The European Union

UNDP Pakistan’s relationship with the European Union (EU) emerges from a shared commitment to human development and a longstanding global partnership between the EU and UNDP spanning over 100 countries. “The European Union fully shares the commitment and determination of UNDP to support Pakistan in empowering its people. The European Union and UNDP are jointly supporting Pakistan in several sectors. We are working together to enhance Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s capacity to meet its citizens’ security and justice needs and supporting regional stability,” Jean-François Cautain, Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan.

In Pakistan, the EU supports UNDP’s work to strengthen rule of law in areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province which have been affected by insecurity in recent years. Through improved access to legal services, speedy provision of justice, alternative legal mechanisms, faster and more effective policing and greater accountability, this initiative rebuilds trust between communities and legal and security institutions and thus enhances peacebuilding in the region. To date, this project has established a forensics laboratory in Malakand to enable faster investigation and trained over 1,400 police staff. It has supported legal aid for 7,900 people, and helped 24 women lawyers train to create access to legal services for women and the most marginalized. In FATA, the UNDP is working to rehabilitate schools damaged by years of insecurity and neglect with EU support.

Some of the most marginalized and impoverished areas of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces (KP) have long played host to people fleeing insecurity elsewhere in the region, including refugees from Afghanistan and, more recently, internally displaced people from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The infrastructure, economic resilience and social cohesion of already impoverished hosting areas were put under severe strain by this influx. With €40.5 million from the EU, the Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) programme ran from 2011 to 2015 and benefited 1.35 million people in 12 districts through community organizations to lead local development agendas, infrastructure and employment schemes, and health and education services including the only free orthopaedic and prosthetic services facility in Balochistan.

Past collaborations with the EU have included recovery efforts after the 2010 mega-floods benefiting 5.5 million people, support to the 2008 elections, a livelihoods programme and assistance in formulating the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper II which guided Pakistan’s economic policies from 2008 to 2010. A long-standing partnership with the EU helped improve democratic governance in Pakistan through the Strengthening Electoral and Legislative Processes project. In the first phase of this project, the ECP planned and conduct a General Election in 2013, with voter outreach to 51,000 women and voter education for 40 million people. Over 200 ECP staff were trained in office technology for election management. This represented the first successful transfer of power from one democratically elected government to the next in Pakistan’s history.

UNDP Pakistan’s partnership with the EU has, over the years, helped Pakistan build stronger institutions and strengthen human development for the most marginalized communities. As Pakistan lays the groundwork to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, UNDP will remain a key partner thanks to the commitment and support of its donors and development partners including the EU.