Nepal

How UNDP Nepal works to enable the work of the entire UN Country Team?

UNDP in Nepal supports the peace-building process as well as the interim and its successor Government in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It does so through a set of projected development results developed under the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF 2008-2010) at the core of which is peace and development for an inclusive society.

UNDP has worked with the UN Country Team to develop the UNDAF in line with national priorities and the country's interim development plan of three years. A Steering Committee was established to oversee the preparation of the UNDAF 2008-2010. UNDP led the working groups on environment, poverty and governance.

In 2006, the UN Country Team conducted an MDGs-based Common Country Assessment (CCA). On the basis of the CCA, and the tentative national priorities indicated by the Government of Nepal in line with the MDGs framework, four broad areas were identified for the UN system to focus its assistance during the next programming cycle. UNDP was assigned to chair two working groups in the area of natural and cultural heritage conservation, and governance and human rights. Four Peace Support Working Groups, bringing together UN agencies and other donors were established, focusing on transitional justice, constitutional and electoral issues (chaired by UNDP), reintegration (co-chaired by UNDP and UNICEF), and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325.

UNDP country programming is also being undertaken in special development circumstances, within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 1740 of 23 January 2007, which created the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) and specified a range of UN assistance in support of the peace-building process and development objectives. For the past year (2007), UNDP has been assisting UNMIN to conduct the registration and verification of Maoist army personnel, providing experts from the UNDP Afghanistan reintegration programme and from Rwanda, who assisted with the design and management of process and trained a team of Nepalese registration and verification staff for data entry and processing. Fifty-five staff were deployed to assist in the assessment of status, register verified personnel’s biographic details, and provide reports and analysis on the verification process. The verification process was completed on 23 December 2007.

In October 2007, training on MDGs Needs Assessment was conducted by the National Planning Commission with technical support from the UNDP MDG Initiative, other UN regional offices and the UN Country Team in Nepal.

Although UNDP does not currently have any joint programmes, it does collaborate with other UN agencies in programme implementation. For example, the Rural Energy Development Project collaborated with World Food Programme (WFP) to provide improved cooking stoves in primary schools in nine districts. The Capacity Development of the National Human Rights Commission project collaborated with Officer of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in trainings. The HIV/AIDS programme is implemented in close collaboration with UNAIDS. UNDP also partnered with UNICEF to collect, assess and edit 'Voices of People,' a publication expressing people's views about the development and the MDGs.

UNDP chaired the sub-working group on natural disaster risk reduction for the CCA and the disaster preparedness and response sector of the humanitarian appeals process led by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator involving all the key international agencies in this sector. A pre-monsoon preparedness seminar was organised in partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs and other INGOs and NGOs. In collaboration with WFP, WHO, UNICEF and Nepal Red Cross, UNDP supported emergency response during the flood/landslide in Western and Central Nepal.

Partnership with United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has helped UNDP to achieve results in promoting decentralization and good governance in Nepal. UNCDF and UNDP are working together in 20 districts.

UNDP has consulted extensively with UNIFEM during the preparation of the up-coming Mainstreaming Gender and Social Inclusion Project.

Partnership with United Nations Volunteers (UNV) has helped UNDP achieve results in the areas of access to justice, environment and disaster reduction. A number of national and international UNVs have been deployed to provide advisory and administrative support to government and other UN agencies, including a large number supporting the OHCHR mandate. In addition, UNDP has supported UNV to send Nepali UNVs to serve in other countries. Sixty-four Nepali nationals of various professions and specializations are serving to promote the MDGs, volunteerism for peace and development and other development issues.

In addition, UNDP has played a crucial role in promoting simplification and harmonization through the provision of operational support and common services as well as operational practices and polices.

Notably, operational support is provided by the Inter-Agency Task Forces on human resources (HR), information technology (IT), procurement and finance to achieve common operational goals. For example, the HR Network has established a Consultants' Roster and the IT Task force negotiated a joint contract for EDP maintenance and repair for all the UN Agencies in Nepal. Operational support has been provided to the Resident Coordinator system by assisting newly arriving UN Agencies (OHCHR, OCHA, OPRSG, ODC and IOM) to set up offices. This included both allotting space within the UN House as well as renting buildings outside. Most importantly, full fledged services were provided, ranging from technical backstopping to the actual procurement and set up of equipment necessary for fully functioning offices.

Newly harmonized practices include the Internal Messenger Service used by all UN Agencies in the UN House to deliver internal documents from one Agency to another, resulting in economies of scale. Two more new common services established in 2006, i.e. a joint contract for international courier services for the entire UN System in Nepal, and joint training for electrical maintenance and repair, strengthen the image of one UN in Nepal. Efficiency in procurement has been increased through a Joint Vendor data-base established by the UN Agencies for the purchase of office items available locally.

UNDP has also facilitated the harmonization of operational policies and practices. For example, UN agencies have been paying uniform DSA Rates to Government Counterparts. All UN Agencies observe the same holidays. It has also been agreed that all agencies working at the field level should harmonize their office hours. An Inter-Agency Finance Network was established in 2006 to assist the Operations Management Team (OMT) to see how financial policies could be harmonized. The network has started studying the Harmonized Approach on Cash Transfer (HACT) which the ExCom Agencies should adopt from 2008. A joint UN Committee was formed to carry out the Inter-Agency Salary Survey for National staff in 2006 (Interim) and in 2007(comprehensive). The UN DSA Survey for UN Staff is done jointly by all UN Agencies, collecting data from various parts of the country. The final DSA rate that was approved by ICSC was adopted by all UN Agencies as a matter of Inter-Agency Coherence. With respect to UN Pension Fund policies, the first ever briefing was organized jointly by the UNDP and OMT in 2006 to explain to UN staffs all issues relating to the Fund.

For more information on UN Nepal Information Platform please visit www.un.org.np