Governance – building a new social contract
This area of work is more important than ever as governments come under pressure to navigate crisis and uncertainty, deliver digitalized services, enable access to information and social protection, and function in transparent, accountable and effective ways. Governments and civil society will need to work together to advance social cohesion and gender equality while upholding human rights and the rule of law, especially in fragile and conflict-affected contexts where justice and security concerns may be more acute.
UNDP will support our partners in making choices that build social capital, deliver inclusive services, and open civic space to lay the foundations for the future – a new social contract fully reflective of people’s agency that builds trust in institutions and closes the gap between people and the state.
UNDP’s governance and agency focus includes:
• Supporting rule of law, human rights and national and local government institutions to keep their doors ‘open’ with e-governance, manage crisis and uncertainty, develop and implement emergency policies, regulations and contingency planning, ensure the continuity of essential services, tackle corruption, and address misinformation, working with IFIs, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and many other partners.
• Breaking gender stereotypes and the drivers of discrimination and bias, while ensuring continuity of services to sup- port women’s empowerment and the survivors of gender-based violence, with UN Women and other partners;
• Supporting governments to create fiscal space, invest in priority markets, strengthen engagement with the private sector, and develop inclusive, green economic recovery strategies, including – in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNOHCR) – for migrants and people forcibly displaced from their homes.
• Strengthening social capital – the habits, norms, and systems for voice, inclusion, and solidarity – and engagement with civil society;
• Maintaining the momentum of conflict prevention and peaceful transitions as part of our ongoing efforts to advance joint humanitarian, development and peace results in fragile contexts, working closely within the UN peacebuilding architecture, OCHA, the World Bank, and many other partners.
