy. However, the universality of this declaration is contested, as evidenced from the Bangkok

Declaration of 1993 made by ASEAN nations. While acknowledging the importance of safeguarding human

rights, there is a clause reaffirming the principles of respect for national sovereignty, implying that countries

that have ratified the Declaration should have room to interpret it based on their unique local contexts andsignifying a rift in countries interpretation of democracy.

6With the above in mind, should aid by the UNDP be conditional on countries adherence to the formers

goals and policies? If so, how can it be measured fairly, effectively, and most importantly, enforced?

Theseare the issues that are to be discussed during the conference.Delegates must be aware that the above-mentioned issues discussed are not new; but have taken on

greater importance and salience in light of the financial crisis and as 2015 approaches. The dedication of the

UNDP towards democratic governance, unwavering though it may be, has been dogged with controversy. Whither democracy the lack of a silver bullet

As the leading development agency of the United Nations, supporting countries in achieving the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) is of utmost importance to the UNDP. It is the belief of the UNDP that

democracy and democratic governance are critical requirements if the MDGs are to be achieved in an

equitable and sustainable manner. Thus, not only is democratic governance to be regarded as an important

end in itself, it is a key factor. Once again, this calls into question if aid is to be tied up with the compliance of

countries to the UNDPs beliefs and policies.A key distinction must be made by delegates as to what democracy truly is. The UNDP holds that democracy

is not just about the procedures in place (procedural democracy); it strives to help developing nations build

a substantive, robust democracy, where there is an active civil society and public participation (substantivedemocracy). If people make use of their voting-rights in elections, but feel no improvement in their day-today

lives, their trust in democratic processes is likely to erode, and this seems to be the case according to

surveys in recent years in both Africa and Latin America. The UNDP must review just how democratic

governance is to be implemented that will ensure a better and just life for all.

5 "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UDHR, Declaration of Human Rights, Human Rights Declaration, Human Rights

Charter, The Un and Human Rights." UN News Center. UN. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. .

6 "Final Declaration of the Regional Meeting for Asia of the World Conference on Human Rights." Web..

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In addition, a review of the literature does not indicate that democratic regimes will necessarily display abetter aggregated, long-term economic performance. Numerous studies, at times, have countered the

proposition that democracy will bring about prosperity; rather, they suggest that in countries with a weak rule

of law, the implementation of democratic policies will undermine growth instead. Democracy is not a silver

bullet; for it to be truly effective, strong political institutions and structures, such as the rule of law, must be in

place. And many countries lack such institutions, and are thus not ready for the implementation of democratic

practices. Delegates must therefore understand that democracy has in the past, failed to live up to its

promises.Furthermore, it has been noted that in many societies where democratic elections have been held,

economic and social problems continue to persist. High inequalities in income distribution, discrimination

against minorities, and taxation and spending policies that favour the interests of the rich these are but

some of the problems that fuel the charge that the UNDP's insistence on democratic governance favours the

developed nations and undermines the very people that the UNDP is supposed to aid. In summary, democracy is not a panacea to the worlds woes; while the UNDPs stand is that it is a

part of the solution, delegates must understand that the simple solution of tagging aid to democracy is a

controversial issue that must be resolved.

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RELEVANCE OF ISSUES REGARDING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCEConditionality of aid and Ranking ControversyGovernance has become an important element in the package of conditionalities applied by the developed

world in granting financial aid, debt relief and trade concessions to the developing countries.7

The

performance of countries by the UNDP indicators, therefore, may well have widespread implications in their

political and economic relations with donor countries and trading partners.Given that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, should the UNDP insist on retaining its current methodology

of measuring countries? Would doing so contravene the spirit of the United Nations itself? Should aid be

unconditional in the interest of humanity, or would aid best serve countries by pegging it to the latters

commitment to democratic governance? These are the questions that the delegates must answer, as 2015

looms.To track the level of democratic governance in countries, the UNDP naturally uses a series of scales and

indicators to rank countries, as evidenced by its annual Human Development Report. This is not without

controversy.The UNDP has been charged with accusations with regards to its stance on democratic governance. The

first is that of cultural and political bias. There is an implicit assumption that western multi-party political

systems are the ideal by which all countries should be measured a measure that is regarded as unfair and

somewhat insensitive to contexts. The second accusation is related to the first. The subjective indicators of

governance rely greatly on the so-called "In-house expert opinion" of two institutions: the US-based Freedom

House and the World Bank's Governance Indicators Dataset. Supplementary data come from a dataset at

the University of Maryland, from Transparency International and from the International Country Risk Guide.

The question posed here is whether private or quasi-public institutions with limited or no accountability to a

generally accepted system of international governance and whose procedures are not easily accessible to

the global public, may legitimately be granted such huge powers of judgment over countries, populations andsystems. As such an irony is present, for the procedure to measure and determine democratic governance

may not meet the test of good governance itself.8

7 Norman, Girvan. "Problems with UNDP Governance Indicators." Association of Caribbean States. Association of Caribbean States.

Web. 19 Mar. 2012. .8 Norman, Girvan. "Problems with UNDP Governance Indicators." Association of Caribbean States. Association of Caribbean States.

Web. 19 Mar. 2012. .5


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The Limited Authority of the UNDPOn the other hand, despite the aid that it can disburse, the

UNDP has no authority to enforce its policies and decisions

on sovereign states. At times, the UNDP can only operate

under the whims of regimes, contrary to its own rules and

despite the latters blatant disregard for all international law.

The alternative would be to depart the country altogether. In

2007, it was discovered that the UNDP let the North Korean

government set the terms of its involvementin the country. The government controlled who UNDP hired, how funds were spent and prohibited the

organization from freely visiting the projects it funded.9

The Millennium Development Goals were designed to be met in 2015. In the interest of humanity,

should the UNDP be given the authority over that of governments and take charge of its own programmes

when doing so would be more efficient? If so, what are the implications for democratic governance? Thedelegates must consider these facets as they prepare the resolution.

9 Schaefer, Brett. "UNDP: Part of the Problem, Not the Solution | Fox News." Fox News. FOX News Network, 11 June 2007. Web. 19Mar. 2012. .

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE ISSUESStructure of UNDPs Democratic GovernanceWith offices in more than 130 countries, and activities at country level are supported from six Regional

Service Centres [RSCs] as well as from Headquarters [HQ] in New York, the UNDP is the major

developmental programme of the UN. Democratic Governance is one of the largest areas of the UNDP, with

over one third of UNDPs programmatic resources being allocated in this area globally. The DemocraticGovernance Group [DGG] is situated within the Bureau for Development Policy, whose role is to develop

policy and content for advocacy and support on global development priorities and emerging issues.

About UNDPs initiativesUNDP's Governance Assessment

The UNDP, through its Global Programme on Democratic Governance Assessments, helps 3rd world

countries produce indicators to track their progress towards democratic governance reforms. It hopes that this

scheme would help governments improve their capacity, and foster the creation of an inclusive, consultative

framework for the assessment of its goals of democratic reforms which are stated in their national

development plan10

.10 United Nations Development Programme. "Governance Assessments." Undp.org. United Nations Development Programme. Web..7


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Right now, the UNDP provides such assistance to countries from various regions, including Angola, Mexico,Indonesia, Malawai, Egypt and Macedonia

11.

Fostering the development of civil societyCivic engagement and society is key, for not only does it support the development of democracy,

but helps nations achieve other areas stated in the MDGs too, such as the empowerment of women,

environment and energy, crisis prevention and recovery and its fight against HIV/AIDs12

.Since 2008, the UNDP has poured in over $100m to this cause through the funds it provides to

local Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). In addition, the UNDP provides advice to governments on

the regulatory and legal structures that are imperative to the development of a civil society.

With the UNDP's support, in 2007, a community-level Performance Budgeting Programme was

launched in Armenia. This allowed for greater public participation in government budget planning, and led to

more transparent and efficient expenditures. In Ethiopia, a report card project was launched to systematically

allow citizens to provide feedback on government services.11United Nations Development Programme. "Projects Supported by the Global Programme on Democratic Governance Assessments."

Governance Assessment Portal. United Nations Development Programme. Web. .12 United Nations Development Programme. "Fast Facts: UNDP and Civil Society." Undp.org. Web.

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Ensuring justice in developing nationsThe UNDP is of the view that justice is a key pillar to the development of a substantive democracy: it

allows people to voice their views, exercise their rights and keep public officials accountable. It thus focuses

on three key areas with regards to this issue - the access to justice, rule of law and security13

. UNDP's

programmes to promote justice include the Programme on Governance in the Arab Region (POGAR),

which, together with civil society organisations, and national legislative and judicial branches, find out about

the needs and solutions to address problems related to public involvement in governance, transparency,

accountability and rule of law.

UNDP during the Arab SpringDemocratic transition in Tunisia

With former President Ben Ali out of the picture in 2011, an unprecedented opportunity for

democratic transition came up for Tunisia. The UNDP responded by refocusing the approach it took in the

country, to ensure that it could support important institutions, processes and stakeholders to ensure stability

in democratic reforms. This covered areas such as support to constitutional procedures, political parties, and

women's involvement in politics

14

.Between April to July 2011, support was

extended to over 50 political parties by the UNDP,

through its Global Programme for Parliamentary

Strengthening. Areas of help included enhancing

the capacity, knowledge and skills and local

technocrats and politicians, and providing them

chances to cooperate and agree on a way to

encourage a peaceful and inclusive democratic

transition

13 United Nations Development Programme. "Fast Facts: Justice and Security." Undp.org. Web.

14 United Nations Development Programme. "Fast Facts: Supporting Democratic Transition in Tunisia." Undp.org. Web.

.

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Criticisms of UNDP's effortsYet, the United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations criticised the UNDP for its failure to adequately

act on the lack of political and economic reform in the Middle East prior to the Arab Spring, despite issuing

reports that predicted a possible political uprising much like the Arab Spring15

. This is but one issue that

serves to cast public doubts on the UNDPs true commitment and dedication to its mission. Delegates need to

find ways to ensure that the response of the UNDP remains swift and determined, despite the restrictions that

it faces.

15 Ibid.10


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MAJOR MILESTONESDemocratic Governance Thematic Trust Fund

In 2001, the UNDP established the Democratic Governance Thematic Trust Fund (DGTTF), which is

the main means through which donor partners channel non-core contributions to UNDP's initiatives on

democratic governance16

. The funds provide country offices with discretionary funds to look into innovative

approaches in democratic governance in politically sensitive environments, including inclusive participation,

responsive institutions or international principles.Since 2001, around US$113 million has been distributed across 750 country projects. Based on an

independent 2007/2008 study, the DGTTF has been successful as a "venture capital fund". It allowed for

innovation in democratic governance, an area where it is difficult to carry out but extremely important to do to

pave the way for progress.

UNDP Global Programme for Parliamentary StrengtheningLaunched in 1999, the Global Programme for Parliamentary Strengthening (GPSS) is one of the key

tools the UNDP uses to support parliaments. It aims to enhance the institutional capacity of parliamentsthrough initiatives carried out at a global, regional and national level

17.

At a global level, thus far, the GPSS has supported initiatives of inter-parliamentary organisations in

their efforts to come up with key, objective characteristics of a democratic parliament, regardless of the

system of government it functions in. These organisations include the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), the Assemble Parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF)

and the Southern AfricanDevelopment Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF). With the UNDP's support, the APA and CPA

came up with a set of evaluative criteria and benchmarks respectively. The IPU, drawing on past good

practices some of its member parliaments, managed to come up with a self-assessment toolkit.Under the GPSS, the UNDP is also supporting the development of a Parliamentary Development

Web Portal, which would allow development practitioners, parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and other

national actors to access information and seek advice with regards to the operation of an open and

transparent parliament online.16 United Nations Development Programme. "Democratic Governance Thematic Trust Fund." Democratic Governance. United Nations

Development Programme. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. .17 United Nations Development Programme. "Strengthening Parliaments World Wide." The UN and UNDP in Brussels. United Nations

Development Programme. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. .11


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UNDP Global Programme for Electoral Cycle SupportIn 2009, the UNDP launched the Global Programme for Electoral Cycle Support (GPECs) to help

countries make progress on their electoral laws, procedures and institutions, and to allow women to have

greater participation in the voting. The initiative is to run for three years. On a global level, the GPECs aim to maintain global knowledge products and tools in up-and-coming

areas, and the elections community of practice. It also hopes to facilitate the exchange of good practices, peer

networking, knowledge creation and disseminate information in various regions of the world. In individual

countries, it hopes to ensure that electoral management bodies have the means to play their role in ensuring

professional, free and open administration of elections. It also aims to encourage women's participation in the

election process.UNDP Global Programme on Democratic Governance Assessments

The Global Programme on Democratic Governance Assessments is an initiative disaggregated and

non-ranking governance indicators are produced, in order to help national stakeholders track their progress

towards democratic reform18

. Currently, the UNDP is providing financial and technical support to 16 countries

on governance assessments, including Bhutan, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico and Angola.

EC-UNDP Partnership on Electoral AssistanceThe European Commission-United Nations Development Programme Partnership - a partnership

between what is now the European Union and the United Nations - aims to facilitate electoral assistance

18 United Nations Development Programme. "Governance Assessments." Undp.org. United Nations Development Programme. Web.

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operations in developing countries through the formulation, implementation and tracking of projects that aremore effective and sustainable

19.

Notably, through the UNDP, the EC made financial contributions to electoral assistance projects. It made a 60

million euro, 37 million euro and 86 million euro contribution in 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively. These

funds went to countries like Bangladesh, Iraq, Timor Leste, Gerogia, Haiti, Nigeria and Afghanistan.

RELEVANT UN TREATIES AND RESOLUTIONS

Perhaps the most pertinent resolution for the UNDP is the Millennium Declaration of 2000, which outlined the

Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Establishing

democratic institutions in a developing nation is believed to

be highly useful in bringing about the fulfilment of the

MDG; therefore it is vigorously promoted by the UNDP as

seen from its programmes in countries like Liberia to

ensure that citizens in remote villages can vote.The issue at hand is the power and the rights to the

UNDP to advocate this. Is the UNDP empowered to act if it

deems the situation warrants it doing so? Currently, all

UNDP programmes and initiatives in democratic governance

and other areas, as well as the resources needed to

implement them, are presented in a formalCountry Programme document, approved by the government, and also approved by the UNDP Executive

Board which draws its membership from UN Member States. This programme is finally translated into a

Country Programme Action Plan.20

What if, as in the case of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea

(DPRK), the host country refuses to cooperate? Can the UN accomplish its MDG objectives if it only works

with compliant states?

19 United Nations Development Programme. "EC-UNDP Partnership on Electoral Assistance." The UN and UNDP in Brussels. United

Nations Development Programme. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. .

20 Bureau for Development Policy, Democratic Governance Group. A Guide to UNDP Democratic Governance Practice. New York:United Nations Development Programme, 2010. Print. Pg 9

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CURRENT GAPSReviewing the ties between UNDP and its partners to achieve the MDGsThe partnership has been strong in some areas; nonetheless, there remain gaps within and outside of the

issues covered by MDGs. Enhanced policy coherence across the broad spectrum of development remains

absolutely critical for the achievement of the MDGs. While developing countries have benefited from

improvements in some areas of the international enabling environment, progress in others is being

undermined by contradictory or poorly implemented policies (for example, on trade, migration, agricultural

subsidies in developed countries, access to medicines, technology and climate change). In particular, the

impact of the global financial and economic crisis represents an ongoing threat to sustainable development,

which highlights the increased need for accountability and responsibility by UNDPs partners in order to

minimize the risk of such crises unfolding in the future.

The shortfall of Official Developmental Assistance (ODA)The global financial and economic crisis is beginning to take its toll on country finances and consequently theshare allocated to development assistance. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

(OECD) estimates that ODA flows in 2010 will amount to $108.1 billion, which, while significant, falls $17.7

billion (in 2004 dollars and growth-adjusted) short of the commitments made by donors at the Gleneagles G8

Summit in 2005. Many donors have set targets to increase ODA over the medium term beyond 2010. If these

are met, ODA could reach approximately $200 billion by 2015. If other donors contribute concomitantly

according to the size of their economies, this level of aid could be surpassed. Given the short time left,

maintaining the upwards trajectory of aid disbursement is crucial.

There is much scope for improving the distribution and allocation of ODAA recent UN study found that aid to least-developed countries (LDCs) has not been increasing at a

favourable rate compared with non-LDCs. For the past two decades; the non-LDCs fared better than LDCs in

terms of ODA allocation. Large allocations of ODA are still directed to middle-income countries with lower

levels of poverty. LDCs received 0.09 percent of donor GNI in 2008, which is below the UN target of 0.15

percent. The top ten recipients still account for 38 percent of total ODA. Given its responsiveness to the

underlying socio-economic conditions of LDCs, multilateral aid has the potential to increase the equity of aid

by improving its distribution. But while donor preferences have also been influential, ultimately, the domestic

allocation of aid should be the budgetary choice of the receiving country and its population.14


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Faster progress should be made under the Rome, Paris and Accra agendas on aid effectiveness The 2010 MDG Gap Task Force Report notes that aid effectiveness was improving, but only slowly:

there remained a sizeable gap between the results achieved by 2008 and 12 numerical targets set for 2010.

Evidence shows a recent trend towards increased aid fragmentation and higher transaction costs. This is the

combined result of a proliferation of donors and the expansion of project portfolios.

The worlds largest economies are failing on their promise to put in place a trading environment conducive to

the achievement of the MDGs.Eight years after its initiation, the failure to deliver a development-oriented Doha Round constitutes

the most significant gap in formulating the Global Partnership for Development. Market access for developing

countries is little improved and domestic agricultural subsidies by rich countries continue to overshadow policy

coherence needed to accelerate MDG progress. Additional trade reform is needed if developing countries are

to benefit adequately from globalization.The Global Partnership for Development can also be strengthened in the areas of access to technologies,

migration and remittances, and foreign investmentMore effort is needed to increase the access by developing countries to appropriate technologies,

including those for health, communications and climate change. This involves strengthening incentives that

support innovation, improving access and financing research, intellectual property and context-specific

technologies. Furthermore, according to recent estimates, about $6.2 trillion worth of developing countries

wealth is held in offshore assets, sitting in clandestine financial accounts and tax havens in Northern countries.

As a result, developing countries lose up to $124 billion in tax receipts. This amount is $17 billion more than

what they will be receiving in ODA in 2010. Effective international cooperation is required to stem illicit

transactions. Besides diverting resources towards the financing of MDG investments, an internationally

coordinated enforcement of tax laws would tackle corrupt practices.

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ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED IN A RESOLUTIONThe following section is a summary of the themes and the issues that delegates are expected to

address over the conference.

(a) The authority of the UNDPThe Millenium Development Goals are no doubt noble, but ultimately useless if the UNDP cannot

check on progress in nations it is helping or is crippled by lack of funding. Discussion should thus focus on

UNDP authority in countries it is assisting and contributions--should compulsory contributions be enforced?

(b) Conditions for UNDP assistanceShould aid by the UNDP be no-strings-attached, or is it imperative that conditions be attached? If

so, what are the conditions, and how is it to be measured and enforced? The reverse is relevant as well

since the UNDP is focused on democratic governance, are there other methods to promote it other than

through the use of aid?

(c) Method of ranking a countrys level of developmentWhat are the methods that the UNDP can adopt to ensure that aid is not misused? How can the

UNDP ensure accountability and minimise corruption, without impinging on the sovereignty of states?

(d) Different paths to meeting the MDGs

To reiterate once again, the UNDP holds that democracy is complementary to the goals of countries

meeting the MDGs. If a country demonstrates its ability to meet the MDGs without implementing democratic

governance, what is the position of the UNDP? Should it continue providing aid, or support the methods of

the country?

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