UNDP
UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.
Our focus is helping countries build and share solutions to achieve Poverty Reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals, Democratic Governance, Crisis Prevention and Recovery, Environment and Energy for sustainable development. In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights, capacity development and the empowerment of women.
Deepening Democracy
To increase the inclusiveness of democratic institutions. we work with the Election Commission of Pakistan to improves the transparency and legitimacy of national and local elections, with an emphasis on the participation of women, the poor and people with disabilities. Providing civic and voter education programmes and conducting hands-on training for polling staff, we are helping ECP manage the way it operates through elections, as well as in the periods between elections.
As the federal and provincial governments, particularly KP and Balochistan, manage the transition to more decentralized government as specified in the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, UNDP is helping improve the effectiveness of the Council of Common Interests and the Inter-Provincial Council. We also work to improve the institutional competence of local governments to improve their responsiveness and accountability, while increasing demand from citizens and their organizations.
We work with Pakistan’s National Assembly and Senate to help them work more effectively and we provide training on Parliamentary rules and procedures. UNDP has supported the foundation of the national and provincial Women’s Parliamentary Caucuses, and we helped establish a think tank in the Senate as a resource for Parliamentarians.
UNDP makes legal services available to communities through legal aid clinics and a Mobile Court that brings justice and the rule of law to even the most remote areas. We support the KP Judicial Academy in providing quality training programmes for the judiciary, prosecution and lawyers. UNDP supported the establishment of a mini forensic science lab to provide training in investigation methods. We equipped the prosecution libraries of seven districts and established the first justice sector research library in Peshawar.
Preventing Crisis
Communities facing natural disasters and armed conflict are particularly vulnerable to poverty and inequality. We work with them to improve their ability to withstand and recover from crises. We also work with disaster management authorities throughout the country to help them prepare for and respond to crises effectively and efficiently.
UNDP helps community organisations rebuild basic infrastructure – such as roads, bridges, culverts and drainage systems – by working with them to identify their priorities and to find solutions that work for them.
In some of the poorest areas of Pakistan, and particularly those affected by crises, UNDP provides training in marketable skills, such as plumbing, woodworking, beadwork, embroidery, beauty treatments, tailoring, auto mechanics and mobile phone repair.
We work to prevent armed conflict by analysing the root causes of conflict and focusing on its specific and immediate sources. Community policing initiatives are helping to increase people’s confidence in their interactions with police.
UNDP puts particular emphasis on integrating vulnerable youth into their communities by ensuring that they have opportunities to participate in community activities and providing training that will provide them with better incomes.
Building Sustainable Communities
We help at risk communities respond to the effects of climate change and other environmental threats. We also work with the Government of Pakistan to integrate climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable policies into development plans and programmes.
In Gilgit and Chitral District UNDP works with communities to increase their understanding of the risks associated with flooding from glacial lakes and helps them monitor and report on glacial lake threats.
At the community level UNDP promotes the sustainable use of natural resources by providing alternatives that can transform communities from resource users to resource managers.
Mr. Ignacio Artaza Zuriarrain, UNDP Country Director
Ignacio has more than 20 years of experience in development cooperation and humanitarian aid. He has been UNDP Country Director in Egypt since January 2013 and prior to that he held various positions in UNDP since 1999 in the field and headquarters (Management Advisor in NY, Deputy Resident Representative in Moldova, Programme Specialist in Sudan, Programme Officer in the occupied Palestinian territories).
He is also an experienced SURGE Advisor. Before joining UNDP, Ignacio worked with Medecins San Froentieres in emergency relief operations in Ecuador, Iran and Mozambique. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Institut Superieur de Gestion (Paris) and a Bachelor’s in International Affairs. Ignacio is fluent in Spanish, French, English and Portuguese.