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REVIEW OF THE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK ON GOVERNANCE AND RULE OF LAW FOR HRBA AND GENDER

MAINSTREAMING

RAKEB ABATE AND SARA ABBAS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ACCRONYMS ................................................................................................................................. 3

SECTION I: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... 4 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................ 4 RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................................... 6

SECTION II: TIME-FRAME OF THE REVIEW ................................................................................................ 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................................................................. 8

SECTION 1: BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................... 9 1. 1 STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................. 9 1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSESSMENT .......................................................................................................... 9 1.3 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................. 10

SECTION 2: FRAMEWORKS AND METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 13 2.1 METHODOLOGY AND KEY LIMITATIONS .......................................................................................... 13 2.2 REVIEW OF SECONDARY RESOURCES ................................................................................................ 14 2.3 INTERVIEW OF KEY STAKEHOLDERS .................................................................................................. 15 2.4 IN – DEPTH ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................... 16 2.5 DEBRIEFING ........................................................................................................................................... 16

SECTION 3: KEY FINDINGS............................................................................................................................. 17 3.1 HUMAN RIGHTS BASED APPROACH ................................................................................................... 17

3.1.1 SUBSTANTIVE ASPECTS OF HRBA ............................................................................................... 17 3.1.2 PROCEDURAL ASPECTS OF HRBA ............................................................................................... 22

3.2 REVIEW OF INTEGRATION OF GENDER EQUALITY PERSPECTIVE ................................................ 25 3.2.1 OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMME AND PROJECTS ............................................................................. 25 3.2.2 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS TO SUPPORT GENDER MAINSTREAMING ....................... 29 3.2.3 COORDINATION AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS .......................................................................... 32

SECTION 4: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2010 – 2012 .................................................................................... 34 4.1 STRENGTHENING UNDP‘S CAPACITY IN HRBA AND GENDER EQUALITY PROGRAMMING ... 34 4.2 CONCRETE ENTRY POINTS AND PARTNERSHIPS FOR REALIZING HUMAN RIGHTS AND

GENDER EQUALITY .................................................................................................................................... 37 4.3 ENGAGING MORE EFFECTIVELY WITH GOVERNMENT COUNTERPARTS AND KEY

STAKEHOLDERS ........................................................................................................................................... 40

SECTION III: ANNEX .................................................................................................................................... 42

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LIST OF ACCRONYMS

AWP Annual Work Plan

ACHR Africa Centre for Human Rights

BMU Business Management Unit, UNDP

South

BCPR UNDP Bureau of Crisis Prevention

and Recovery

CBO Community-based Organization

CSO Civil Society Group

CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement

(2005)

DFID Department for International

Development (UK)

DPA Darfur Peace Agreement

ESC Rights Economic, Social and Cultural

Rights

ESPA Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement

GoNU Government of National Unity

GoS Government of Sudan

GoSS Government of Southern Sudan

ICS Interim Constitution of Sudan

ICSS Interim Constitution of Southern

Sudan

IDP Internally Displaced Persons

IRC International Rescue Committee

JCC Justice and Confidence Centre

JoS Judiciary of Sudan

JoSS Judiciary of Southern Sudan

MDG Millennium Development Goals

MDTFs Multi-Donor Trust Funds

MoJ Ministry of Justice (GoNU)

MoLACD Ministry of Legal Affairs &

Constitutional Development (GoSS)

MSU Programme Management Support

Unit, UNDP North

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

PFCPU Police Family and Child Protection

Unit

RoL Rule of Law

RRF Results and Resource Framework

Sida Swedish International Development

Agency

SP Strategic Partnership

SPLM/A Sudan People‘s Liberation

Movement/Army

SSHRC Southern Sudan Human Rights

Commission

ToR Terms of Reference

UN United Nations

UNAMID African Union/United Nations

Hybrid operation in Darfur

UNCT United Nations Country Team

UNDAF United Nations Development

Assistance Framework

UNDP United Nations Development

Programme

UNHCR United Nations Higher

Commissioner for Refugees

UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund

for Women

UNMIS United Nations Mission in Sudan

UNSC United Nations Security Council

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SECTION I: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report assesses the extent to which values, principles and standards contained in international and national human rights law have been applied to both the substantive and procedural aspects of UNDP‘s programming in the framework of the Strategic Partnership (SP) in Sudan. Specific attention was paid to examining how effectively a gender equality perspective has been integrated in UNDP‘s governance and RoL programme, with a view to supporting the implementation of UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820, as well UNDP‘s Eight Point Agenda for Women‘s Empowerment and Gender Equality in Crisis Prevention and Recovery (UNDP 8PA). The review was conducted from mid March until first week of May 2010. The report outlines key findings, including institutional arrangement for enabling environment to effectively promote HRBA and gender equality, and recommendations and entry points for integrating these frameworks.

METHODOLOGY A desk review of secondary resources and interviews with key stakeholders were conducted guided by the HRBA and Gender Equality framework to analyze SP programming. Focus was given to outcomes, indicators, activities, as well as processes – program planning and formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes- to examine to the extent of integration of HRBA and GE frameworks.

MAIN FINDINGS: HUMAN RIGHTS BASED APPROACH

The Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) states that it aims to balance the supply and demand side of interventions by working with claim holders and duty bearers. This approach is also outlined in the SP Phase II and UNDP Southern Sudan Strategic Framework. The SP II highlights that UNDP‘s interventions are guided by the principles, standards and obligations derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The North Governance and RoL strategy also asserts that a rights-based framework will be the basis of UNDP‘s RoL programme in Sudan.

Human rights frameworks and approaches seem to be better integrated in RoL programming than governance programming, and as such are stronger in CPAP Outcome 5 than in Outcomes 3 and 4. Civil and political rights are emphasised in Outcomes 3 and 5, while social, economic and cultural rights are less evident in UNDP‘s programming.

UNDP‘s programming, in both RoL and governance programme areas, does a better job of incorporating duty-bearers than claim-holders into aspects of the programme (11 out 19 current projects solely focus on duty-bearers).

In the South, the lack of basic government structures and valid fears that supporting claim-holders to claim their rights when duty-bearers are in no position to meet their demands have pushed for the heavy support to duty-bearers.

In the North, the RoL programme in particular began with a strong focus on claim-holders awareness but has moved to engage with duty-bearers, particularly with RoL institutions.

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Beyond the content of the programme, the programming cycle of SP projects seems to have better integrated the participation of duty-bearers than claim holders.

The analysis included in the CPAP is relatively broad, analyzing the causes of major development challenges and assessing the capacity gaps of duty bearers and claim holders at the macro-level. Currently, new projects often include a situation analysis in their AWP; however this practice does not apply to ongoing projects, which lack a rigorous, up to date and in-depth analysis, addressing HRBA-centred questions.

The Monitoring and Evaluation framework is missing comprehensive human rights indicators.

Unpredictable funding plays a role in limiting UNDP‘s ability to plan, engage with partners on building a long-term vision, investment in capacity-building in a deeper way, and allowing sufficient room for the building of trust between duty-bearers and claim-holders.

Findings: INTEGRATION OF GENDER EQUALITY PERSPECTIVE

The CPAP, the North governance and RoL strategy and the SP Phase II fairly integrate gender equality perspective in the overall framework. The documents state that UNDP 8PA will be used to integrate gender into all its programmes.

While the Southern Sudan Strategic Framework states broadly that women empowerment and gender equality in the democratic process will be emphasized in the programme without specifically referring to UNDP 8PA or UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820, the gender strategy of the South, however, is anchored on UNDP 8PA.

Outcome 3 has incorporated gender to a great degree in projects where gender equality is the primary focus of the intervention; however, in non-targeted intervention, gender mainstreaming was incomplete and men‘s involvement in promoting gender equality wasn‘t fully reinforced as articulated in UNDP 8PA.

Most projects under Outcome 4 were gender blind. For the most part, strategies to create gender responsive institutions and human resource development or to engender the planning and budgeting processes are at nascent level.

At the programmatic level, Outcome 5 strives to address women‘s particular needs and incorporates UNDP 8PA, particularly Point 1 and 2 (strengthening women‘ security and advancing gender justice). At the micro- level (projects), integration of UNDP 8PA, and UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820 is not always conducted in a systematic manner.

In UNDP North, the absence of dedicated gender advisor, and a lack of robust gender strategy hampers the programme/projects from fully addressing the broad and ambitious goals of promoting gender equality that are a cornerstone of UNDP-Sudan‘s CPAP.

UNDP South have two senior level gender advisors and have finalized a gender strategy that outlines different intervention areas to ensure the integration of UNDP‘s 8PA in all aspects of the programme.

There seems to be varied levels of understanding among programme and project staff of gender equality frameworks. Staff tended to be more familiar with principles of gender mainstreaming but less familiar with concrete mainstreaming tools and guiding commitments and frameworks such as UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820.

The in-depth assessment required to address women‘s rights through programme/project interventions may not be fully captured in the simplified project document template that is currently used. Additionally, when a new project or an annual workplan is approved, there

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are no guiding questions for integration of gender or checklists that are used to ensure projects compliance with gender equality frameworks.

Contrary to the South, in the North, UNDP is not part of, or is not fully participating in key gender working groups.

Engagement with local women CSO is weak both in the South and North. While engagement with the Gender Ministry is slightly better in the South.

RECOMMENDATIONS The review team has provided in the report detailed recommendations for: strengthening UNDP‘s capacity in integrating HRBA and gender equality perspectives into its programmes; identifying concrete entry points and partnerships for realizing humans rights and promoting gender equality; and, outlining effective engagement with government counterparts and key stakeholders. However, below is the summary of the overall recommendations:

Build the in-house capacities of programme staff in gender sensitive programming and employment of an HRBA approach by providing in-depth technical assistance and specialized training to programme staff, particularly training directly linked to the areas of RoL and governance.

Providing trainings for key counterparts on areas of HRBA and gender equality framework.

Establish a robust gender-responsive and HRBA-centred monitoring and evaluation of programmes, and align the gender indicators with the gender strategies‘ indicators. (For more detail, refer to the recommendations section).

Strengthen project review boards so they can facilitate full participation of claim-holders and duty-bearers in the project cycle.

Revamp the annual workplan development process so that in-depth, rigorous and participatory analysis based on the HRBA is conducted for all projects to ensure that the relevant human rights and gender issues are accurately captured.

Closely integrate gender-responsive budgeting and into CPAP Outcomes 3 and 4, particularly with all work at the state and local level.

For the North office, there is a great need to bolster gender advisory capacity to increase the attention devoted to gender issues.

Based on the UNDP 8PA, develop a set of assessment criteria that can be used at each main decision point within the project management cycle.

Revise the current gender strategy for the North by identifying comprehensive intervention areas and priorities, in line with UNDP 8PA, and with more concrete key outputs, indicators and activities that should be incorporated into the SP results framework.

Strengthen information sharing and collaboration on human rights issues with relevant UN agencies, national and international CSOs. Continue to actively participate in human rights/RoL/governance working groups to find areas of potential collaboration.

Better coordination between UNIFEM and UNDP so that both organisations can benefit from each other‘s technical expertise and promote their common goal of ending gender inequality.

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Work in tandem with external partners to promote gender issues. There are academic institutions and NGOs, particularly in the North, working on women‘s issues.

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SECTION II: TIME-FRAME OF THE REVIEW The review team started the mission in March 2010 and the meetings with stakeholders in Khartoum, Juba and El-Fasher took place between 19 April and 5 May 2010.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The team would like to extend their heartfelt appreciation to all programme and project staff for their input into this review. The team is grateful to all of the staff for their dedication and commitment to ensuring the sound implementation of the programme, often times under difficult conditions. Both the North and South staff carved time out from their busy schedules, no less in the middle of the elections period, to accommodate the team and share their insights. Special appreciation goes out to Hanna Schmitt for providing the needed logistical support throughout the review. The team would also like to thank Kaori Kawarabayashi, Arike James, and Asha Arabi for their assistance during our mission to the Juba. In addition, we would like to thank Shahzada Ahmad and Ibrahim Khair for their unfailing support during our stay in El-Fasher, and for making sure we remained safe during a particularly sharp deterioration of security conditions in the city that coincided with our mission. The team hopes that the findings and recommendations of this review will be a useful contribution to UNDP and its partners in their efforts to enhance the incorporation of HRBA and gender in the Phase II of the Strategic Partnership‘s Governance and RoL programme, and at this critically important moment in the country‘s history. Rakeb Abate and Sara Abbas May 2010

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SECTION 1: BACKGROUND

1. 1 Strategic Partnership Framework The Strategic Partnership (SP) framework was launched in 2005, the same year of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), as a two-year partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Government of National Unity (GoNU), the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), the United Kingdom‘s Department for International Development (DFID), the Government of the Netherlands, and the Government of Denmark. The SP aimed to provide a framework and a flexible funding mechanism to enhance the effectiveness of governance and rule and law (RoL) programming at the national, state and community levels, and to strengthen interventions in this area within the overall goal of supporting peace in Sudan and promoting an MDG-based post-conflict recovery process. In mid 2007, the SP framework underwent an external evaluation, which found that the framework has proved to be a useful complementary funding mechanism to the World Bank administered Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), particularly in the areas of governance and RoL, access to justice and early recovery. Based on its findings, the review recommended that the framework be extended to for the period 2008-2012, noting however several limitations with coordination, management, monitoring and evaluation which needed to be addressed in the second phase of the programme. Following this recommendation, SP partners agreed to extend the original framework period 2005-2007 until June 2009, with a second phase planned for 1 July 2009– 31 December 2012. By mid-2009, the SP had funded 32 projects in the area of governance and rule and law, with a total value of $74.5 million of donor support for the period January 2006 – until June 2009. Towards the end of 2009 the second phase of the SP commenced with the overall goal of supporting the three governance outcomes on Democratization, Decentralization and RoL outlined in UNDP‘s Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) 2009-2012. The Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), which had decided to support the extension of SP Phase I allocated funds for an external review of the Strategic Partnership Framework with the aim of strengthening the integration of a human rights based approach (HRBA) and gender equality focus within the second phase of the framework for 2009-2012.

1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSESSMENT In March 2010, a two-person independent consultancy team (composed of one national and one international) was deployed to examine the SP from human rights and gender lens. According to the TORs, the objective of the consultancy was to assess the extent to which values, principles and standards contained in international and national human rights law have been applied to both the substantive and procedural aspects of UNDP‘s programming in the framework of the Strategic Partnership in Sudan. Specific attention was paid to examining how effectively a gender equality perspective has been integrated in UNDP‘s governance and RoL programme, with a view to supporting the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSC) 1325 and 1820, as well UNDP‘s Eight Point Agenda for Women‘s Empowerment and Gender Equality in Crisis Prevention and Recovery (UNDP 8PA).

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Based on the findings of the assessment, the team has made recommendations to facilitate a better integration of the HRBA and gender equality frameworks into UNDP‘s governance and RoL programme. The action plans includes recommendations on how to effectively target and mainstream human rights and gender equality in SP Phase II, as well as how to monitor and evaluate its implementation.

1.3 BACKGROUND For a comprehensive historical background and detailed situational analysis, this review document should be read alongside the CPAP, the SP Phase II, and the regional programming frameworks - the Governance and Rule of Law Programmatic Strategy for Northern Sudan 2009-2012, and the Southern Sudan Strategic Framework for Southern Sudan 2009-2012.

1.3.1 HUMAN RIGHTS IN SUDAN Sudan is party to some key international human rights treaties and conventions, most notably the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (see Annex for a more comprehensive list). Sudan has also committed to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 that underpin international humanitarian law, and in 2006, acceded to Protocols I and II of the Conventions, further strengthening the government‘s obligation to protect civilians and those no longer able to fight in conditions of armed conflict. The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) reaffirmed citizens‘ human rights and mandated the establishment of human rights commissions at the National and South Sudan levels. Accordingly in 2005, the Interim National Constitution of Sudan (INC), and the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan (ICSS) translated these commitments to a concrete bill of rights, which has formed the basis for legal reform since. While Advisory Council for Human Rights has been set up in the North as a stopgap measure until a full-fledged Commission is up and running, the Southern Sudan Human Rights Commission (SSHRC) is functional. The establishment of these commissions is not only key to full implementation of the CPA but is also critical in that it is the institution tasked with the promotion of human rights in Sudan. ―Human Rights Forums‖ have been established in various parts of the country, with assistance from UNDP, with the aim of promoting and fostering transparent dialogue among claim holders and duty bearers on human rights situation in the Sudan in relation to the CPA. Since the signature of the CPA, some progress has been made in legislative reform in accordance with the agreement and the INC/ICSS. When taken in totality, this progress represents an entry point for strengthening claim-holders ability to demand their rights and duty-bearers obligations to meet them (see section 3 for more detail). New laws that have been passed include: The Child Act; The National Human Rights Commission Act; The Southern Sudan Human Rights Commission Act; and, The Popular Consultation for Blue Nile and South Kordofan States Act. Despite the CPA and the above-mentioned commitments and Acts, serious violations of human rights, both civil and political as well as economic, social and cultural continue to occur in Sudan,

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not just in Darfur, the UN‘s International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur concluded in 2005 that human rights violations there were carried out on a ―widespread and systematic basis, and therefore may amount to crimes against humanity‖1, but also in varying forms and to varying degrees in other parts of the country.2 1.3.2 GENDER SITUATION IN SUDAN The protracted civil war in Sudan has significantly impacted women. Despite many armed groups‘ denial or minimization of women‘s participation in the war, women joined armed groups as combatants or in supportive roles for their survival and to ensure protection from sexual violence. Women in Southern Sudan have shouldered the brunt of the war: they have suffered from physical and psychological violence and often time had no access to legal protection. Girls and women living in areas close to armed forces faced high risk of sexual violence. With the end of the civil war, while the incidence of sexual violence against civilians is perceived to have declined (though specific data is not available), trauma caused by Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) often times persists in victims. Domestic violence - culturally accepted in the South since women are often times viewed as property of their husbands‘- is often times regarded as a private matter by traditional courts3. In Darfur, an estimated one third of the population is living in IDP camps. Vulnerable populations are unshielded from abuses such as rape, sexual harassment, beatings and other forms of mistreatment, including robbery and theft. There is a general lack of confidence in governance and RoL institutions. Women are particularly affected. As the main collector of domestic energy resources, women are compelled to leave the camps in search of firewood and, by doing so, are exposed to the threat of rape. Women also bear the brunt of the economic and social consequences of the conflict, and have become disempowered with little or no access to income-generation in both the formal and informal sectors. Once active decision-makers in managing livelihoods in their villages, women are now subjected to the frustration of disempowered male relatives, who, in turn, are unable to venture outside the camps to engage in small-enterprises due to the security situation. One significant achievement of the CPA was the reaffirmation of women‘s equal rights – in terms of pay, political participation and property rights- which are clearly stated in the interim constitutions, which was based on the rights outlines in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Sudan, however, has not signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. One significant achievement of the CPA was the reaffirmation of women‘s equal rights – in terms of pay, political participation and property rights. Sudan‘s commitments under the CPA, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other treaties formed the basis for the inclusion of a bill of rights in the interim constitutions. The INC, which sets the legal framework in the country, commits in its preamble ―to uphold values of justice, equality, human dignity and equal rights and duties of men and women.‖ Article 15(2) commits the state to ―protect motherhood and women from injustice,

1 Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General , Geneva, 25 January 2005, page 3 2 Statement of the Independent Expert of the [UN] Human Rights Council on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, February 11, 2010 3 Case Study Gender Dimensions of Violence: Southern Sudan, page 14

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promote gender equality and the role of women in family, and empower them in public life.‖ Article 32(1) guarantees the ―equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil, political, social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to equal pay for equal work and other related benefits.‖ And article 32(2) binds the state to promoting women‘s rights through affirmative action. Similarly, the ICSS commits to ―upholding values of human dignity and equal rights and duties of men and women‖; and dedicates article 20 to the rights of women, including the right to equal participation in public life. Unlike the INC, the ICSS addresses women‘s political empowerment directly by committing to significantly increase the number of women in key decision making positions in government, stipulating for a 25 percent quota for women in the legislative and executive branches of government. While it will take time and significant effort to achieve this objective, the GoSS has made incremental progress in this regard since 2005, and has recently strengthened its commitment to do so. Following the April 2010 elections), the President of Southern Sudan HE Salva Kiir Mayardit appointed seven women as ministers into his new regional cabinet as well as two female presidential advisors. In his inaugural address of May 21st, 2010, he acknowledged that ―women continue to be the marginalized of the marginalized‖ and made a strong commitment to their empowerment in his administration, promising to ―work to ensure raising women representation in constitutional posts in [his] government (advisors, ministers and heads of commissions) to 30 %‖, and furthermore calling upon his cabinet to ensure that this ratio is attained in senior positions of the executive before the end of his term in office. Finally, the president asserted that he ―shall not settle for less than the full implementation of, and compliance with, all international and regional conventions relating to women.‖4

4 Inaugural Address by General. Salva Kiir Mayardit, President, 21May 21 2010. http://www.gossmission.org/goss/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1073&Itemid=192

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SECTION 2: FRAMEWORKS AND METHODOLOGY

UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820 and UNDP‘s 8PA are included in the Terms of Reference (TOR) for this review as key frameworks UNDP seeks to fully integrate into the SP. These along with other key documents, such as the UN Statement of Common Understanding on Using a Human Rights-Based Approach to Development were used to guide the review.

2.1 Methodology and Key Limitations

The team has mainly employed a qualitative methodology to gather the needed information for the review. A desk review of secondary resources and interviews with key stakeholders were conducted guided by the HRBA and Gender Equality frameworks (described below) to analyze SP programming. Focus was given to outcomes, indicators, activities, as well as processes – programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes- to examine the extent to which The HRBA framework utilized was based on the UN Statement of Common Understanding on Human Rights-Based Approach to Development Cooperation and Programming (the Common Understanding), which was adopted in 2003. The Common Understanding calls for

1) Assessment and analysis in order to identify the human rights claims of rights-holders and the corresponding human rights obligations of duty-bearers as well as the immediate, underlying, and structural causes of the non-realization of rights

2) That programmes assess the capacity of rights-holders to claim their rights, and of duty-bearers to fulfil their obligations and then develop strategies to build these capacities

3) That programmes monitor and evaluate both outcomes and processes guided by human rights standards and principles; and

4) That programming is informed by the recommendations of international human rights bodies and mechanisms. 5

The main guiding documents for the gender equality review were the UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820 and UNDP 8PA. The team also referred to UNDP‘s Corporate Gender Equality Strategy (2008 – 2011). Questions were developed for the review based on these main frameworks, summarized below: UNSC Resolutions 1325 deals with women and armed conflict. Understanding that women and children feel the brunt of war and conflicts the most, the Resolution calls for reduction of brutality - particularly sexual and gender based violence - against women. It highlights the significant role women play in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and calls for increased representation and participation of women at all levels. The Resolution articulates the need for enforcing humanitarian principles and human rights laws and their robust application to the protection of women and girls rights, particularly those internally displaced or living in refugee camps. According to Resolution 1325, relief and recovery programmes- including demining and DDR- should incorporate the special needs of women and girls.

5 The Human Rights Based Approach to Development Cooperation: Towards a Common Understanding Among UN

Agencies, 2003

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UNSC Resolution 1820 highlights women‘s significant role in peacemaking and peace-building initiatives and the imperative to include them in these processes. It also stresses the need to develop an effective mechanism to respond and prevent acts of sexual violence. UNDP’s Eight Point Agenda delineates measures that will generate constructive and feasible outcomes for girls and women in crisis. The eight items are: strengthening women‘s security in crisis; advancing gender justice; expanding women‘s citizenship, participation and leadership; making the peace and recovery processes gender sensitive; building peace with and for women; promoting gender equality in disaster risk reduction; ensuring gender-responsive recovery; transforming government to deliver for women; and developing capacities for social change. UNDP’s Gender Equality Strategy (2008-2011) accentuates the organisation‘s commitment to gender equality and the advancement of women, and provides a road map for arriving there. The strategy spells out UNDP‘s responsibility to support national governments in translating gender equality commitments (constitutional and otherwise) to reality and encouraging an environment where both women and men‘s capabilities can flourish. Accordingly, the Strategy highlights ways to strengthen public institutions to provide much-needed basic services to the poor and marginalized, including women, in an accountable and responsive manner. It also charts ways of helping countries anchor their ―democratic governance practices‖ on international human rights and gender equality conventions and treaties.

2.2 REVIEW OF SECONDARY RESOURCES The team conducted an extensive desk review of relevant secondary resource documents to deepen understanding of the macro6 and micro7 level programmes and strategies. Four categories of documents were reviewed:

Country and Regional Programmes: to understand the overall situation in the country and UNDP‘s programming within it, the main country programmes documents available were thoroughly reviewed; i.e. the CPAP**, the Governance and Rule of Law Programmatic Strategy for Northern Sudan 2009-2012, and the Southern Sudan Strategic Framework for Southern Sudan 2009-2012.

Strategic Partnership: past and present UNDP Governance and RoL programme documents, particularly Strategic Partnership Phase I (including the extension document) and Phase II as well as annual reports, Annual Work Plans (AWPs), and project documents (including project board meeting minutes where available).

Evaluations and reviews: key evaluations and end of project reviews such as the RoL Outcome Evaluation and the Good Governance and Equity in Political Participation (GGEPP) Final Evaluation were also reviewed to get a sense of the extent to which relevant human rights and gender equality- related recommendations have been incorporated into existing programmes.

Strategies: the team reviewed UNDP‘s corporate strategy for Gender Equality as well as UNDP‘s North and South Sudan gender strategies.

**The CPAP outlines UNDP‘s country programme for Sudan for the period 2009-2012. The overall goal of the CPAP is to support GoNU and GoSS in the implementation of the CPA in order to ensure a peaceful transition from recovery to development, peace and stability in line with GoNU

6 Corporate and country level human right and gender strategies, Country Programme Action Plan, etc. 7 Specific projects, particularly in the current year.

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and GoSS development priorities and strategies. The programme has been designed in close coordination with government counterparts and other key stakeholders and has been officially endorsed by GoNU and GoSS. While the CPAP is a broad document serving as an overall guide for programming, both the North and South have developed a more detailed programming strategy framework. The Governance and RoL Mid-term Strategy for the North, and the Governance and RoL section of UNDP Southern Sudan Strategic Framework8 identify three thematic areas – aligned with the CPAP outcomes and primarily funded through the SP Phase II. These are (1) citizen participation and democratization, (2) local government development and public expenditure management, and (3) strengthening access to justice and promoting RoL. The SP Phase II document elaborates further the overall governance and RoL programme. For 2010, the SP Phase II has 19 projects that fall under the three CPAP outcomes.

While the team reviewed available documentation, the report does not elaborate on every single project, rather identifies thematic strengths, weaknesses and gaps that require addressing. The list of documents reviewed is detailed in annex.

2.3 INTERVIEW OF KEY STAKEHOLDERS After the desk review, the team interviewed key stakeholders on the ground. In Juba, Southern Sudan, the team met with several programme and project staff from the governance and RoL unit, government counterparts (mainly the Ministry of Legal Administration, the Human Rights Commission, the Ministry of Gender), and two UNDP‘s CSOs partners working on RoL promotion - Rule of Law Promoters Association and Heaven Lights the World (HLW). The team also met with key members of the Joint Donor Office, namely the representatives of the United Kingdom‘s Department for International Development and the Government of the Netherlands. In the North, the team was able to meet with programme and project staff (in Khartoum and N. Darfur), CSOs focusing on women‘s rights and human rights in general, and a select group of UN agencies whose mandates closely relate to UNDP‘s on human rights and gender (UNIFEM, UNHCR and UNMIS RoL Unit). The team met with donor members of the SP to share the scope of the review and to solicit their inputs. However, the review team was unsuccessful in meeting UNMIS Human Rights Unit as well national government counterparts in Khartoum- including the Ministry of International Cooperation, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Social Welfare, Women and Child Affairs in Khartoum. The team also travelled to Darfur to meet with project staff and counterparts; however, all meetings with government counterparts, UNAMID and some civil society were cancelled due to the escalation of violence during the team‘s stay and the imposition of restricted movement. These limitations in accessing UNDP key partners, in particular government entities that are critical beneficiaries of UNDP‘s assistance, greatly limited triangulation of information. As such, the findings contained in this report should be taken as indicative rather than definitive due to the various limitations involved in the information gathering process for the review.

8 UNDP Southern Sudan Strategic Framework, for the Country Programme Period 2009-2012

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2.4 IN – DEPTH ANALYSIS The team chose two projects (Support to the States in Southern Sudan, and Strengthening Rule of Law and Sustainable Protection in Darfur) to better understand UNDP‘s approach to project cycle (identification, planning/formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.) However, time constraints meant that key project partners and beneficiaries of the Support to the States project were not interviewed, weakening triangulation of information. Therefore the analysis is primarily based on interviews with the programme manager and review of project documents. For the Strengthening Rule of Law and Sustainable Protection in Darfur project, though the review team was able to conduct in-depth sessions with the programme manager and North Darfur staff, as mentioned earlier, security concerns in Darfur prohibited the team from meeting key stakeholders and significantly limited the level of analysis of the project.

2.5 DEBRIEFING Debriefing was organized in the North and the South, and initial findings of the review were shared with UNDP programme and project staff. The national consultant was also able to attend the Governance and RoL retreat in Northern Sudan, which took place on 18 -19 May 2010 in Khartoum, and she presented on some of the findings of the review and answered questions from unit staff. The valuable insight and feedback received during the above sessions helped inform this report.

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SECTION 3: KEY FINDINGS

3.1 HUMAN RIGHTS BASED APPROACH In recognition of the fact that human rights are intrinsically linked to human development, UNDP has made a strong policy commitment globally to using an HRBA in all its programming9. At its core, the HRBA determines the relationship between individuals and collectives with valid claims (rights-holders) and state and non-state actors with obligations towards them (duty-bearers). Country offices are faced with opportunities as well as challenges in applying this approach, which is relatively new, and which touches on very sensitive issues. In the case of Sudan, the challenges are compounded by the fact that human rights and the principles10 that underpin them- as laid out in the thirty articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)11 and subsequently elaborated in a number of international and regional treaties - remain a foreign concept to most ordinary Sudanese citizens. Yet various government administrations over the years have committed to a number of key international treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (see annex for more detail). More recently in 2005, the INC and the ICSS incorporated a bill of rights that outlines a commitment to respect and promote human rights and to work towards social justice, equality and democracy. The review team examined the CPAP, the Governance and RoL Strategy for the North, the relevant section of the Southern Sudan Strategic Framework, the SP Framework, and pertinent project documents, to see to what extent human rights standards have been incorporated into UNDP‘s governance and RoL programme.

3.1.1 SUBSTANTIVE ASPECTS OF HRBA

Key guiding UNDP programme documents explicitly signal the incorporation of human rights principles and standards. The CPAP states that in line with UNDP‘s Corporate Strategic Plan 2008-2011 and drawing on its past and current programming, the UNDP governance and RoL programme aims to balance supply and demand side interventions by supporting both grassroots communities in claiming their rights and empowerment to seek redress where rights are denied; and to support government institutions to increase their responsiveness both in the recognition and realization of rights through the supply of public goods and services in a more accountable, transparent, gender-sensitive and participatory manner. To fill the capacity gap of claimholders and duty-bearers, this two-pronged approach is also mirrored in the SP II and UNDP Southern Sudan Strategic Framework (for Outcome 5). The SP II highlights that UNDP‘s interventions are guided by the principles, standards and obligations derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The North Governance and RoL strategy also asserts that a rights-based framework will be the basis of UNDP‘s RoL programme in Sudan. The 2008 RoL Outcome Evaluation, which looked at this programme

9 Human Rights-Based Reviews of UNDP Programmes Working Guidelines (June 2003) 10 Universality and inalienability, Indivisibility, Interdependence and interrelatedness, equality and non-discrimination, participation and inclusion, accountability and the RoL 11 Including the right to life, liberty and security of person.(Article 3), equality before the law (article 7), the right to social security (Article 22) etc

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amongst others, concluded that ―UNDP Sudan has incrementally advanced the outcome “human rights upheld and protected in accordance with international and national laws through accountable and equitable justice and RoL institutions‘ during the period of the CCF2 2002-2006 and Bridging Period 2007-2008 (to 30 June 2008); however, many indicators remain at a low level of progress or exhibit no progress to date.‖ The evaluation noted that some features of the programme have been strong; for example, awareness raising on basic human rights has reached tens of thousands of people in Sudan, including in IDPs. However, it also noted that more work needs to be done to make the programme more extensive and coherent, for example by making the paralegal training more anchored in Sudanese laws. Interviews with programme and project staff show that on the ground, understanding of the intrinsic link between human rights and human development is high, but knowledge of the HRBA and how to operationalise is still lacking in both North and South. This is partly due to the relative newness of the approach and the scarcity of guidance on it . International human rights standards are foreign concept to ordinary Sudanese citizens. While Sudan has endorsed numerous international conventions that are mentioned earlier, those who are familiar with the standards often times view such programmes with suspicion and in certain cases downright hostility12. Project staff explained that to cope with the reality of the context, which makes it often difficult to bring up human rights issues outright, different strategies have been adopted – such as sanitizing project documents from polarizing issues or concepts. The SP Framework has been stronger in integrating human rights concerns explicitly under CPAP Outcome 5 than under Outcome 3 and 4, an example being the Strengthening Rule of Law and Sustainable Protection in Darfur project. From its inception, the programme built in human rights awareness-raising of duty-bearers and claim-holders, education on available remedies when faced with rights violations, and more recently the upgrading prisons and police stations to improve conditions of detention. While Outcome 3 and 4 promote values that are in line with the HRBA (such as participation, transparency and accountability by political parties, parliaments, and local government bodies), however as in Outcome 5, human rights are not brought to the forefront as a goal. The various peace agreements recognized, in the long term, addressing issues around economic, social and cultural rights is crucial to resolve conflict in Sudan. In the current UNDP programme, some programmes address these issues: for example the UNDP‘s legal aid projects often times work on issues such as land ownership and access to resources, which often touch on social and economic rights. In Outcome 4 for example, there is a clear opportunity to address this category of rights more systematically into existing programmes with one entry point being programming around Public Administration, Decentralization and Local Governance could be a strong entry point for addressing the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, and the recognition by Sudan‘s various peace agreements that addressing issues around this category of rights is crucial to the permanent resolution of Sudan‘s conflicts. Research evidence suggests that decentralisation can increase public access to services, and their availability, and can promote economic and social rights of the poor.13 A long term and incremental strategy of changing mindsets from ‗needs‘ (for education, health, adequate housing etc) to ‗rights‘ could play an important role in reorienting

12

Staff shared their experience in this regard. 13. International Council on Human Rights (2005) Local Government and Human Rights: Doing Good Service Geneva

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budgets and processes to better serve the poor and marginalized in communities benefiting from UNDP interventions. HRBA underscore the need to develop the capacity of state institutions so they can meet its obligation as ―duty bearer‖ to respect, protect, and fulfil human rights mandates under domestic and international law as well as the capacities of individuals and groups to claim their rights. Over the past years, UNDP has made significant inroads in engaging duty bearer institutions such as the judiciary and the police, to better fulfil their human rights obligations. UNDP‘s long history as a technical partner to the government in the North and its engagement with the GOSS in providing technical expertise on a range of governance and RoL issues, including support to the establishment of key state entities such as the Southern Sudan Human Rights Commission (SSHRC), puts the organisation in a privileged position as partner to the government . It is important to note however that the current UNDP programming in both the RoL and governance programme engages more with duty-bearers than claim-holders. Out of the 19 currently active projects, only seven focus on both duty bearer and claim holders, but not necessarily corresponding ones14; eleven solely focus on duty bearers; and only one, the Political Parties Development, focuses primarily on the claim holders. While the Strengthening Access to Justice projects focus mainly on claim holders, the promoting accountable and accessible justice sector institutions, by design, focus primarily on duty bearers. In the South, the staff reiterated that the need to focus primarily on duty bearers was necessitated by the nascent nature of civil society (despite the significant work it is doing at the grassroots level) and the lack of basic government structures, as well as valid fears that supporting claim-holders to claim their rights when duty-bearers are in no position to respect, protect and fulfil them may just increase communities‘ vulnerability to conflict. This may also, to some extent, be true also in parts of the North (e.g. South Kordofan and Blue Nile) that were heavily impacted by the war. In the North, the RoL programme in particular began with a strong focus on promoting claim-holders awareness of their rights. The move towards engaging with duty-bearers, particularly RoL institutions, is positive since respect and responsiveness of institutions to human rights and their capacity to protect and fulfil them are key to the realization of rights. Over the past years, UNDP‘s governance and RoL programme in Northern Sudan has employed a multi-level approach, most notably on legal aid, whereby UNDP is not only facilitating legal aid provision (through Justice and Confidence Centre (JCC)) at the community level, but also is engaging with legal aid units with state government (e.g. in North Darfur). In Darfur, UNDP is assisting legal aid providers to register as community paralegal centres and is working closely with professional legal aid providers in selected areas.

14 An example of corresponding duty-bearer and claim-holders is corrections authorities and prisoners. The reality may be that working directly with claim-holders directly at the early stages of such programmes is difficult, given the sensitivity around issues of access. UNDP programming that upgrades or builds prison facilities and improves conditions inside prisons can both build duty-bearer capacity to fulfill obligations and contribute directly to the protection of prisoners rights. As the relationship between UNDP and the authorities develops and as trust is established, UNDP should evaluate ways in which it can directly engage claim-holders and their capacities to advocate for their rights with duty-bearers.

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From an HRBA perspective, UNDP has already taken certain positive steps - to increase participation, transparency, dialogue and constructive interaction between duty-bearers and claim-holders- such as the RoL Forums in the South – where representatives from state institutions and the communities congregate periodically to discuss salient human rights issues. This dialogue also contributes to improving accountability by bringing together duty-bearers and claim-holders. Similar initiatives such as partnerships with University of El-Fasher and other institutions and case tracking in Darfur and elsewhere will also help give a better sense of what human rights issues most affect communities from a legal standpoint. An important duty-bearer that UNDP has engaged with in the South is the SSHRC, to which UNDP extends technical and material support under the Access to Justice project. Like similar commissions in various parts of the world, the SSHRC is both funded by the government and mandated to act independently from it. Interview senior member of the Commission indicated that UNDP‘s assistance thus far has been relevant, for example current efforts to upgrade the institutions‘ data collection and reporting capacity. If not carefully managed, external support can risk elevating perceptions in government that human rights issues are international community concerns and that organisations like the UN and others will ‗take care‖ of them -through funding and technical support. UNDP should be mindful as it continues to develop its programme of support to manage perceptions and expectations. Traditional authorities who play a decisive role in the ―entitlement‖ (rights) system of many communities and regulate access to local resources, are an important duty-bearers that UNDP has engaged with in different ways. The 2008 RoL Outcome Evaluation noted the critical role played by traditional authorities and customary law in Sudan—since ―most disputes are settled at the local level and citizens largely mistrust state courts and justice institutions.‖ The evaluation concluded that, ―Customary law and traditional authorities have been supported by UNDP RoL to date, but only to a relatively limited degree.‖ To respond to the findings of the RoL Evaluation, UNDP has better engaged traditional authorities, particularly in the South. Studies of customary law have been conducted to deepen UNDP‘s and MOLACD‘s understanding of the multitude of laws currently in operation in different parts of the region and Councils of Traditional Authority Leaders15 have been established in several states to promote dialogue amongst other things on how best to bridge the gaps between statutory and customary laws. UNDP has also engaged traditional authorities in the monthly RoL forums in various locations and trainings have been conducted (particularly by the Access to Justice Project) for traditional authorities on human rights and the current formal legal framework. The critical role that traditional authorities play in the local budgeting and planning process was noted during the several interviews conducted in the South with UNDP staff. UNDP is partnering with African Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) – a Khartoum based organisation- to provide human rights trainings for targeted groups in Darfur. However, according to North Darfur staff, the trainings delivered need to be improved in areas of: trainers skills; anchoring training materials more in Sudanese Laws; and developing more in-depth, tailored and detailed curriculum that better incorporates human rights concepts and standards. Under the current project in Darfur, UNDP plans to support ACHR in strengthening the capacity of the organisation in delivering better trainings; and to this end, UNDP has seconded a staff member in their office.

15 The team did not get an opportunity to meet with the any traditional leaders

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The Rule of Law Promoters Association and Heaven Lights the World (HLW)- two civil society partners of UNDP‘s in Southern Sudan- were appreciative of UNDP‘s support and their relationship to the programme. They expressed the desire for more investment by UNDP in building their capacity to design and implement interventions but also stressed the need for UNDP‘s continued financial assistance. For example, the RoL Promoters Association stressed that one of the main challenges the organisation faced was the lack of dedicated lawyers, which hampered the Centre‘s ability to address the community needs. Both organisations also spoke of gaps in funding or delayed funding by UNDP that affected their ability to deliver services in a timely manner. The review team also found out that in the South, most of the JCCs are based in Juba; however, it was unclear whether the decisions to set up JCCs in Juba are based on analysis of where the need for these centres is most acute. Meetings with the two CSOs in Southern Sudan revealed the need for UNDP to better engage with CSOs. It would be hard to disagree with the statement that state institutions are a priority for UNDP at this stage of Southern Sudan‘s development. An important point to note here is that the need to focus on building state capacities need not undermine engagement with civil society, since building the state is much more than building state structures, and requires investing in the state‘s capacity to engage civil society and communities in a responsive and transparent manner. UNDP Juba office reports that the relationship between CSOs and the government in the South is not adversarial, as is the case in some other parts of the country. UNDP can build on that so that CSOs are further strengthened as development forces in the region and play a important role in influencing state priorities. In general, programmes in both parts of the country need to strike a better balance between institutional development/reform and the critical need to build the capacity of claim-holders to not only know their rights but to also engage strategically with government and advocate for their realization. The potential for conflict can be mitigated in the type of interaction that UNDP promotes- the key here is not to build up claimholders capacities against the state, but rather to open the space for peaceful interaction between the two sides, to promote dialogue and transparency on the duty-bearer side, and active participation in government processes on the claim-holders side. HRBA requires a long-term vision, and in the case of Sudan incremental progress towards the realization of rights. Interviews with project managers illuminated that unpredictable funding plays a role in limiting ability to plan, engage with partners on building a long-term vision, investment in capacity-building in a deeper way, and allowing sufficient room for building trust between duty-bearers and claim-holders. Some staff expressed that they were so busy ensuring delivery of funds within the 12 months cycle, trying to mitigate delays16 to implementation of activities, and reporting on those same activities that it would be difficult, under the current arrangements, to fully engage with the rigor demanded by the HRBA. Most SP donors may not committed to multi-year funding, and conversations with some donors showed that there was a recognition of the need for multi-year commitment to ensure programme effectiveness. UNDP Governance and RoL unit has liaised well with UNMIS RoL thus far, and seems to have established a good working relationship. For example, UNDP, along with UNMIS and Ministry of Justice established a working group on legal aid, and hired a consultant to assist in drafting a legal aid bill for Sudan; the Ministry of Justice and international legal expert groups were scrutinizing the bill while the review team was in Sudan. UNMIS RoL pointed out that coordination has to be very tight

16 Factors that are mostly outside the staff‘s control.

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in the next year since UNMIS‘s mandate is likely to end sometime in mid to late 2011, and UNDP is the natural agency to take over on legal reform issues and other areas where UNMIS currently takes the lead. Staff in North Darfur reported a similar working arrangement with UNAMID, although some donors expressed concerns about duplication of efforts in the area of UNDP‘s access to justice programme17, as well as with UNIFEM on various gender and governance issues. Based on the interviews, it was clear that UNDP has an advantage in that it is perceived by other UN agencies as having access to and trust of the government. UNIFEM and UNHCR expressed the feeling that UNDP can better capitalize on that to advance collective UNDAF goals related to the promotion of good governance, RoL and human right, that is through stronger coordination as well as information-sharing particularly on legal reform and facilitating access to government and involvement in various initiatives relevant to the UN‘s collective mandate in Sudan.18

3.1.2 PROCEDURAL ASPECTS OF HRBA

The HRBA underlines the importance of conducting an ―assessment and analysis …in order to identify immediate, underlying, and structural causes of the non-realization of rights.‖19 In addition, HRBA-driven analysis requires that certain questions be asked and answered before interventions are designed, including:

Whose rights are most systematically violated or are most vulnerable to violation?

Whose corresponding rights are better protected and why?

Which rights (civil, political, economic etc) are most routinely violated and what is the impact of these violations on community members or the community as a whole?

What are the primary duty-bearers obligations in regards to respect, protect and fulfil those rights?

What are their obligations under customary law or international regional treaties and national law?

If duty-bearer capacity is weak, along which one of the above dimensions is it weakest- i.e. is it the capacity to respect, protect or fulfil that needs the most attention?

Is claim-holders knowledge of their rights and opportunities for redress are weak? In which areas?

What would be the strategies for addressing the above with a minimum level of conflict? With the endorsement of the CPAP for 2009-2012, the project document format has been more simplified. Instead of developing full-fledged project documents, UNDP is only required to produce AWPs for each project with the CPAP serving as the overall strategic framework for planned interventions. The situational analysis done in CPAP delineates the different human rights issues and capacity gaps for the duty bears and claim holders. The macro interventions designed are based

17 UNMID‘s recent application to the Netherlands that is similar to current UNDP‘s programme in Darfur 18 Example, working on IDP rights issues. 19

UN (2003) The UN Statement of Common Understanding on Human Rights-Based Approach to Development Cooperation and Programming

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on the situational analysis and try to address both the demand side (claim holders to demand their rights) and the supply side (to increase duty bearers‘ responsiveness). However, the analysis included in the CPAP is relatively broad, analyzing the causes of major development challenges and assessing the capacity gaps of duty bearers and claim holders at the macro-level. Thus, it may not necessarily offer sufficient guidance for individual project interventions. New projects often include a situation analysis in their AWP; however this practice does not apply to ongoing projects, which lack a rigorous, up to date and in-depth analysis, addressing HRBA-centred questions. However, the analysis included in the CPAP is relatively broad, analyzing the causes of major development challenges and assessing the capacity gaps of duty bearers and claim holders at the macro-level. This might not necessarily offer sufficient guidance for individual project interventions. New projects often include a situation analysis in their AWP; however this practice does not apply to approved ongoing projects and often times, lack a rigorous, in-depth, up to date, and participatory analysis, addressing the HRBA focused questions. For example, in the support to the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Development (MoLACD) in Juba, have prioritized the building of customary law centres, amongst other things, in 2010. This activity has been carried over from the prior year. However, if an in-depth analysis is conducted during the development of the current AWP, one of the main priority of the Ministry, according to a staff member, for this year is the upcoming referendum, and the Ministry‘s capacity on to provide legal opinion on a host of extremely complex referendum related issues of direct bearing on rights. In order to be able to address human rights in a meaningful way, UNDP‘s programme needs to identify the underlying causes for their non-realization. For example, interviews with UNDP staff, CSOs and government in the South indicated that culture is the single biggest obstacle to the realization of rights, in particular women‘s rights in Southern Sudan. Existing UNDP programmes have tried through various means to address awareness issues, but changing cultural perception is more than increasing awareness. It involves identifying the primary ‗keepers‖ of cultural values in communities and engaging them, identifying the drivers for change in communities, investing in education, assessing whose power is vested in cultural arrangements and how to mitigate that loss of power, and a host of other issues, which should be reviewed and analyzed to enable UNDP to meaningfully address them. The programming cycle of SP projects seems to have better integrated the participation of duty-bearers than claim holders. Currently, one of the prime mechanisms UNDP employs in promoting accountable and participatory processes is the project boards, which can be an effective mechanism though will never be enough on its own. Most projects have project boards primarily made up of programme and project staff, senior supplier20 and senior beneficiary. By design, senior beneficiaries – including representatives of claim holders (e.g. CSOs) and duty bearers (e.g. justice sector institutions) - participate in project implementation, monitoring, and oversight21. However, due to the fact that the majority of the projects focus more on support to duty bearers, senior beneficiaries are in most cases duty bearers. Furthermore, it is more difficult, to some degree, to identify the relevant claim holders for the planned support. In addition, while duty-bearers are relatively few in

20 Normally representative from donors or UNDP. 21 At least during the formulation and implementation phase.

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numbers (the state and traditional authorities) it tends to be more difficult to identify who in the community can speak on behalf of claim holders , who often number in the thousands. Some donors as well as some government counterparts interviewed perceived project boards as weak as they‘re currently structured (irregular meetings, unclear roles of members, last-minute formulation and dissemination of agendas, follow-up not always clear, etc). There should be particular indicators built into the AWP that allow the project board effectiveness to be measured – including frequency of meetings, extent to which composition of board members consistently reflect key stakeholders, knowledge of members as to their role, perceptions as to the extent of effectiveness of the board in guiding projects). Currently, programme indicators have been formulated at the outcome and output levels, and targets are disaggregated by North and South. The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework for the governance and RoL programme is detailed in the following documents: At the national level, the Results and Resources Framework of the CPAP includes three outcomes and six outputs for the governance and RoL programme for the whole of Sudan for the period 2009-2012. All outcomes and outputs have indicators, disaggregated by North and South and annualized targets. At the project level, the results framework for the Strategic Partnership – Phase II, adapts the CPAP outputs, which are at times very broad, to the regional level (Darfur, Eastern Sudan, Three Protocol Areas, Southern Sudan and the rest of Sudan/interregional programmes). All outputs have corresponding indicators and targets for 2009-2012. The framework is currently being reviewed and updated with missing baseline information. Finally, at project level, all projects produce AWP, in which outputs, indicators and targets are specified.

The Governance and RoL programme is also in the process of revamping its M&E frameworks and coming up with more detailed indicators that better reflect the impact of the programme. For an HRBA perspective, it is essential that all project outputs, outcomes and goals be assessed in terms of their human rights results by way of their impact on the respect, protection, promotion and realisation of human rights of the project beneficiaries. Expected project results need to be clear, and to the extent possible, measurable. Hence a crucial aspect of project design is the selection of indicators and measures.

In an HRBA, the indicator needs to be a measure of the human rights-related results of the project. This will mean that often, in addition to quantitative indicators there will be a need for qualitative indicators as well as process indicators to measure for example, participation, civil engagement, commitment, political will, corruption, local ownership, accountability, etc. These indicators, together with stakeholder capacity indicators need to be an essential part of HRBA project design, and not an afterthought. A particularly important part of an HRBA project will be its capacity development indicators. As UNDP‘s User Guide on Indicators for HRBA in UNDP programming (2006) notes, ―There is an important conceptual and methodological difference between human rights indicators on the one hand and indicators for measuring the application of a human-rights based approach. There is a need to bolster the existing collection of indicators on human rights with those that are more attuned to use in human rights based programming and more in line with human rights principles as laid out in the Common Understanding.‖

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Identifying indicators more attuned to use in HRBA programming will not be an easy task, given the current lack of human rights baseline information in the country. It is however, important to note that an HRBA does not necessarily require separate human rights indicators. Progressive realisation of human rights can often be measured by the same indicators used for demographic and sector analysis such as life expectancy, maternal and child mortality rates, or unemployment and underemployment rates. The absence of baseline statistics on human rights were a key limitation for the review. An important difference between the incorporation of human rights in general in programming as opposed to using HRBA is that in the latter, human rights concerns are located in the result as much as in the process that was used to obtain the result. As such, the inclusion of process indicators is critical. Currently there are no indicators measuring the process of project design and implementation.

3.2 REVIEW OF INTEGRATION OF GENDER EQUALITY PERSPECTIVE The Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines human rights as universal, inalienable and indivisible, applying to all equally ―without distinction of any kind such as race, colour, sex, language... or other status" (Art.2). These defining features of rights stress that women‘s rights are human rights, and this recognition necessitates the incorporation of a gender perspective in human rights dialogues work. The Global UNDP Gender Equality Strategy is grounded on these principles of human rights.

3.2.1 OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMME AND PROJECTS

The CPAP states that UNDP 8PA will be used to guide the integration of a gender perspective in the overall programme. National Partners will be supported to: ―(a) incorporate gender equality into MDG-based planning and monitoring; (b) reduce violence against women, the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV infection, and the burden of care that falls on them; and (c) expand women‘s participation in governance and decision-making processes.22‖ Within the Fostering and Consolidation of Democratic Governance section of the CPAP, the document reiterates the integration of the UNDP 8PA in the programme particularly those pertaining to women‘s security in crisis situation, gender justice, and women‘s participation in the democratic process. Engagement of men and women is seen as a crucial element in UNDP capacity development efforts, with the aim of fostering gender equitable relations within public institutions. It also highlights UNDP‘s intention to work with local governments to support fair and gender-sensitive wealth distribution. In the Results and Resources Framework of the CPAP, UNDP identifies UNIFEM, the Ministry of Gender in the South and the Ministry of Social Welfare, Women and Children in the North as implementing partners. However, analysis of the RRF indicates that gender has not been adequately mainstreamed, that is: most indicators ask for sex-disaggregated data for beneficiaries but there are no specific provisions for gender considerations in the activities and outputs (i.e.

22CPAP, page 16

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the activities and outputs are gender-blind). As a result, it misses the opportunity to capture the extent to which women will participate and benefit from the programme. The North Sudan Governance and RoL Strategy highlights that UNDP 8PA and UNSC Resolution 1325 will be used to address women security and access to justice. For outcomes 3 and 5, it details ways of addressing gender concerns in political participation and women‘s security, including special security concerns for women inmates. The Southern Sudan Strategic Framework states broadly that women empowerment and gender equality in the democratic process will be emphasized in the programme without specifically referring to UNDP 8PA or UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820. Given the ICSS stipulation that all government institutions place a minimum 25 percent quota for women‘s participation at all levels, the Framework asserts that particular focus will be given to the empowerment of women and potential women leaders to meet this goal. This is very crucial since increasing the number of women working in government institutions without empowering them to carry out their professional roles effectively can set up women for failure and perpetuate existing gender inequalities and negative perceptions regarding women‘s capacities. For example, UNDP‘s Senior Advisor to The Inspector General of Police23 in the South indicated that while there have been efforts to increase the number of female police officers, achieving the quota has been difficult. This is partly due to cultural issues, but even those who have been recruited and trained, tend to automatically relegate themselves to societal prescribed gender roles, such as fetching tea and doing menial chores around the compound. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure that increase in number is done in tandem with empowerment. The SP II states that the governance and RoL programme will integrate gender based on UNDP 8PA. It also states that it will work with national partners to promote women‘s participation in governance and decision-making processes, and to combat violence against women; it highlights the areas of support to women and for Outcome 3 and 5. The result framework for Northern and Southern Sudan incorporates gender to a certain degree; while some of the outputs, indicators, and activities incorporate gender, others do it only partially. For example, for Northern Sudan, output 2 states that ―capacities of political parties, media and civil society including women, strengthened to play their mandated roles in the democratic process.‖ However, the indicators don‘t demand for gender disaggregated data and the activities don‘t clearly delineates women‘s participation. This highlights the need for a uniform approach to formulating the framework so that the information gathered will be complete. The expected output under CPAP Outcome 3 is ―Support to free and fair elections and referenda based on international standards provided; Capacities strengthened of national, sub national and

state assemblies; Capacities strengthened of political parties and civil society; including women, to play their mandated roles in the democratic process.‖ This outcome seeks to consider gender inequalities in citizenship, participation and leadership by working with Sudanese women leaders and institutions and focusing on women parliamentarians. It aims to

provide targeted support to women so they can exercise their political rights.

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Ministry of Internal Affairs and The Inspector General of Police

Outcome 3 2010 Projects

Support to Political Parties (North Sudan)

Sudan Legislative, Media and Civil Society Support Programme (North Sudan) (in the pipeline)

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The completed project (GGEPP)24, which falls under this outcome, was a flagship programme that used ―targeted interventions‖ to address women‘s political participation. The final project evaluation stated that the project accomplished two out of its three set objectives: building the capacity of Sudanese women leaders and institutions, and public sensitization on good governance principles and the benefits of women‘s political participation. The evaluation concluded that the ―strive for good governance and increased political participation of women has made some significant achievement after the CPA‖ and recommended that UNDP continue support to the project. The team was informed that the GGEPP has been absorbed into different existing projects, including the election support projects (funded through the Election Basket Fund), and the parliamentary support projects.25 Currently for this category, the Support to Political Parties is the main active project under the SP. This project aims to develop political parties‘ organisational structure in areas of internal governance, constituency representation and accountability and engagement in competitive election processes. Political parties play two important roles with regards to gender and political decision-making. First, political parties decide their internal governance structure, train cadres and determine the number of women in their leadership structures and on election ballots. Second, political parties determine their party platform, the legislative and policy priorities that they will promote. In order for gender equity to become a reality, parties need to make it a priority. However, the project‘s 2010 AWP fails to outline concrete measures to increase women‘s participation and representation in political party structures and trainings. The AWP only calls for gender disaggregated data on training participants but doesn‘t explicitly state the inclusion of women in the trainings. The review team was informed that support to women in political parties was provided under the Election Basket Fund, and in partnership with UNIFEM. Nevertheless, women‘s rights and participation should not be addressed through women focused interventions alone but should also be integrated in all projects. Therefore it is imperative to engender any capacity development initiatives targeting political parties. The project may be doing this on the ground in a way that is not reflected in the project document, but incorporation into the document signals an explicit understanding of the issues, keeps attention on them and facilitates continuity in implementation regardless of staff turnover. In order to capitalize on the momentum created through the elections, UNDP is currently developing a comprehensive programme to strengthen parliaments, media and civil society in North Sudan, which is planned to start in the second half of 2010. According to the Programme Framework and discussion with programme staff, this project will provide support to the Women‘s Caucus so that they can advocate for gender equity and help in creating linkages between women parliamentarians and women‘s interest group and CSOs. Outside this particular support, other aspect of the project, including the support to the Parliamentary Secretariat, and the general orientation to newly elected MPs, there is no mention of women‘s participation or sensitizing male members of parliament on gender issues, including in policy formulation and legislative oversight through gender lens. In Southern Sudan, capacity development support to the legislative assemblies is delivered through the Support to the States Programme (which falls under CPAP Outcome 4, while a deepening

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May 2005 till June 2009 through SP funding 25 See findings and recommendations for more on this.

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democracy project, similar to the North, is currently being developed. The legislative strengthening component of the Support to the States Project in the South also plans to provide specific training to women MPs in advocacy but neglects to mainstream gender in activities such as the training of newly elected members of the assembly, and gender-sensitive budget training for the Accountability and Economic Planning Committees. Overall, Outcome 3 has incorporated gender to a great degree in projects where gender equality is the primary focus of the intervention (ex. GGEPP); however, in non-targeted intervention projects, gender mainstreaming has not been comprehensive and men‘s involvement in promoting gender equality should be further reinforced as articulated in the UNDP 8PA. It is important to follow-up on the recommendations of GGEPP‘s final evaluation; many of which have not been addressed by UNDP beyond some elections-specific training activities. As the CPA, ESPA, DPA, interim constitution drafting process and the elections experience all show, too often civil society, political party and media capacities are weak to organise and influence these processes, and women, in the past, have been excluded. UNDP should pay attention to these issues, be proactive and engage on this early enough to help these groups position themselves to influence ongoing political processes.

Under CPAP Outcome 4, UNDP - to support the decentralization process- provides capacity development support in the areas of strategic planning and public expenditure management at state level, and there are currently seven projects26 primarily focusing on this component. The UNDP 8PA calls for the transformation of public institutions to address women‘s needs, as well as the engagement of women in government processes, including the budget allocation process. However, review of the project documents and meetings with key project staff reveal that most projects were gender blind: there is no mention of women‘s involvement or the fostering of gender responsive institutions in the project documents. For the most part, strategies to create gender responsive institutions and human resource development or to engender the planning and budgeting processes are at nascent level. For example, during the teams visit to the South, the Governance and RoL programme/project

staff were attending a retreat and part of it focused on gender mainstreaming as well as creating gender-responsive budgets within the programmes. It is a very positive step that these issues are being taken onboard by UNDP, and these efforts should be accelerated to ensure that projects under this Outcome are designed and implemented to address gender inequalities. Outcome 5 has two major components: (a) strengthening access to justice at the community level for vulnerable groups including women and people living with HIV/AIDS; and, (b) promoting accountable and accessible justice sector institutions. Discussion with programme and project staff and review of the programming frameworks for Northern and Southern Sudan reveal that the programme under this outcome strives to address

26 Three in the North, and Four in the South.

Outcome 4 2010 Projects

Support to the Abyei Civil Administration (North Sudan)

East Region Local Government Public Expenditure Management Project (North Sudan)

Local Governance Capacity Building South Kordofan (North Sudan)

Support to the Presidency (South Sudan)

Local Governance Recovery Programme (Phase II) (South Sudan)

Support to the States (Phase II) (South Sudan)

Support to Economic Planning (South Sudan)

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women‘s particular needs and incorporates UNDP 8PA, particularly Point 1 and 2.27 On the demand side, attention has been given to issues that disproportionately affect women - particularly their understanding of their rights and access to legal aid and holistic legal services, particularly victims of SGBV and domestic violence. One key result of UNDP‘s support has been the abolition of Form 8, which was an important hurdle to access to justice for victims of SGBV.28 UNDP continues to support the Form 8 advocacy strategy. The 2008 RoL outcome evaluation states that while ―UNDP has devoted a significant amount of programming to women‘s issues and SGBV, UNDP programming in this area could be strengthened, especially with regard to the female prison population.‖29 In response to the evaluation, on the supply side, UNDP‘s support to prison infrastructure rehabilitation stipulates that special consideration be given for women and children‘s needs. UNDP‘s governance and RoL programme is paying particular attention to strengthening the capacity of law enforcement personnel to deliver rights based services to specific groups such as women, children and IDPs. UNDP provides support to potential vehicles for change, such as the Special Protection Units within the police in the South and the Police Family and Child Protection Unit (PFCPU) in the North. At the micro- level (projects), integration of UNDP 8PA, and UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820 framework is ad hoc. Some projects, such as the Support to Police and Prison Services in Southern Sudan and the Strengthening Rule of Law in Darfur programme integrate gender (particularly protection-related issues) in most aspects of the project. Others, such as the RoL component of the Support to the Abyei Civil Administration project and the Access to Justice and Human Security in The Three Protocol Areas programme fail to flag salient gender protection issues to be addressed and are limited in how they elaborate in their AWP the special protection needs of women. Unfortunately, the team did not have the opportunity to interview all project staff, and is aware that on the ground project staff may well be integrating gender concerns in a much more robust way than is indicated by the AWP.

3.2.2 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS TO SUPPORT GENDER MAINSTREAMING

The team reviewed the institutional enabling environment to address gender equality issues in a systematic way, in particular support to staff in gender mainstreaming. The fact that gender equality issues are addressed in ad hoc and fragmented manner and that gender-mainstreaming is still a struggle for UNDP are indications that the current institutional arrangements are inadequate

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Strengthening women‘ security and advancing gender justice. 28 Form 8 is a Sudanese legal document that mandates victims to file with police prior to accessing medical treatment.

Consequently, evidence of rape is easily lost as the processing of the form is very slow and may take days. 29 United Nations Development Programme Outcome Evaluation for the Country Cooperation Framework 2002-2006/Bridging Programme 2007/08 for Sudan Rule of Law (RoL), page 3.

Outcome 5 2010 Projects

Strengthening Rule of Law and Sustainable Protection in Darfur (North Sudan)

Access to Justice in the Three Protocol Areas (BNS and SK) (North Sudan)

Strengthening Access to Justice and Rule of Law in Eastern Sudan (North Sudan)

Capacity Building of the Judiciary (North Sudan)

Promoting Access to Justice and Fostering a Culture of Human Rights in Southern Sudan (South Sudan)

Institutional Support to the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Development (MoLACD) (South Sudan)

Strategic Support to Police and Prisons (South Sudan)

Institutional support to the Judiciary of Southern Sudan (South Sudan)

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for addressing the broad and ambitious goals of promoting gender equality that are a cornerstone of UNDP Sudan‘s CPAP. UNDP North currently has one gender focal person, while the South office has two dedicated senior Gender Advisors.30 Both offices have developed separate gender strategies. Starting in 2009, UNDP started holding all managers accountable, in their annual performance assessment, for delivering results on gender equality. The premise is that this provides an incentive for managers to make gender equality a priority. The United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) is also piloting some very useful guidance on Evaluation of Programmes for HRBA and Gender Equality.31 Bureau of Crisis, Prevention, and Recovery (BCPR) has a target of allocating 15% of the budget to gender specific activities in any programmes it funds. However, there is no clear strategy/guideline on how to implement and monitor that requirement in UNDP‘s Sudan programme. BCPR also has online mandatory gender training for new hires. A new tool - Gender Marker - has been developed to track gender related resource allocation and expenditure in its project system, Atlas. The gender focal person for the North also serves as the head of the Poverty Reduction unit. In an environment where every staff member clearly understands that gender mainstreaming is his/her responsibility, and is equipped with the skills necessary to effectively mainstream gender concerns in programming, this arrangement would have worked. However, this is not the case for UNDP North. According to some staff, since most projects don‘t get the needed support from a gender expert, gender mainstreaming risks being relegated to a box ticking exercise, ensuring the participation of some women in workshops, keeping track of how many women attended the workshops and using language such as ―women and other vulnerable groups‖ in project documents. The Gender Strategy for North Sudan states that it is in the second draft and there are differing perceptions as to whether the strategy has been finalized or is in the process of being finalized. At the current stage, the Strategy is not utilized as a guiding document to help mainstream gender in all aspects of UNDP‘s programming. This is partly due to the fact that some staff deem it as incomplete; and also due to the fact that it is not a ―living document‖, which is being updated on a regular basis. Tools and strategies are only effective if they are designed in a way that encourages participation and ownership by all staff and if they are meaningfully integrated into programmes and regularly adapted to the realities on the ground. While the current Strategy list out relevant activities, though not comprehensive, it also doesn‘t address to directly link the activities with the corresponding UNDP 8PA and doesn‘t clearly identify the responsible parties for implementing these interventions. Most of the monitoring indicators are very broad and can‘t be clearly measured or attributed to the listed interventions; and, the document doesn‘t outline the means of verification for the indicators.

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BCPR provided one international gender expert for the South, the other is a national hired from the office‘s own resources. 31 Handbook for Integrating Human Rights and Gender Equality in Evaluations in the UN System, UNEG, March 2010

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Given the gender focal person‘s workload, it is unrealistic to expect her to take all of the above onboard and the CO should consider hiring a full-time gender advisor. However, support and ownership from programme managers will be critical even if a full-time gender advisor is retained. The Southern Sudan Gender Advisors provide technical and strategic policy advice to UNDP staff, government counterparts, and participate in interagency coordination and joint activities. The Juba based staff stated that they are working closely with the Gender advisors in programme development to ensure that UNDP‘s 8PA is incorporated in their respective programme/project. The extent to which the Gender Advisors are able to impact work at the state level is unclear, however they are providing training to field- and Juba-based staff on how to integrate gender equality in their respective projects and programmes. UNDP Southern Sudan has also formed a gender team comprised of representatives from all of the programme units for better coordination and so that gender equality issues are given the needed focus within the respective units. This team has formulated a TOR and meets quarterly to review progress towards implementing the Gender Strategy. The Southern Sudan Gender Strategy was finalized in March 2010. It outlines different intervention areas to ensure the integration of UNDP‘s 8PA in all aspects of the programme, and it includes gender equality outcome indicators for each outcome. At the moment, the Gender Advisors are working with project staff to prioritize the UNDP‘s 8PA within their respective areas. Though it is too early to determine to what extent the Strategy has been internalized and operationalised, the current initiatives are steps in the right direction. However, it is important that the indicators and targets outlined in the Gender Strategy are integrated within project and programme AWP and programming frameworks. There seems to be varied levels of understanding among programme and project staff of the existing gender equality frameworks and gender mainstreaming requirements. Staff tended to be more familiar with principles of gender mainstreaming but less familiar with concrete mainstreaming tools and guiding commitments and frameworks such as UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820. There is some familiarity with UNDP‘s 8PA, though the ways in which the framework can and should impact programming, particularly at the project level, is less understood. As mentioned earlier, the Strengthening Rule of Law in Darfur can provide a good case study of the integration of gender concerns in output targets and processes from the outset, and appears to be successful in addressing gender inequalities in terms of protection, women‘s participation in the different planned activities, and tackling some violations that disproportionately affect women, in this case SGBV. Women‘s protection issues, particularly around SGBV, are salient in Darfur. Recognizing that, UNDP has dedicated three experts to work on SGBV in the three states of Darfur. The DDR project, though not organisationally under Governance and RoL, has also from the very outset integrated gender concerns in the design, implementation and review of the programme, and has put together a team that reflects this concern. The arrangement of having dedicated gender experts is not mirrored in all projects, and may not need to be, but the above example shows that the integration of gender concerns from the outset is critical for achieving UNDP‘s goal of promoting gender equality. Where a dedicated gender person is not available, at minimum, it is important to liaise closely with a gender advisor to participate in all aspects of the project cycle, while investing heavily, as mentioned above, in staff capacity to mainstream gender.

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Currently, under the harmonized programming approach, all projects are using the ―Project Document Template‖ to develop AWP based on the CPAP. As discussed in the HRBA section, while this arrangement is designed to simplify programming, and may well do so, the in-depth assessment required to address women‘s rights through programme/project interventions may not be fully captured in this project document format. Some projects might actually be using gender equality frameworks when implementing their projects but their initiatives may not have been properly documented. Though proper documentation doesn‘t guarantee that the projects are actually being implemented in a gender-sensitive manner, it is a necessary tool to hold staff accountable to UNDP and Sudan‘s commitments to promote gender equality. Additionally, when a project is approved on Atlas, there are no guiding questions for integration of gender and no checklist exists to ensure that the project meaningfully integrates gender equality concerns into its design, implementation and evaluation. Having checklists doesn‘t automatically ensure that gender is fully integrated or implemented but it will help stimulate reflection and ideas for conducting a deeper gender analysis of a particular project or programme.

3.2.3 COORDINATION AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS

UNIFEM and UNDP have a special relationship programmatically and operationally within the UN system. The elections experience showed the potential for collaboration as well as the need for much closer coordination. While both have their own mandates in relation to gender, they can complement each other in advocating for women‘s rights and gender equality. For example, UNIFEM is closely involved in strengthening the national women‘s machinery and is doing studies on various aspects of the law (including customary law) and how it impacts women, as well as a review of gender mainstreaming within government. UNIFEM also has a mandate to work with local grassroots women CSOs and has a network of partners in the various regions of Sudan. On the other hand, UNIFEM‘s engagement with RoL institutions, particularly in the North, is nascent. At the Khartoum level, engagement with the national machinery, a core part of which is the Ministry of Social Welfare, Women and Child Affairs, is weak. The Ministry, in collaboration with local CSOs and international agencies - including UNMIS RoL, chairs a working group that meets periodically to discuss and analyze legislation pertaining to women and to raise recommendations to the Council of Ministers. This is an important government-led initiative that should be closely supported by UNDP Governance and RoL, in partnership with UNIFEM and other UN organisations. However, UNDP Governance and RoL unit is currently missing from this working group. In the South, UNDP‘s Gender Advisors have attempted to engage with the Ministry of Gender but the Ministry has not fully engaged. The UNIFEM Head of Office in the South expressed a similar experience. The Ministry‘s capacity is still at a rudimentary level and the Ministry receives inadequate budgetary support from GoSS - 0.5 million Sudanese Pounds annually.32 Capacity building support in areas of strategic planning, human resource development, resource mobilization and basic infrastructure support is crucial to transform the Ministry into a change agent that will promote and protect women‘s rights in the South. The UN Country Team is planning to support the Ministry by seconding three gender experts, and UNDP is supporting this

32 It is the last formed and least funded, deals with a multitude of issues in addition to gender such as child rights and religious affairs.

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process. UNDP has also provided guidance and advise to the Ministry on the process of preparing the strategic plan for the gender directorate. State and GoSS level consultations are also in the pipeline. Different stakeholders will support the process including Norwegian Peoples Aid, the MDTF, UNMIS and UNIFEM. There are also other key gender working groups that UNDP is not part of, or is not participating in on a regular basis. This includes the Gender Working Group33, Gender Based Violence Core Group (chaired by UNFPA), and Violence Against Women Working Group in Khartoum State (Chaired by UNIFEM). In the South, UNDP‘s Gender Advisors are currently active in different working groups, including the Gender and SGBV working groups, but the team got little sense of the extent to which it shapes and is shaped by the Governance and RoL programme. The Gender Advisors are also working closely with other UN agencies, primarily UNIFEM, on joint activities.34 At the state level in North Sudan, UNDP has capacity development projects targeting state gender ministries (ex. Local Governance Capacity Building - South Kordofan) and engagement in working groups seems to be better at the state level35; for example, in Darfur, UNDP actively participates in the GBV working group and shares and discusses major protection related issues and challenges faced at the periodic meeting. This participation helps the Darfur staff to better understand the salient GBV issues, coordinate better with relevant stakeholders, and improve their overall programme. The team met with several local women CSOs in the North some of which have, in the past, worked with UNDP on governance and gender. The overwhelming perception of CSOs interviewed was that UNDP‘s engagement with them has diminished significantly since the conclusion of GGEPP, which they saw as a very relevant and important initiative. Some also felt that UNDP views them as contractors, utilized for implementation of certain projects, instead of partners. Overall, the meetings supported the GGEPP final evaluation finding that ―GGEPP has raised expectations among civil society groups, and it has not always met these expectations (South and North).‖ 36 The team did not meet with any women CSOs in the South so it cannot comment on the working arrangements, but one positive thing to note is the way in which the Gender Advisors, and the RoL/Access to Justice projects have come together to support the formation of a Women‘s Lawyer‘s Association in South Sudan, which can be a catalyst for amplifying women‘s voices.

33 Chaired by UNIFEM, the group meets intermittently and revitalization of this group is crucial for harmonization and coordination of activities. 34 Election support and Support to the Ministry of Gender to name a few. 35 In the North, the only field-mission was to North Darfur, so this statement is limited to that programme. 36 GGEPP, Final Project Evaluation November 2008, Page 32.

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SECTION 4: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2010 – 2012

The review team identified a number of steps for UNDP to take to improve its governance and RoL programme from an HRBA and gender equality perspective. The recommendation are in three areas: strengthening UNDP‘s capacity in integrating HRBA and gender equality perspectives into its programmes; concrete entry points and partnerships for realizing humans rights and promoting gender equality; and, effective engagement with government counterparts and key stakeholders.

One overall recommendation is that as mentioned earlier, delays in funding of projects run the risk of interventions being irrelevant when they are finally implemented. For UNDP to facilitate more strategic and long-term planning, SP donors should seriously commit to multi-year funding.

The specific recommendations are detailed in the three sections below:

4.1 STRENGTHENING UNDP’S CAPACITY IN HRBA AND GENDER EQUALITY

PROGRAMMING 4.1.1 HRBA PROGRAMMING

Organise standalone trainings on HRBA, not just for the governance and RoL Programme and project staff, but also for M&E specialists, gender advisors, and regional programme managers and staff from other units who collaborate closely with the Programme.

Key counterparts on governance and RoL (government and civil society) should also be introduced to these concepts in a culturally sensitive way. The training on HRBA should be integrated ―opportunistically‖ into existing retreats/workshops to ensure continuous learning and a space to share experiences from the field, and to collectively devise ways to translate this approach to the varied contexts of Sudan.

Implementing partners such as IDEA and Max Planck Institute should also be sensitized on HRBA.

Revamp the current M&E to include important human rights indicators and to improve knowledge management considerably and sharing of best practices across units, regions and with the UNDP knowledge networks. The following areas needs to be considered in the M&E:

Categories of Rights: indicators, where possible, should be identified that take into consideration the different categories of rights (civil, political, economic and social, and cultural) as well as their different dimensions i.e. they need to measure: respect for rights (e.g. measures of incidences of torture, frequency of informal settlement demolition by the state in urban areas); protection of rights (e.g. incidences of third party causing loss of life or denial pastoralist access to privately-owned land); and, fulfilment of rights (e.g. investment in police training on issues of torture and inhuman treatment or investment in the infrastructure for prisons, health or education.)

Capacity development: indicators that measure the extent to which the capacity of the beneficiaries has been strengthened to respect (abstain from violating rights), to protect (to prevent rights violations by others) and to fulfil

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(provide resources and measures to guarantee opportunities to access entitlements) have to be identified and developed.

Process: indicators that measure the application of HRBA in governance and RoL

should be developed. Process indicators generally tend to measure issues such as: evidence of involving key stakeholders in defining programme objectives and indicators; evidence of the inclusion of the groups identified as most vulnerable to rights-violation in all aspects of the programme cycle; evidence of building the technical capacity of claim-holders to participate in above; evidence of reference to Sudan‘s HR commitments in designing programme/project; and, evidence of transparency of project activities etc. The process indicators should be included in Annex II in the SP – Phase II framework document that outlines general process indicators for the partnership arrangement for 2009-2012.

Baselines: the programme should incorporate an HRBA perspective into current efforts to establish missing baselines, and should continue its investment in assisting government counterparts to collect and process disaggregated human rights data in order to identify groups excluded from development (rather than the generic ‗poor‘), and the reasons for their exclusion.

To increase transparency and participation of programme functioning, there is a need for continuous review of the participatory process throughout the programme cycle. The project board, an existing mechanism that serves this process, should be strengthened to effectively play this role. This includes:

Ensure that the right mix of duty-bearers and claim-holders are represented at the board so as to allow for a plurality of perspectives.

Ensure a clear understanding among members of their rights and responsibilities.

Ensure regular meetings of the board with notice of the meetings given ahead of time.

Develop agendas jointly – the programme/manager along with members - and well ahead of time, and ensure that there is room to discuss developments in the operating environment/political environment of the project and the ways these should impact project activities.

Provide thorough documentation of board meetings and report on follow-up.

Particular indicators (including frequency of meetings, extent to which composition of board members consistently reflect key stakeholders, knowledge of members as to their role, perceptions as to the extent of effectiveness of the board in guiding projects) that measure the effectiveness of the board be developed and incorporated in the AWP.

Revamp the AWP development process so that in-depth, rigorous and participatory analysis based on the HRBA is conducted for all projects to ensure that the relevant human rights issues are accurately captured.

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GENDER EQUALITY PROGRAMMING

For the North office, given the great need noted to bolster the in-house gender advisory capacity and the attention devoted to gender issues, it is important to hire a senior gender advisor with strong familiarity or expertise in RoL and governance programming in conflict and post conflict environments. The Southern Sudan experience on this should be examined to draw lessons from. UNDP North can hire a national who understands the Sudanese context to fill this position, particularly given the need to work in Arabic with CSOs. The advisor should be technically capable of providing assistance to programme and project staff in mainstreaming gender throughout the programme cycle.

Ensure that gender advisors are involved from the outset of project formulation so that gender issues are not considered at the last minute and project documents don‘t pay lip service for gender concerns.

However, it is important to understand that organisations cannot solely rely on external expertise to work on gender mainstreaming. Building the in-house capacities of programme staff is crucial for the successful implementation of any gender strategy. Staff must possess basic competencies to translate gender strategies into practical actions. Staff ownership of the organisation‘s vision for gender equality is also crucial. In this context it is highly recommended that the gender advisors dedicate (in the case of the South continue to dedicate) time to build the in-house capacity of the programme and project staff.

Traditional gender analysis and mainstreaming training is very basic and does not promote a deeper understanding on how to integrate gender issues in the different programmatic components of UNDP‘s programme. Investing in specialized gender training that is directly linked to the governance and RoL programme is important to meaningfully integrate gender at the conceptual and practical levels. It also helps to create a common understanding of gender, develop a common vocabulary, identify constraints, and establish goals and processes for integrating gender into the governance and RoL programme.

Revamping the gender strategy for the North by identifying comprehensive intervention areas and priorities, in line with UNDP 8PA, and with more concrete key outputs, indicators and activities that should be incorporated into the SP results framework.

Reviewing the results framework for the Strategic Partnership Phase II for Southern Sudan and aligning the outcome indicators with the gender strategy for the South.

Closely integrate gender-responsive budgeting into CPAP Outcomes 3 and 4 particularly with regards to all work at the state and local level for both the North and the South.

To ensure that gender equality issues have been analyzed and correctly addressed, it is important to adopt existing UNDP checklists, such as the one developed by BCPR, or develop a set of assessment criteria- based on UNDP‘s 8PA- that can be used at each main decision making point in the project management cycle. This will not only ensure that gender equality issues are analyzed and addressed but also help in enhancing staff‘s knowledge and experience in the area.

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Mainstreaming gender into the M&E framework in order to capture the extent to which the intervention: benefited men and women; enhanced the level of empowerment for women and men; improved the relationship between men and women; and influenced policy change or improved practices as a result of the intervention. It is also important to capture the inadvertent ramification – adverse or favourable- of the intervention on men and women in order to rectify the issue in future interventions.

The UNEG document on Evaluation of Programmes for HRBA and Gender Equality should be drawn on in any evaluations related to the SP Phase II, whether at the project level or larger planned evaluations at the outcome level.

4.2 CONCRETE ENTRY POINTS AND PARTNERSHIPS FOR REALIZING HUMAN

RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY HRBA Programming

Mainstream rights into current programmes such as the Support to States project and the ―deepening democracy project‖ that is in the pipeline.

Parliamentary development activities in the South, particularly at state level, would benefit from integrating sensitization activities regarding rights and state commitments to addressing issues pertaining to representation, legislation and oversight, then gradually moving to process tools, such as rights-based and gender-responsive budgetary review, identifying constituency concerns on human rights issues, developing legislation to address rights violations at state-level, and enhancing their oversight functions.

CSO capacity should be developed so that they can fully participate in constitutional design processes, electoral processes, and peace processes.

Using existing human rights trainings to change the mindset of communities from ―service delivery and needs‖ to ―rights‖ orientation so that citizens can influence the local government planning and budgetary process.

UNDP should undertake a review of JCCs/RoL Promoters Associations/Legal Aid Centres to closely review roles, challenges, lessons and relevance, and the support needed to better employ an HRBA.

Continue to support the SSHRC in 2010-2012 in:

Setting up a state presence, recruitment and training of investigators and monitors, including women investigators, data-collection and management, reporting to and advocating to the Office of the President and to the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly, coordinating with other RoL institutions, and follow-up on implementation of recommendations.

Enhance SSHRC‘s awareness-raising role including with traditional authorities; currently that is limited to one-off events like the international human rights days due to constraints in budget and human resources.

Complement Norway‘s support in helping the SSHRC develop and implement a strategic plan for the establishment of dedicated gender and child desks. UNDP can assist in developing the capacity of the gender and child desks officers in areas of international human rights standards and

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gender equality issues, including UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820, as well as systematic tracking of rights violation of women and children.

Post-referendum, sensitize the SSHRC and GoSS on to the need to realize social and economic rights of citizens. Given the violence in parts of the South in 2009 and the current burdens on the SSHRC, this is best tackled in the post-referendum period provided that there is relative stability.

Engaging GoSS on supporting the Commission so that human rights issues are not perceived as donor driven issues.

The RoL Forums supported through the Access to Justice programme provide a space for dialogue between the claim-holders and duty-bearers, and allow the community to identify priorities and advocate for change. UNDP should continue to strengthen the Forums in the following areas:

Ensuring the consistent presence of high-level state officials, in particular those from government ministries, departments of direct relevance to the rights-failures affecting communities in different parts of the South.

While maintaining fluidity in the discussions is good, and can allow for a broader range of voices in the community to emerge, it is important that these discussions are led by a neutral facilitator to help identify rights-failures that are of most relevance to the community.

Within SP Phase II, the forums should evolve to establish concrete follow-up mechanisms, to track their impact on the realization of rights locally and to capture best practices in various locales that may be applicable to others. The knowledge drawn from the forum should be documented and consolidated in SP Phase II.

The forums should be used to shape future UNDP interventions at the community level, including the establishment of JCCs outside the current coverage areas.

The Strengthening Rule of Law in Darfur project has made significant headway in adopting an HRBA under extremely difficult circumstances. However, ways in which integration of the HRBA can be strengthened is to:

Further invest in capacity development of community-based organizations working on legal aid in areas of organization management, data management, networking and fundraising.

Currently, the strategy of working with individual lawyers on a case referral basis seems sound and responsive to the lessons from the past, namely disruption of project activities due to NGOs shutdowns and expulsions37. Should the policy space open up however, a review of strategy would be warranted so as to explore options that that are less reliant on individual capacity and more invested in institutional legal aid capacity. Interventions to promote more Darfur based lawyers and working on the legal aid bill are steps in the right direction.

Explore ways to link up the start-up Livelihoods programme (and plans to undertake a Local Governance study in Darfur) with the Access to Justice programme to better understand and address some of the root causes of failures

37 Two key UNDP implementing partners, the IRC and Amel Center, have been expelled.

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in economic and social rights, including ways in which SGBV is impacted by economic and social disempowerment.

Use information from the case tracking system to shape human rights trainings– including work with the ACHR to deepen and contextualize the training provided.

Tap into community forum discussions hosted at the University of El-Fasher (and attended by influential community members) as well as information from the legal aid centres and dialogues with partner justice institutions to support the development of a conflict-sensitive advocacy agenda for the CSOs on key human rights issues affecting the community.

The governance programme should prioritize the promotion of a better understanding of social and economic rights of ordinary citizens and the fulfilment of Sudan‘s commitments under the International Covenant on ESC Rights and other instruments. This involves in working with state and local governance structures in service delivery planning and budgeting in a way that promotes these rights, mitigates conflict and promotes action towards the MDGs at the local level.

Given the upcoming referendum, UNDP should review the AWP for its support to the MOLACD to include activities around strengthening the Ministry‘s capacity to provide legal opinion on a host of extremely complex referendum related issues of direct bearing on rights.

Gender Equality Programming On the Parliamentary Support Project, ensure that both men and women are sensitized –

through trainings and technical assistance - on the importance of integrating gender equality in policy formulation and implementation and ensuring that representation, legislation and oversight are conducted from a gender equality perspective.

Better integration of gender equity in political processes is needed. According to the evaluation, GGEPP was clearly a best practice intervention for UNDP, and a follow-up includes building on UNDP‘s success in promoting ownership, leadership, capacity and networking of women as political actors, supporting the women‘s forums and expanding them to areas outside Khartoum and Juba. Continuing the momentum of working closely with women CSOs and women leaders in areas of leadership, effective campaigning, developing agendas and crafting messages, is crucial to increase women‘s political participation.

Review the Support to Political Parties project to properly integrate gender equality perspectives in the training activities, particularly in areas of internal governance structure, platform development, and candidate selection.

UNDP‘s Gender Equality Strategy 2008-2011 underscores the need to support government to foster gender-responsive institutions, and this commitment must be translated into action for Outcome 4, by investing in capacity development of state institutions to implement gender-responsive planning and budgeting processes. The current support UNDP provides on decentralization as well as the public expenditure management projects are a ready entry point in this regard.

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Invest in women empowerment programmes in the civil service in Southern Sudan in coordination with the Ministry of Gender38 and UNIFEM. Tracking the goal of the 25 percent quota in Southern Sudan and analyzing the main issues for barriers to its realization is important for the kind of intervention UNDP develops in the future.

4.3 ENGAGING MORE EFFECTIVELY WITH GOVERNMENT COUNTERPARTS AND

KEY STAKEHOLDERS As part of building capacity to oversee referendum activities and coordination within the

GoSS (through the Support to the Office of the President and other projects), encourage discussions within the UNCT that explore different referendum scenarios from a rights perspective. Develop various contingency plans with government to ensure protection of rights during and in the immediate post-referendum phase.

In the current Support to the Office of the President project, there is a plan to establish a task force to oversee the referendum and post referendum process. UNDP can continue to play an active role in encouraging and supporting the task force to consider women and children‘s protection issues and to ensure the strategic integration of UNDP 8PA, UNSC 1325 and 1820.

UNDP should evaluate the capacity of the justice sector institutions to handle the requirements of the referendum as well as state and local governments‘ readiness to handle issues that can arise as a result of the referendum, including potential influxes into certain areas of the country.

There is a strong need to continue to support the Ministry of Gender in areas of strategic planning and to coordinate with other agencies – such as UNMIS, UNIFEM, and Norwegian Peoples Aid, providing similar support.

Support the Ministry of Gender‘s plan to place gender focal persons within selected ministries by providing technical assistance and training to these individuals in order to increase the gender-responsiveness of the different ministries. UNDP should continue to engage with the Ministry jointly with UNIFEM, and explore ways to support state level gender structures through the Support to the States project.

In the Three Protocol Areas, UNDP in partnership with UNMIS and other relevant organizations, begin analysis and planning on how to best support a peaceful, transparent, participatory, grass-roots consultation process in Blue Nile and South Kordofan, as well as the referendum process in Abyei. The analysis should focus on potential human rights violations and how to prevent them. For example, access to information by communities will be key, as well as fostering forums where community members can give their views without jeopardizing their security for fear of retribution. With the Abyie referendum, issues such as proximity of voting booths to poor communities and adequacy of the one day voting timeframe in ensuring that women have an equal chance of exercising their political right to vote will be salient. There are also potential conflict triggers that can impact communities, including the border demarcations, possible displacement and what arrangements will be in place for those displaced, to restrictions on pastoralist movement, separation of families and the possibility of outbreak of violence. These issues are all urgent from a rights perspective and since women tend to be most affected by displacement and violence in Sudan, the protection of women should be the focus of any programmatic support in this area.

38

The capacity of the Ministry of Gender has to be significantly built before it undertakes such initiative

41

Although much of the referendum processes and popular consultations will not be funded under the SP, many SP projects, such as Support to Local Governance in South Kordofan, Access to Justice in Blue Nile and Support to Abyie Civil Administrations will be affected, and can play a positive role in ensuring that human rights of the population are respected and protected throughout.

As mentioned in Section 3, the mandate of UNMIS RoL will end in mid 2011. In terms of legal reform and monitoring as well as other aspects of UNMIS RoL‘s mandate, UNDP is best placed to take over where UNMIS leaves off. To ensure a smooth and successful transition, UNMIS RoL and other relevant units and counterparts should meet with UNDP and start coordination on the handover process well ahead of time.

UNDP should strengthen information sharing and collaboration on human rights issues with relevant UN agencies, national and international CSOs. Continue to actively participate in human rights/RoL/governance working groups to find areas of potential collaboration. Consider working with UNMIS RoL/Human Rights/ Gender and UNIFEM to ensure that knowledge is managed properly on human rights related issues. One example includes continuing the development of a database containing international laws applicable to Sudan, corresponding national legislation and ongoing processes of legislative reform that are currently spearheaded by UNMIS.

There is a strong need for better coordination between UNIFEM and UNDP so that both organisations can benefit from each other‘s technical expertise and promote their common goal of ending gender inequality. UNDP should identify a person that can liaise and work closely with UNIFEM.

UNDP should work in tandem with external partners to promote gender issues. There are academic institutions and NGOs, particularly in the North, working on women‘s issues. Joining gender working groups is also a way of increasing UNDP‘s gender expertise. At Khartoum level, UNDP governance and RoL should ensure its active participation in existing gender working groups, including the Gender Working Group, Gender Based Violence Core Group, and Violence Against Women Working Group at Khartoum State. Knowledge gained from this working group should be used to shape the governance and RoL programme.

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SECTION III: ANNEX

ANNEX 1: Inception Report ANNEX 2: Bibliography ANNEX 3: Terms of reference ANNEX 4: Itinerary of the Review Ream Mission in Sudan ANNEX 5: Human Rights Conventions Sudan has Signed

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INCEPTION REPORT

FOR

REVIEW OF THE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK ON GOVERNANCE AND RULE OF LAW FOR HRBA AND GENDER

MAINSTREAMING

APRIL 20, 2010

RAKEB ABATE AND SARA ABBAS

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TABLE OF CONTENT

LIST OF ACCRONYMS ...................................................................................................................................... 3

Section i: Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. 4

SECTION II: time-frame of The Review ............................................................................................................. 8

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................................................ 8

Section 1: Background .......................................................................................................................................... 9 1. 1 STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK ...................................................................................................... 9 1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................. 9 1.3 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................................ 10

Section 2: Frameworks and Methodology ........................................................................................................... 13 2.1 METHODOLOGY AND KEY LIMITATIONS .................................................................................................... 13

2.2 REVIEW OF SECONDARY RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................... 14 2.3 INTERVIEW OF KEY STAKEHOLDERS ................................................................................................................................ 15

2.4 IN – DEPTH ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................................... 16 2.5 DEBRIEFING .......................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Section 3: Key Findings ....................................................................................................................................... 17 3.2 REVIEW OF INTEGRATION OF GENDER EQUALITY PERSPECTIVE ............................................................. 25

3.2.2 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS TO SUPPORT GENDER MAINSTREAMING ........................................................ 29 3.2.3 COORDINATION AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS............................................................................................................. 32

Section 4: Recommendations for 2010 – 2012 ...................................................................................................... 34

ANNEX: ............................................................................................................................................................. 42

ANNEX 1: INCEPTION REPORT ANNEX 2: BIBLIOGRAPHY ANNEX 3: TERMS OF REFERENCE ANNEX 4: ITINERARY OF THE REVIEW REAM MISSION IN SUDAN ............................................................................................ 42

1. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................. 45 1.2 Summary of Major Governance and RoL Issues .................................................................................. 46 1.3 Current UNDP Governance and RoL Programme ................................................................................... 47

1 FRAMEWORKS ............................................................................................................................................... 47 2.1 Human Rights Based Approach – A brief Overview ................................................................................ 47 2.2 GENDER FRAMEWORK- A BRIEF OVERVIEW .............................................................................................. 49

2.2.1 NATIONAL GENDER COMMITMENTS ........................................................................................................................... 49 2.2.2 INTERNATIONAL GENDER COMMITMENTS ................................................................................................................. 49 2.2.3 UN COMMITMENTS ........................................................................................................................................................... 50

2 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................ 51 3.1 Review of Secondary Resource .................................................................................................................. 51 3.2 Interview of key stakeholders .................................................................................................................... 51 3.3 In – Depth Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 51 3.4 Debriefing ................................................................................................................................................. 52

3 SCHEDULE.................................................................................................................................................... 52

4 Annex ........................................................................................................................................................... 52 5.1 Outline of Final Report ............................................................................................................................. 52 5.2 HRBA and Gender Equality Analysis Framework ................................................................................... 53 5.3 Document Review for Gender Equality .................................................................................................... 55 5.4 Checklist for National Commitment for Gender Equality ........................................................................ 56

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1. BACKGROUND 1.1 STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK The Strategic Partnership (SP) framework was launched in 2005, the same year of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), as a two-year partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Government of National Unity (GoNU), the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), the United Kingdom‘s Department for International Development (DFID), the Government of the Netherlands, and the Government of Denmark. The SP aimed to provide a framework and a flexible funding mechanism to enhance the effectiveness of governance and rule of law programming at the national, state and community levels, and to strengthen interventions in this area within the overall goal of supporting peace in Sudan and promoting an MDG-based post-conflict recovery process. In mid 2007, the SP framework underwent an external evaluation which found that the framework has proved to be a useful complementary funding mechanism to that of the World Bank administered Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), particularly in the areas of governance and rule of law, access to justice and early recovery. Based on its findings, the review recommended that the framework be extended to for the period 2008-2012, noting however several limitations within coordination, management, monitoring and evaluation which needed to be addressed in the second phase of the programme. Following this recommendation, SP partners agreed to extend the original framework period 2005-2007 until June 2009, with a second phase planned for 1 July 2009– 31 December 2012. By mid-2009, the SP had funded 32 projects in the area of governance and rule and law, with a total value of $74.5 million of donor support for the period January 2006 - June 2009. On 1 July 2009, the second phase of the SP commenced with the overall goal of supporting the three governance outcomes on Democratization, Decentralization and Rule of Law outlined in UNDP‘s Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) 2009-2012. The Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), which had decided to support the extension of phase I of the SP (2008-2009), also allocated fund for consultancy studies, with the aim of developing a strategic implementation of a human rights based approach and gender equality focus within the framework for 2009-2012, and inline with the recommendations of the 2007 evaluation. 1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSESSMENT: In March 2010, a two-person independent consultancy team (composed of one national and one international) was deployed to examine the SP from human rights and gender lens. According to the TOR, the objective of the consultancy is to assess the extent to which values, principles and standards contained in international and national human rights law have been applied to both the substantive and procedural aspects of UNDP‘s programming in the framework of the Strategic Partnership in Sudan. Specific attention will be paid to examining how effectively a gender equality perspective has been integrated in UNDP‘s governance and rule of law programme, with a view to supporting the implementation of UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820, as well UNDP‘s Eight Point Agenda for Women‘s Empowerment and Gender Equality in Crisis Prevention and Recovery. Based on the findings of the assessment the consultancy will propose an action plan for a human rights and gender equality based programming of the SP during 2010-2012. The action plan will

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include recommendations how to effectively target and mainstream human rights and gender equality in current programming as well as how to monitor and evaluate its implementation.

1.2 Summary of Major Governance and RoL Issues

The major governance and RoL issues pervading the different regions in Sudan has been filtered by examining the Country Programme Action Plan 2009 -2012 and other pertinent UNDP documents. Below is highlight of the major issues:

Area Major Governance Issues

Southern Sudan

Rudimentary service delivery structure; limited human resource capacity, limited revenue raising mechanism; embryonic rule of law institutions; newly established common law system; weakening of traditional justice system; lack of sensitization on the transitional legal framework, continued SGBV in some areas (verify), slow pace of DDR

Three Protocol Areas

Delay in implementing the power-sharing system in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile; poor development interventions; limited human and financial resources to provide effective basic services and swiftly implement fiscal and policy decentralization; Heavy handed military presence and police; slow pace of DDR, lack of knowledge about rights and plans for the region under the CPA

Eastern Sudan

Limited public institution capacity, particularly in lower levels of government, in areas of planning and service delivery; heavy handed military policing; limited capacity in the justice sector to deliver proper and effective services; inadequate and poor infrastructure of prisons and detentions(this is the case everywhere), acute exclusion of women from public life in areas such as HameshKorief, Telkuk and North Delta, possibly also inadequate integration of refugees from neighbouring Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Darfur

Gross and systematic violation of human rights; insecure living conditions for IDPs; widespread SGBV; weak and politicized governance and rule of law institutions; failing traditional conflict resolution mechanisms; destruction of basic livelihood and safety nets, politicized management of natural resources in particular grazing land

Central states (KRT, Al-Gezira, White Nile, Sennar etc) Does this include northern States

Central government devolution of fiscal, policy and power to a lower level of government and conducting a free and fair election in 2010, non-participatory privatization and other policy-decisions leading to decay of farming schemes like the Gezira Agricultural scheme which employ much of the region‘s population, a failing local state and local government system unable to provide adequate housing and services to the poor and residents of informal settlements in urban centres like Khartoum, non-participatory dam and infrastructure development in the northern state

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1.8 Current UNDP Governance and RoL Programme UNDP governance and RoL programmes focuses on three thematic areas: (1) participation and democracy, (2) local government development and public expenditure management, and (3) access to justice and rule of law promotions. These focus areas are delineated in the CPAP outcomes: CPAP Outcome 3: Institutions, systems and processes of democratic governance strengthened, which includes election and referendum support39, political party development, parliamentary strengthening initiatives, and civic engagement component. The parliamentary strengthening component includes support to Women‘s Caucus including advocacy for gender equity and the engagement of women MPs with different women's groups and organizations. CPAP Outcome 4: National/sub-national/state/local levels of governance expand their capacities to manage equitable delivery of public services. This outcome includes support to decentralization, policy coordination and target setting at state level, and institutional strengthening for policy analysis, planning and budget management. CPAP Outcome 5: Rights upheld and protected through accountable, accessible and equitable Rule of Law institutions. This outcome has two major components: (a) strengthening access to justice at the community level for vulnerable groups including women and people living with HIV/AIDS and support; and, (b) promoting accountable and accessible justice sector institutions.

1 FRAMEWORKS The TOR use the HRBA and Gender Equality perspectives, including the implementation of UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820 and UNDPS‘s UNDP‘s Eight Point Agenda for Women‘s Empowerment and Gender Equality in Crisis Prevention and Recovery. The consulting team will use these frameworks as a main guiding document. Below is a brief overview of the HRBA and the different national, international gender instruments that will be used to examine the Strategic Partnership Governance and RoL Programmes.

2.1 Human Rights Based Approach – A brief Overview Mainstreaming human rights into UN activities and programs is a core concern of the UN Programme for Reform that was launched by the Secretary General in 1997. The UN Statement of Common Understanding on Human Rights-Based Approach to Development Cooperation and Programming (the Common Understanding), which was adopted in 2003 makes explicit that: 1. All programmes of development co-operation, policies and technical assistance should further the

realization of human rights as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.

2. Human rights standards contained in, and principles derived from, the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights and other international human rights instruments guide all development cooperation and programming in all sectors and in all phases of the programming process.

3. Development cooperation contributes to the development of the capacities of ‗duty-bearers‘ to

39

Not funded through the SP but through the Election Basket Fund

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meet their obligations and/or of ‗rights-holders‘ to claim their rights. (See below for a definition of these terms)40

Rights-holders are individuals and collectives with valid claims while duty-bearers are state and non-state actors with obligations towards them. To determine the relationship between the two, the Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) was devised as a ―conceptual framework for the process of human development that is normatively based on international human rights standards and operationally directed to promoting and protecting human rights.‖ 41 The core human rights principles the HRBA is built on are universality and inalienability; indivisibility; inter-dependence and inter-relatedness; non-discrimination and equality; participation and inclusion; accountability and the rule of law. Two broad categories of rights exist, and are thus promoted by the HRBA. The first is civil and political rights. The second is economic, social, and cultural rights. A core dimension within each of these categories is the state‘s obligation (as the main duty-bearer) to respect (not interfere in the exercise of the right), protect (prevent violations of rights from third parties) and fulfil (provide resources and outcomes of policies).)) In recognition of the fact that human rights are intrinsically linked to human development, UNDP has made a strong policy commitment to using a HRBA in all its programming worldwide, and has provided for guidance on a set of indicators to measure progress. HRBA must now actively guide all of UNDP’s work, from formulation of its global strategies to the UNDAF and down to the project level.

While the HRBA does not conflict with existing modalities of programming that UNDP employs, however, it necessities that certain elements are given priority, and those they become central to the programming cycle. In particular, the HRBA requires:

a) Assessment and analysis in order to identify the human rights claims of rights-holders

and the corresponding human rights obligations of duty-bearers as well as the

immediate, underlying, and structural causes of the non-realization of rights.

b) Programs assess the capacity of rights-holders to claim their rights, and of duty-bearers

to fulfill their obligations. They then develop strategies to build these capacities.

c) Programs monitor and evaluate both outcomes and processes guided by human rights

standards and principles.

d) Programming is informed by the recommendations of international human rights bodies

and mechanisms. 42

As an approach, the HRBA calls on UNDP as an agency and UNDP staff collectively and individually to systematically (a) undertake an analysis of whose rights should be most promoted, with a focus on the poor and marginalized, (b) adopt a holistic view (c) rely for standard setting on international human rights instruments (d) employ a truly participatory process (e) promote transparency and accountability (f) support continuous monitoring and (g) aim for sustained results

40 UN (2003) The UN Statement of Common Understanding on Human Rights-Based Approach to Development Cooperation and Programming 41 OHCHR, Frequently Asked Questions On A Human Rights-Based Approach To Development Cooperation, Geneva 42

The Human Rights Based Approach to Development Cooperation: Towards a Common Understanding Among UN

Agencies

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in the promotion of the rights for the most vulnerable in society43 In line with the above, one of UNDP main mandates is to support national authorities to carry out duty-bearer responsibilities in line with key international and regional human rights treaties they are party to, in addition to rights commitments enshrined in the INC, ICSS and state constitutions. In the case of Sudan, this includes the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (see annex x for a more expansive list). The Interim National Constitution of Sudan and the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan, adopted in 2005, reaffirm commitments to human rights and set up independent commissions to monitor adherence to the bill of rights enshrined in the constitutions.

2.2 GENDER FRAMEWORK- A BRIEF OVERVIEW

2.2.1 National Gender Commitments

The Interim National Constitution of Sudan, which sets the legal framework in the country, commits in its preamble ―to uphold values of justice, equality, human dignity and equal rights and duties of men and women.‖ Article 15(2) commits the state to ―protect motherhood and women from injustice, promote gender equality and the role of women in family, and empower them in public life.‖ Article 32(1) guarantees ―equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil, political, social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to equal pay for equal work and other related benefits.‖ And article 32(2) binds the state to promoting women‘s rights through affirmative action. Similarly, the Interim Constitution of South Sudan commits to ―upholding values of human dignity and equal rights and duties of men and women‖; and dedicates article 20 to the rights of women, including the right to equal participation in public life, going further than the INC by mandating a 25% quota at all levels, executive and legislative, of the state.

2.2.2 International Gender Commitments

The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), of which Sudan is not a signatory nation, provides a comprehensive framework to guide all rights-based action for gender equality. The convention identifies discrimination against women as the leading factor in gender inequality, and calls for equality in outcomes as well as equality of opportunity. This means that a progressive legal framework is not enough; the state must make every effort to tackle discrimination against women wherever it occurs.44 The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action identifies12 critical areas of concern as well as specific standards for actions to be implemented by governments, the UN system, civil society and the private sector where appropriate.

43 OHCHR, Frequently Asked Questions On A Human Rights-Based Approach To Development Cooperation, Geneva 44

Sudan is not a signatory of CEDAW

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2.2.3 UN Commitments

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) identified gender equality as both a goal in itself (MDG-3) and a condition for the achievement of the other goals. UNSC Resolutions 1325 deals with women and armed conflict. Understanding that women and children feel the brunt of war and conflicts the most, the Resolution calls for reduction of brutality, particularly sexual and gender based violence, against women. It highlights the significant role women play in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and emphasizes the importance of including women at all levels of decision making to promote and maintain peace and security. It calls for increased representation and participation of women at all levels, including as special reps and envoys within the UN and in field based operations (military, policy, humanitarian personnel). The Resolution articulates the need for the protection of humanitarian and human rights laws in the protection of women and girls rights, the protection of IDPs and refugee camps and incorporating women and girls‘ special needs. It stipulates that parties in armed conflict should respect women‘s rights as written in international HR conventions and to take extra measures to protect women from SGBV. According to Resolution 1325, relief and recovery programmes- including demining and DDR- should incorporate the special needs of women and girls in addition to the provision of special training on gender and human rights to personnel working in these areas. UNSC Resolution 1820 on Sexual Violence against Civilians in Conflict, recalls the pledge and obligation of the UN and State bodies to international human rights conventions and commitments, particularly those pertaining to women. The resolution highlights women‘s significant role in peacemaking and peace-building initiatives and the imperative to include them in the process. To increase and sustain international security and peace, it stresses the need to develop an effective mechanism to respond and prevent acts of sexual violence. Member States are urged to abide to their commitment of ensuring that: victims of sexual violence, particularly women and girls, have equal access to justice and receive equal protection under the law; perpetrators of sexual violence are fully prosecuted and don‘t receive amnesty. UNDP’s Eight Point Agenda delineates measures that will generate constructive and feasible outcomes for girls and women in crisis. The eight items are: strengthening women‘s security in crisis; advancing gender justice; expanding women‘s citizenship, participation and leadership; gender-sensitizing? the peace and recovery processes; building peace with and for women; promoting gender equality in disaster risk reduction; ensuring gender-responsive recovery; transforming government to deliver for women; and developing capacities for social change. UNDP considers gender equality as a human right as well as a development endeavor. UNDP’s Gender Equality Strategy 2008-2011 accentuates its commitment to gender equality and advancement of women and provides a road map for arriving there. In its Gender and Democratic Governance section, it articulates the need for women‘s full participation in the public policy discourse and in the political sphere. The strategy also spells out UNDP‘s responsibility to support national governments, such as Sudan, in translating gender equality commitments (constitutional and otherwise) to reality and setting up a context where both women and men‘s capabilities can flourish. Accordingly, it highlights ways to strengthen public institutions to provide the much needed basic services to the poor and marginalized, including women, in an accountable and responsive manner. It also charts ways of helping countries anchor their ―democratic governance practices‖ on international human rights and gender equality conventions and treaties.

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2 METHODOLOGY The team will use mainly qualitative approach to gather the needed information for the review. Desk review of secondary resources and interviews with key stakeholders will be conducted using an HRBA and Gender Equality framework45 to analyze existing and past programmes. Focus will be given to outcomes, indicators, activities, as well as processes – program planning and formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes- to examine compliance to HRBA and GE frameworks. Additionally, any available data, in terms of gender and HR disaggregated data, will be analyzed.

3.1 Review of Secondary Resource The team will conduct an extensive desk review of the findings of relevant, secondary resource documents to deepen our understanding of the macro46 and micro47 level programmes and strategies. Past UNDP Governance and RoL programmes, particularly Strategic Partnership Phase I & II and the extension, current programmes, corporate and country specific strategies will be reviewed and analyzed with an HRBA and gender mainstreaming lens. The team will analyze: monitoring and baseline data (where available), stated outcomes and outputs, outlined project purposes and activities to examine compliance with HRBA and gender equality frameworks. Annex I has a sample of documents reviewed, a more extensive list will be included in the annex of the final report.

3.2 Interview of key stakeholders The team will conduct structured and semi-structured interviews with three classes of key stakeholders: the SP management team and key UNDP staff; partners and counterparts, including donors, co-financiers, a select group of UN agencies with mandates relevant to RoL and Governance, CSOs, and government personnel; and if time permits, project beneficiaries – that are referred as ―claim‖ or ―right holders‖. Interview topics will include their understanding and approach of the governance and RoL programme vis-a-vis HRBA and gender equality framework, the capacity of staff to integrate these frameworks in the programme- particular focus will be given to ―the substantive and procedural‖ aspect of HRBA and gender equality mainstreaming, and staff needs at the Khartoum, Juba and field levels so as to be better able to use the two frameworks in all aspects of the programming cycle.

3.3 In – Depth Analysis To better understand UNDP‘s approach to project cycle (identification, planning/formulation, implementation and evaluation stages), the team will also conduct an in-depth analysis of two to three specific projects. This will help the team to map the project cycle process in order to identify any successful strategies, barriers to institutionalizing an HRBA and Gender Equality framework, and entry points for HRBA and mainstreaming gender equality, as well as to document best practices that can be used for benchmarking.

45

See annex for framework 46

Corporate and country level human right and gender strategies, Country Programme Action Plan, etc. 47

Specific projects, particularly in the current year.

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3.4 Debriefing Once the preliminary review and field work is finalized, initial finding of the evaluation on HRBA and Gender Equality will be shared with UNDP, donors, government counterparts (if needed) and other key UNDP partners/counterparts. If time permits, debriefing will be held in both Khartoum and Juba but details of the debriefing will be worked out with UNDP staff members. Feedback from the debriefing will be incorporated in the report.

3 SCHEDULE The initial plan was to start the review in early March and finish before the beginning of the national elections. However, the consultancy was delayed for various reasons, but primarily because the international consultant wasn‘t able to obtain an entry visa to Sudan within the scheduled time. As a result, the schedule of the team had been revised to adjust for the delay. Below is a tentative itinerary of the team:

Mid March to Mid April, desk review of secondary source literature/

April 19 -25, 2010 - Khartoum, meeting UNDP staff, counterparts (UN sister agencies,

donors, and CSOs)

April 26 -29, 2010 – Juba, meeting UNDP staff, counterparts (UN sister agencies, donors,

and CSOs)

May 1 – 3, 2010 – El Fasher, Darfur, meeting with UNDP staff and counterparts

May 4, 2010 – Participation in SP steering committee meeting

May 5, 2010 - Preliminary debriefing

May 5 – 15, 2010 write up of findings, recommendations and actionable items.

May 15, 2010 : Draft of report shared with UNDP and SIDA for comments

May 24, 2010 : Final Report shared with UNDP and SIDA

4 ANNEX

5.1 Outline of Final Report

A. SECTION ONE: Overview

1. Historical Background:

i. Overall recent history (protracted war, signing of CPA, etc)

ii. Major peace accords

iii. Timeline of major milestones including elections, referendum, etc

iv. Sudan international and regional commitments on gender and HR

2. UNDP major governance and RoL programmes:

i. UNDP identified issues by regions (East, South, Three protocol areas, North, and National)

ii. UNDP past programs and impact of programmes by region

iii. UNDP Governance and RoL current programs, the focus and objective of programmes

B. SECTION TWO: Methodology and framework

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1. Methodology

i. Desk Review of programme documents

ii. Interview and focus group with key stakeholders

2. Overview of HR and Gender Equality Framework:

i. HRBA summary

ii. UNDP 8PA

iii. UNSC Resolution 1325 and 1820

iv. General Gender Mainstreaming framework

v. General overview of the Strategic framework vis a vis HR values and principles, UNDP 8PA, UNSC Resolution 1325 & 1820

C. SECTION THREE: findings and recommendations

1. Key Findings

i. HRBA: gaps, best practices, and lessons learned

ii. Gender Equality and Women Empowerment: gaps, best practices, and lessons learned

2. Actionable items for 2010 – 2012

i. HRBA: prioritized recommendations and entry points

ii. Gender Equality and Women Empowerment: prioritized recommendations and entry points

D. SECTION Four: Annex

5.2 HRBA and Gender Equality Analysis Framework Project Title: _______________________________________________ Type of Programme:

□ Participation and Democracy

□ Local Government Development and Public Expenditure Management

□ Access to Justice and Rule of Law Promotion

Framework Questions Yes No N/A Comment

HRBA

Do programmes incorporate human rights standards and take into account the UN treaty body recommendations?

HRBA Do both duty bearers and rights holders participate in all aspects of programmes?

HRBA Do the programmes build capacity for realizing human rights in the country?

HRBA Do they address the causes (rational, structural, and cultural) for the non-realization

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of human rights?

HRBA Are some human rights better realized than others?

HRBA How are the programmes monitored and evaluated?

Framework Question Yes No N/A Comment

Does the programme document explicitly address the needs of women and men?

UNSC 1325 and 1820 UNDP 8PA

Are legal based gender inequalities (such as protection from SGBV, domestic violence) that disproportionally affect women addressed in the programme? Are there anti-SGBV programmes?

UNSC 1325 and 1820

Do SGBV victims and at risk women and girls have access to holistic services?

UNSC 1325 and 1820

Are programs targeting protection and security personnel (such as police and probation officers) include sensitization of personnel on SGBV and particular needs of women?

UNDP 8PA Is there awareness programme on laws to protect women's right?

UNDP 8PA Are traditional and cultural leaders sensitized on the adverse effect of violence on women?

UNDP 8PA UNSC 1325 and 1820

Women understanding of their rights increased? Access to justice increased for women?

UNDP 8PA UNSC 1325 and 1820

Do legal literacy programmes address the particular needs of women and address gender equality? Do legal education programmes incorporate legislations and legal instruments that protect the rights of women into their curricula?

UNSC 1325 and 1820

Are programs targeting the legal system, judiciary address the particular needs of women and men?

UNDP 8PA UNSC 1325 and 1820

Are women organization and networks strengthened to improve gender responsiveness? Have women groups consulted during programme development and implementation?

UNDP 8PA Does the programme address women‘s equal access to resources and services?

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UNDP 8PA

Is there a special provision in the programme to ensure women's participation in capacity building initiatives?

UNDP 8PA UNDP 8PA UNSC 1325

Are women's participation in key decision making enhanced? In what areas? Is there any measures taken to increase women's participation in the decision making process?

UNDP Gender Strategy

Are the targeted service delivery systems (such as health and judiciary) gender responsive?

UNDP 8PA Is there any initiative to increase the number of women working in service delivery?

UNDP 8PA UNSC 1325 and 1820

Do women hold key position in local governance, elected officials and other decision making positions?

UNSC 1325 and 1820

Do international, national and non-state security actors are responsive to women‘s needs and held to account for any violations of women‘s rights in line with international standards?

UNSC 1325 and 1820

Are there Operational gender-responsive systems in place to monitor, report on and respond to violence against women during conflict, ceasefires, peace negotiations and post-conflict?

Are sex-disaggregated data available to measure the impact/benefit of the programme to men and women?

5.3 Document Review for Gender Equality

Document Title:

Type of Programme:

Fully Party Mention Absent Comment

Conceptual clarity on Gender Equality

Consideration for UNDP 8PA, UNSC 1325, UNSC 1820, CEDAW

Resource Allocation (financial and human) for gender mainstreaming

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5.4 Checklist for National Commitment for Gender Equality

Yes No Other Comment

Has CEDAW been ratified? X

Any reservation on specific article of CEDAW?

Are women organizations active in the country?

Is gender equality and non-discrimination included in the national legislation (INC) and ICSS?

Are there legislative and policy reforms based on CEDAW?

Is there any improvement in women's participation in elections as candidates and voters, and are there special measures set in place to increase women's participation in decision making positions in the public and private sector?

Is there oversight and accountability mechanism set in place to ensure gender equality is implemented in all sector?

Is there public discourse and media coverage on the rights of women?

Are CSO actively engaged in the promotion of women's rights?

Are there sex-aggregated data to ensure gender is considered during policy formulation and implementation?

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ANNEX 2: BIBLIOGRAPHY Country Programme

a. UNDP Country Programme Action Plan 2009-2012

b. Governance and Rule of Law Programmatic Strategy for Northern Sudan 2009-2012

c. Southern Sudan Strategic Framework for Southern Sudan 2009-201

d. Evaluations:

i. Evaluation of UNDP‘s Second Country Cooperation Framework [2002-

2006] and the Bridging Programme for [2007-2008]

ii. Evaluation of UNDP‘s rule of law programme 2002-2008

Strategic Partnership

a. SP Phase I 2005-2007

b. SP Extension Document 2008

c. SP Phase II Framework Document 2009-2012

d. SP Review

i. UNDP SP End of Project Review Report

ii. UNDP SP End of Project Review Annexes

iii. Good Governance and Equity in Political Participation in Post Conflict

Sudan Project (GGEPP) Final Project Evaluation

iv. Evaluation Timetable

e. Reports

i. SP Annual Reports for 2006-2009

ii. End of Phase I Report 2006-2009

f. SP Programme 2010

i. Annual Work plans North

ii. Annual Work plans South

iii. Prioritization Framework

iv. SP Work plan 2010

Gender Documents

a. UNDP North Sudan Gender Strategy

b. UNDP South Sudan Gender Strategy

c. SC Resolution 1325

d. SC Resolution 1820

e. Gender Equality Strategy 2008-2011

f. 2009 UNDP Report on Gender to the Executive Board

g. 1325 Draft results framework for implementation of SCR 1325

h. 1325 Draft Indicator

i. Gender Equality and Justice Programming: Equitable Access to Justice for Women

j. Programme Analysis User Guide for Gender and HIV mainstreaming

k. Quick entry points to women‘s empowerment and gender equality in democratic

governance

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l. The Eight Point Agenda

m. Case Study Gender Dimensions of Violence: Southern Sudan

n. Handbook for Integrating Human Rights and Gender Equality in Evaluations in the

UN System, UNEG, MARCH 2010

HRBA Approach

a. HRBA approach in development cooperation

b. HRBA Indicator Guide

c. Integrating Human Rights into Development: A synthesis of donor approaches and

experiences

d. Statement on a Common Understanding of a Human Rights-Based Approach to

Development Cooperation

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ANNEX 3: TERMS OF REFERENCE Post Title: International HRBA and Gender-Mainstreaming Expert Duty Station: Home-based with travel to Sudan Duration: 5 weeks (30 working days) Type of Contract: SSA I. Background 1.1. Sweden’s support to Sudan Sweden adopted in June 2008 a new strategy for the development cooperation with Sudan for the period of July 2008 – December 2011. The aim of the Swedish development cooperation is to contribute to peace building, respect for human rights, democratic governance, sustainable reconciliation and national unity. The Swedish support will focus on two main areas of cooperation: peace building/democratisation and peace dividends within the social sector. The objectives within the area of peace building and democratisation are:

- Increased democratic control and accountability which strengthen the respect of human rights and international humanitarian law.

- Inclusive, peaceful election processes. - Increased capacity, effectiveness and transparency in the government and institutions in South

Sudan. Guiding principles:

- Support and respect of human rights – political and citizen as well as economic, social and cultural rights. A rights perspective shall be mainstreamed in all contributions.

- Gender equality, the Swedish support shall integrate the implementation of the Security Council resolution 1325.

- Child rights perspective including the implementation of security council resolution 1612 - Actively promote an environmental perspective.48

1.2. The Strategic Partnership on Governance and Rule of Law The Strategic Partnership (SP) framework was created in late 2005 as a two-year co-financing partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Government of National Unity (GoNU), the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), the Government of the Netherlands (Netherlands), and the Government of Denmark (Denmark) in support of the UNDP Governance and Rule of Law Programme in Sudan. Up to mid-2009, the SP had funded 32 projects to varying levels mainly in the area of governance and rule and law and the total value of donor funding allocated through the SP amounted to $74.5 million for the period January 2006 - June 2009. The SP framework underwent an external evaluation in mid-2007 with findings that the SP has proved to be a useful complementary funding mechanism to that of the World Bank administered Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) particularly in the areas of governance and rule of law, access to justice and early recovery. According to the findings of the Review, projects funded under the partnership commenced much faster than other joint funded initiatives and that the SP has filled an important gap in Sudan’s aid architecture. The Review recommended that the SP framework should be continued to provide support to the Governance and Rule of Law Programme of UNDP Sudan for the period 2008-2012. However, the review also found several limitations within coordination, management, monitoring and evaluation which needed to be improved under a continued programme. Following the review’s recommendation, the original framework period 2005-2007 was extended until June 2009. In late 2008, SP partners endorsed the intention to enter into a second phase of the SP

48 Swedish strategy on development cooperation with Sudan 2008-2011

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framework, starting 1 July 2009 – 31 December 2012, providing support to the three governance outcomes outlined in UNDP’s Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) 2009-2012, focused on Democratization, Decentralization and Rule of Law. Sida decided to support the SP during 2008-2009 with a maximum of 19.5 million SEK and additional 500,000 SEK for consultancy studies with the aim to develop a strategic implementation of a human rights based approach and gender equality focus within the SP for 2009-2012 based on the recommendations in the 2007 evaluation. 1.3. Human Rights Based Approach and Gender Mainstreaming in UNDP’s programmes in Sudan Human Rights Based Approach: A human rights-based approach to development programming (HRBA) is one which systematically applies the values, principles and standards contained in international and national human rights law to all aspects, both substantive and procedural, of the development process. The Secretary General of the United Nations, in his agenda for the Reform of the United Nations, and on several subsequent occasions has required the UN system to integrate human rights in all of its work. Recognizing that development, peace and security and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing, UNDP remains committed towards integrating human rights in all of its development work as outlined in its Strategic Plan 2008-2011. UNDP’s governance and rule of law programme in Sudan is premised on a rights-based approach to development where there is a clear focus on duty bearers and claim holders and the participatory processes through which public policy is shaped, services delivered and government is held to account. Gender Mainstreaming: The UN World Summit of 2005, reaffirmed gender equality as a development goal itself (MDG Goal 3) and underlined its importance as a means to achieve all of the other MDGs. UNDP is committed to supporting the capacity development of its national partners to adopt approaches that advance women’s rights and take account of the full range of their contribution to development as a foundation for MDG achievement. In its efforts to support the implementation of UN Security Resolutions 1325 and 1820, and guided by the UNDP Eight Point Agenda for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality in Crisis Prevention and Recovery, UNDP Sudan through its governance and rule of law programme is working towards reducing violence against women and expanding women’s participation in governance and decision-making processes. Based on the background, Sida and UNDP are looking to hire a qualified consultant team, which will be comprised of two international consultants, including one Swedish consultant and one UNDP expert, and one national consultant. II. Objective of the consultancy The objective of the consultancy is to assess the extent to which values, principles and standards contained in international and national human rights law has been applied to both the substantive and procedural aspects49 of UNDP’s programming in the framework of the Strategic Partnership in Sudan. Specific attention will be paid to examining how effectively a gender equality perspective has been integrated in UNDP’s governance and rule of law programme with a view to support the implementation of UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820, as well UNDP’s Eight Point Agenda for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality in Crisis Prevention and Recovery. Based on the findings of the assessment the consultancy will propose an action plan for a human rights and gender equality based programming of the SP during 2010-2012. The action plan will include recommendations how to effectively target and mainstream human rights and gender equality in current programming as well as how to monitor and evaluate its implementation. III. Scope of Work/Issues to be covered

49 Situation analysis and assessment, priority and target-setting, policy and strategy development, programming and project formulation, project implementation and service delivery, monitoring and evaluation.

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The assessment will include review of relevant programme documents as well as interviews of relevant actors, including UNDP staff, partner organisations, donors and target groups. The assessment includes at least two field trips (preferably to Southern Sudan and the Three Protocol Areas) with in-depth assessments of individual projects within the SP. The field trips will include extensive consultation with target groups as well as other relevant local actors. IV. Key deliverables The consultant team will produce a report, which will: - Assess the status and lessons learned regarding the mainstreaming of HRBA and gender equality in

UNDP’s programmes under the Strategic Partnership Framework - Indentify gaps, concrete entry points and necessary partnerships to improve human rights and

gender equality programming in SP programmes , with a special focus on support to promoting women’s leadership and decision-making, and addressing sexual and gender based violence to ensure the delivery of concrete results on UNSC resolutions 1325 and 1820

- Make recommendations how to engage more effectively with government counterparts and other key stakeholders in Sudan on human rights and gender equality issues

- Make recommendations how to strengthen UNDP’s capacity in HRBA and gender equality programming

The consultancy team shall produce a common report including the findings of the assessment (max 20 pages, appendixes not included). The team shall also present an action plan (max 10 pages) of a human rights and gender equality based approach within the UNDP SP 2010-2012. The report and the action plan shall be written in English. A draft shall be presented to Sida and UNDP not later than 1 April 2010. Within two weeks after receiving comments on the report from SIDA and UNDP a final version shall be submitted to Sida, JDT and the Swedish Embassy in Khartoum. The consultants shall be available for a presentation of the report in Khartoum and Juba. V. Method of Work The assessment shall be based on already conducted relevant studies and include interviews with relevant actors including UN staff, donor representatives, NGOs, local partners, local authorities, target groups etc. UNDP will provide logistical support to the consultancy team in the areas of administration, transport and security. VI. UNDP’s obligations 1. Provide the consultant with all the necessary support (not under the consultant’s control) to ensure

that the consultant undertakes the study with reasonable efficiency; 2. Appoint a focal point in the UNDP office to support the consultants during the assessment and

project development process; 3. Collect background documentation and inform partners and selected project counterparts; 4. Meet all travel related costs to project sites as part of the assessment process as well as the

workshop-related costs; 5. Organize inception meeting between the consultant, partners and stakeholders, prior to the

scheduled start of the assignment VII. Reporting The Sida consultant will be tasked with being the team leader and will direct and lead the consultancy team. The other consultants will be expected to work under the day-to-day direction of the team leader in a collaborative and supportive style so as to achieve the overall objectives of the consultancy assignment VIII. Timeframe

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The consultancy will last for five weeks, commencing mid February 2010 and should be completed by beginning of April 2010. Out of the five weeks, a minimum of 2.5 weeks shall be spent in Sudan. Tentative timetable Week 1 Desk review of key documents by the consultants (home countries) Week 2-3.5 Travel to Sudan (Khartoum, Juba, selected field visits) to conduct project visits and

meetings key stakeholders (UNDP, government, donor representatives, NGOs, local authorities and partners). A debriefing will be conducted at the end of the field visits to key stakeholders in Khartoum and Juba.

Week 3.5-5 Report writing (home-based) IX. Payment Compensation for the consultancy will be made in form of a lumpsum payment. The compensation amount will be discussed on a competitive and negotiable basis. DSA will be paid to the consultant while in the field. X. Required Skills and Experience

Education: - Advanced University degree in the areas of international relations/post-conflict development, political sciences, international law, economics or related discipline.

Experience: - At least 10 years of relevant and diversified professional experience in crisis countries, with progressive levels of responsibilities, preferably focused on or strongly involving gender equality and human rights at national and international level;

- Experience in programming gender responsive methods and applying a Human Rights Based approach to development programming, especially in the area of governance and rule of law;

- Experience in policy development, project formulation and writing project documents in post-crisis and post-emergency settings;

Competencies: Core values - Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards; - Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and

adaptability; - Treats all people fairly without favoritism;

Core competencies - Communicates effectively with a wide range of people within UNDP, Government,

donors, and UN agencies; - Assists in translating strategic aims into achievable plans, with established priorities,

monitor them, making periodic adjustments as required; - Plans and prioritises work activities to meet organizational goals and organize and

oversee work processes efficiently to achieve quality results; - Demonstrates sensitivity, tact and diplomacy, and projects a positive image; - Works capably in a highly dynamic and challenging environment and is ready to take

on a wide range of tasks; - Works well in team and is self-motivated; - Able to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature

manner and protocol appropriately;

Technical Skills

- Detailed knowledge of development process and post-conflict related issues, particularly in the re-activation and development of gender sensitive programming in

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a post-conflict environment; - Sound knowledge and understanding of the Human Rights Based Approach to

development programming; - Knowledge of UN/UNDP operations and programmes; - Proven skills for UNDP programming; - Excellent writing and verbal communication skills in English are essential; - Knowledge of other UN language and of Arabic would be additional assets; - Excellent computer skills;

ANNEX 4: ITINERARY OF THE REVIEW REAM MISSION IN SUDAN April 19, 2010 (Khartoum) Internal meeting of review team Meeting with UNDP Assistant Country Director (Programme) Meeting with Programme Manager for Parliamentary Support Programme April 20, 2010 (Khartoum) Meeting with RoL Programme Officer and Programme Manager for Darfur Meeting with Gender Focal Person/ Head of the Poverty and MDGs unit Meeting with Monitoring and Evaluation team Meeting with UNDP DDR programme (gender advisor) April 21, 2010 (Khartoum) Meeting with UNHCR Protection unit UNMIS RoL Meeting with members of the SP April 22, 2010 (Khartoum) Meeting with Al-Manar (Women Lawyers Network) Meeting with Head of the Governance and RoL Programme April 24, 2010 (Khartoum) Internal team review of projects April 25, 2010 (Khartoum) Meeting with African Centre for Human Rights Meeting with Women Centre for Human Rights Meeting with Gender Centre Meeting with Head of UNIFEM and staff April 26, 2010 (Juba) Flight to Juba Meeting with UNDP South Head of Office Meeting with members of the Governance and RoL team April 27, 2010 (Juba) Meeting with members of the Joint Donor Office Meeting with SP Project Managers Meeting with National Gender Advisor and Head of Poverty and MDGs unit Meeting with Government counterparts: Ministry of Legal Affairs April 28, 2010 (Juba) Meeting with UNIFEM Meeting with UNDP‘s advisor to the Ministry of the Interior Meeting with Head of BMU and Strategic Partnership Coordinator Meeting with CSO: Rule of Law Promoters Association and Heavens Light the World

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Meeting with Government counterparts: Human Rights Commission Meeting with UNDP South Monitoring and Evaluation Expert April 29, 2010 (Juba) Meeting with the Ministry of Gender Debriefing to the South staff Meeting with Programme Manager of the Support to the States Project Return to Khartoum May 1, 2010 (Darfur) Depart for Darfur Meeting with RoL Staff and acting Senior Regional Coordinator Meeting with Legal Aid & Mobile Legal Aid Network Attorneys and Bar Exam Students May 2, 2010 (Darfur -All scheduled meetings were cancelled due to deterioration of security conditions) Meeting with UNAMID Prison Advisory Unit and Prison Director for North Darfur Meeting with UNICEF and Family Child Protection Unit (FCPU) Meeting with Legal Aid Department and Attorney General Meeting with paralegals of ZamZam IDP camp May 3, 2010 (Darfur) Meeting with UNAMID HR Return to Khartoum May 4, 2010 (Khartoum) Compilation of preliminary findings May 5, 2010 (Khartoum) Debriefing for the North Meeting with UNDP Sudan Country Director

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Annex 5: Status of International Human Rights Convention for Sudan

Treaty*

Status (s=signiture (a= acession) (r=ratification) **

International Treaties

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 18/3/1986 (a)

Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Not party to

Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty Not party to

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) 18/3/1986 (a)

Optional Protocol of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Not party to

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) 21/3/1977 (a)

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Not party to

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) 04/06/1986 (s)

Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Not party to

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 03/08/1990 (r)

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict 26/06/2005 (r)

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children child prostitution and child pornography 02/11/2004 (a)

International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW) Not party to

International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance

relatively new (2006), Not party to

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) 24/04/ 2009 (r)

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of 24/04/2009 (a)

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Persons with Disabilities

Regional Treaties

African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights 18/02/1986 (r)

Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems inAfrica 24/12/1972 (r )

Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa Not party to

Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights 09/06/1998 (s)

African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child Not party to