UNDP Lebanon and the UN

What do we want to accomplish?

UNDP has been operational in Lebanon for nearly five decades, since 1960. Its presence in the country has been continuous, never halting its operations, even during the dark days of the Lebanese civil war - spanning from 1975 till 1990 - and the periods of invasions and military occupations.

The few years which followed the Civil War were considered as a period of transition for both the country and UNDP. As an organization, we pushed ourselves to continually evolve in orientation and coverage to help in identifying national needs and priorities in rapidly changing development and security settings in order to support the achievement of long-term development objectives. We have supported economic policy-making in a country which had to rely on its own resources to rebuild its institutions and infrastructure, ravaged by years of wars and aggressions.

Since the start of the war in Syria and the heavy influx of refugees into Lebanon, UNDP’s support took yet another turn, commensurate to yet another challenge faced by the country. Since  2013, jointly with the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA), LHSP implements a comprehensive, coordinated, and durable response to the  impact of the Syrian crisis with the aim of increasing stability, building the abilities of host communities, addressing tensions, preventing conflict, and ensuring peaceful co-existence through improving livelihoods and service provision

In partnership with the government of Lebanon and its partners in development, UNDP upholds a number of principles in our work:

National ownership & partnerships: We strive to enhance national decision-making capacity for human development by developing modern institutions that can effectively support private sector development and national growth. This includes partnerships with the vibrant Lebanese civil society to implement national development initiatives in a broad-based and participatory manner.

Rights: UNDP promotes the implementation of the rights-based-approach to development through the promotion of equity, with a focus on poverty, productive employment and the reduction of disparities between regions and groups.

Accountability: We aim to ensure that UNDP-supported initiatives in Lebanon demonstrate transparency and fairness, following international standards of excellence in our advisory services, programme design and implementation, including recruitment and procurement.

Who are the decision makers?

The Resident Representative of UNDP Lebanon is officially accredited to the country and represents the highest level of accountability of the UNDP in Lebanon. The Representative delegates authority to various levels of management such as the Country Director and Deputy Resident Representative. Decisions in the office are made by various bodies in UNDP, including the Management Group for setting the direction of the UNDP programme priorities, and the Programme and Operations Groups focusing respectively on project management and financial and human resources.

New projects and programmes are developed between these groups under the leadership of the UNDP Representative together with relevant government counterparts.

UNDP in Lebanon works closely with the Council of Reconstruction and Development, a public authority established in early 1977 partially to replace the Ministry of Planning. This close collaboration has been imperative in taking decisions in a timely and efficient manner. While the CDR became the entity responsible for reconstruction and development, its role has evolved to include initiatives that address social and economic issues, and has therefore become the de facto government counterpart of UNDP. Projects and programmes are developed in close consultation with the CDR as well as the relevant line Ministries and departments involved in the initiative.

The UNDP office and the government are not the only decision-makers as regards the nature and direction of the work of the UNDP in the country. Donors play a key role in supporting the development activities, with financing and material support. Programme reviews are held on a six-monthly basis that brings together the government, UNDP, and the donor to discuss progress towards development results, also known as Tripartite Review meetings.

Decision-Making

The Resident Representative of UNDP Lebanon is officially accredited to the country and represents the highest level of accountability of the UNDP in Lebanon. The Representative delegates authority to various levels of management such as the Country Director. Decisions in the office are made by various bodies in UNDP, including the Management Group for setting the direction of the UNDP programme priorities, and the Programme and Operations Groups focusing respectively on project management and financial and human resources.

New projects and programmes are developed between these groups under the leadership of the UNDP Representative together with relevant government counterparts.

UNDP in Lebanon works closely with the Council of Reconstruction and Development, a public authority established in early 1977 partially to replace the Ministry of Planning. This close collaboration has been imperative in taking decisions in a timely and efficient manner. While the CDR became the entity responsible for reconstruction and development, its role has evolved to include initiatives that address social and economic issues, and has therefore become the de facto government counterpart of UNDP. Projects and programmes are developed in close consultation with the CDR as well as the relevant line Ministries and departments involved in the initiative.

The UNDP office and the government are not the only decision-makers as regards the nature and direction of the work of the UNDP in the country. Donors play a key role in supporting the development activities, with financing and material support. Programme reviews are held on a six-monthly basis that brings together the government, UNDP, and the donor to discuss progress towards development results, also known as Tripartite Review meetings

UNDP and the UN in Lebanon

The United Nations Strategic Framework (UNSF) represents the UN’s cooperation framework with Lebanon for the period 2017-2020. It replaces the previous United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for Lebanon (2010-2016). The UNSF presents the key shared objectives of the UN system, the areas in which it intends to support the Government of Lebanon and its people, and the expected outcomes of its assistance.

In view of the multi-dimensional challenges Lebanon is facing, and the multiple global mandates under which the UN operates, the UN recognizes that an effective response to support Lebanon in maintaining peace, stability and development requires unity of purpose and the integration of strategies and interventions under a common vision: the ‘Whole-of-Lebanon’ approach. The approach calls for a holistic analysis and UN response to Lebanon’s challenges. It proposes leveraging and integrating the UN’s diverse expertise, capacities and resources to support the Government of Lebanon to meet its priorities and manage security, political, governance and socio-economic challenges to stability. The approach also aims to support Lebanon on the path to longer term sustainable development in accordance with the vision, principles and goals of the 2030 Agenda.

Accordingly, the UN’s agreed mission statement is to support ‘a secure, stable and prosperous Lebanon, exercising full sovereignty while respecting, protecting and ensuring the rights of all’. In carrying out this mission, three core priorities - which constitute fundamental preconditions for Lebanon’s long term stability and prosperity - will frame UN system support to government:

1: All people in Lebanon have peace and security.

2: Lebanon enjoys domestic stability and practices effective governance.

3: Lebanon reduces poverty and promotes sustainable development while addressing immediate needs in a human rights/gender sensitive manner.

The UNDP approach is aligned with the new UN Strategic Framework 2017-2020, which focuses on internal and external security, governance and sustainable development, and places an emphasis on meeting the immediate needs arising from the Syrian crisis. Priorities for the next cycle include:

(a) Promoting a transformative national dialogue that supports the engagement of women and youth in public life, and identifying social innovations that strengthen local and national capacities to maintain peace.

(b) Enhancing governance and the legitimacy of institutions by improving institutional representation, effectiveness, transparency, and accountability.

(c) Bolstering the resilience of vulnerable communities affected by the Syrian crisis by strengthening national and sub-national institutions to respond to employment, basic service delivery and environmental management needs in heavily affected areas.

(d) Improving environmental governance, including low-emission, climate resilient actions, and environmental management programmes that protect national resources and steer the country towards a green economy.

Provide links to the UN site in the country and all UN programmes and Agencies that are part of the UN country team.

United Nations Resident Coordinator Office in Lebanon (UNRCO)