Democratic Governance

Democratic Governance – Programme — UNDP in Nepal

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SL 2.6 Decentralization, Local Governance and Urban/Rural Developments

SL 4.1 Conflict prevention and peace building

SL 5.2 Governance of HIV/AIDS Responses

SL 2.4 Justice and Human Rights

UNDP in Nepal is committed to promote people-centered development and decentralized local governance for improved service delivery by the local government. Since mid-2002, local governance could only be carried out in a limited way as there were no elected local bodies. The local administration both at the district and village levels was functioning but the continued absence of elected local bodies restricted the participation of the stakeholders and hampered the normal pace of local development. In the aftermath of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in November 2006, many Village Development Committee secretaries displaced by the conflict returned to their respective areas, but the conflict situation in the Tarai forced them to again move back to the district headquarters and even to other districts.

In 2007, UNDP, in partnership with UNCDF-supported Decentralized Financing and Development Programme (DFDP), continued to support the Ministry of Local Development (MLD) to strengthen decentralised local governance in line with the provisions laid out in the Local Self Governance Act 1999. UNDP also extended direct support to the communities, particularly the women, marginalised and the poorest-of-the-poor, to enhance their participation in the planning processes of District Development Committees, Municipalities and Village Development Committees, and for building and improving service infrastructures, initiating micro-credit schemes and enhancing livelihoods. The major donors supporting UNDP�s work in decentralised local governance were DFID, Norway and UNCDF.

With a view to enhance access to justice by the poor and disadvantaged groups, necessary legal amendments have been drafted including establishment of pilot court, initiating improved mediation practices, and capacity building of judges and other government officials. In 2007, UNDP provided support in two major areas: to help modernize the legal system, and, to enhance the capacity of the courts to provide expeditious and cost-effective justice. These interventions were implemented in partnership with the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs (MOLJPA), the Ministry of Land Reform and Management, the National Judicial Academy, and the Nepal Bar Association. The governments of Japan and Finland as well as the UNDP Democratic Governance Trust Fund (DGTF) were the major funding partners in this area.

Despite the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the two major parties to the conflict in Nepal, various forms of human rights violations perpetrated by different groups continued in 2007. This situation was particularly critical in a number of Tarai districts. In close collaboration with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UNDP and a number of donors continued to help strengthen the capacity of the National Human Rights Commission to monitor, investigate and report human rights violations and uphold human rights, and monitor the implementation of the CPA.

UNDP is dedicated to the decentralization of governance in Nepal. UNDP believes that only through giving people power at the local level to influence decisions that affect their lives will they be able to forge an existence that is truly dignified.

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