More than 1.5 billion people around the world live in countries affected by violence and insecurity. Conflict and violence are major symptoms of a breakdown in the rule of law, and more broadly in state-society relations. Where the rule of law breaks down, tyranny, poverty and instability prevail, violence begets violence, and abusers commit crimes with impunity.

The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) provides technical, advisory, and programme support to UNDP Country Offices in crisis and post-crisis contexts. Assistance to Country Offices includes: the design and implementation of crisis-sensitive employment and livelihood initiatives, disarmament demobilization and reintegration of former combatants and associates, and mine action in early recovery settings.

A quarter of the world’s population lives in countries where state capacities are limited and societies experience high levels of fragility due to the repercussions of war or disaster. In these contexts, states cannot provide security and basic services to their citizens or effectively manage the process of recovery.

Women have comprised only eight percent of negotiating delegations in UN mediated peace. Processes since 1952 and found only two percent of signatories to peace agreements. A recent review sic post conflict countries from UNIFEM (now part of UN women) found on average of just four percent of budgets allocated to activities aiming to address women’s needs or advance gender equality

Through its Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supports national and local institutions and leadership in their efforts to prevent violence, manage conflicts constructively, and engage peacefully in political transitions and rapid change processes