Crisis prevention and recovery remained
a top priority for the United Nations Development Programme in 2009, garnering
continued trust of partners as well as the strong backing of UNDP's new
Administrator, Helen Clark. We at the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and
Recovery (BCPR) are most grateful for the support. Last year, we strived
to deliver on UNDP's HOPE agenda, one that helps restore healthy societies
after crisis, provides opportunities for the poorest and most vulnerable,
protects communities from violence, and empowers women to meaningfully
contribute to their country's recovery. This annual report highlights a
range of our key achievements.
BCPR works for and through UNDP country
offices. Demand for our services remained high in 2009, from deploying
expertise in the immediate aftermath of crisis to allocating seed funding
for cutting-edge crisis prevention and recovery programming. In conflict
prevention, for example, BCPR worked with UNDP Nepal to create a more collaborative
leadership style among seven major political parties to advance national
constitutional reform. Through its global programme on strengthening the
rule of law in conflict and post-conflict situations, BCPR positioned UNDP
as a top-tier expert on the provision of justice and the rule of law in
more than 20 countries. Combating armed violence remained a priority; we
supported 28 countries' efforts to disarm citizens and create alternatives
to violence. Our collaboration with the World Bank on statebuilding progressed,
with joint initiatives launched in Liberia and Sierra Leone. We continued
to lend our technical expertise to UNDP-supported mine action programmes
around the globe and can report that two countries in which we worked -
Albania and Zambia - are both now classified as mine-free. Disarmament,
demobilization and reintegration efforts advanced in more than 20 countries,
with UNDP-supported programmes reaching more than 100,000 former members
of armed groups.