UNDP issued the following statement on Monday:

The Government of Canada and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are reaffirming their commitment to enhancing community security and access to justice at this particularly difficult time for Lebanon. The country is facing an unprecedented and compounded set of crises that have exacerbated people’s vulnerabilities. This renewed partnership seeks to consolidate and expand ongoing efforts to transform the Municipal police into a people centered, gender sensitive and accountable community police service, and to develop and pilot a national system for the provision of free and comprehensive legal aid services to the most vulnerable.

In line with the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP), the Recovery, Reform and Reconstruction Framework (3RF), and implemented in close collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), this partnership has at its core the promotion of social stability and the safeguarding of human rights, by way of a reform-focused and people-centered approach. Through it, the Government of Canada and UNDP are also striving to break down gender inequality barriers, including by promoting gender sensitive policing and the role of women within security institutions, and safeguarding rights of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) survivors.

“The events of the past two years have put the spotlight on the critical nature of our partnership with UNDP to transform the municipal police into a community police and to make justice more accessible to women, refugees and other vulnerable groups. The Government of Canada is very proud to support such important work that seeks to safeguard the rights of the most vulnerable at a delicate juncture for Lebanon,” said Chantal Chastenay, Canada’s ambassador to Lebanon.

“UNDP’s efforts to enhance community security and access to justice, supported by the Government of Canada since 2017, are a critical component of UNDP’s comprehensive response to the Syrian crisis, as well as to the compounded and overlapping crises currently facing Lebanon. Our partnership confirms Canada’s and UNDP’s joint commitment to Leaving no one behind,” added Melanie Hauenstein, UNDP Resident Representative.

Canada is one of the staunchest partners of UNDP, both regionally and globally. Our long-standing partnership has been vital to the objectives of eradicating poverty and building a more peaceful, inclusive and prosperous world, through the advancement of gender equality, women empowerment and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.