section b
A police officer is seen arresting a suspect in accordance with international standards for police conduct which he was trained on in Mozambique. ŠUNDP Mozambique
g) Despite considerable support rendered under Amkeni Wakenya, and with the presence of some strong voices,35 civil society as a whole remains relatively weak, is largely reactive and lacks a cohesive strategy for involvement in constitutional implementation. A change of approach is needed to ensure a stronger civil society whose voice is critical in creating a climate appropriate for sustainability. In the aftermath of the post-election violence, support to CSOs was fragmented, however a new approach is to be implemented, aimed at raising consciousness among communities by channelling support to community based organizations while also linking national level CSOs, grassroots CBOs, academic institutions and think tanks for quality research and advocacy of policy issues. h) Limited funding should not be an impediment. Despite providing limited seed funding (for instance, USD 230,000 for the IIEC Component), UNDP was able to play a lead role as programme manager and convener and play a catalytic role using limited but flexible funding especially for high impact political interventions such as the support to political dialogue for which initially there was no dedicated funding.
i) Nonetheless, stakeholders’ increased perception of UNDP as a funding agency is worrying and is as a result of its role in managing sizeable basket funds including the Umbrella Fund and the Amkeni Wakenya CSO fund. The question being posed is whether UNDP has moved away from its niche as a technical capacity-building agency to being a conduit for resources. Managing basket funds should not preclude UNDP from providing technical support to its partners but, in reality, a large amount of staff time is spent on operations and less on technical advisory services, limiting its potential role in providing strategic and technical support that is critical for driving reforms in the right direction. j) As concurrent interventions require consolidation, in its new programming for 2012 onwards, UNDP seeks to enhance coherence among its programmes to address the concerns raised around fragmented interventions and the need to consolidate reforms.
35 From individuals and institutions such as the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
Rule of Law and Access to Justice in Eastern and Southern Africa: Showcasing Innovations and Good Practices 21