The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for India
Some Possible Key Arenas: A Discussion Paper

In the Triennial policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system, the General Assembly emphasized that the United Nations Development Assistance Framework, which is currently in a pilot phase, should promote a country driven, collaborative, and coherent response by the United Nations system to achieve greater impact at the country level, fully consistent with and in support of national priorities as expressed in the country strategy notes or relevant national development plans, as appropriate. The General Assembly also stressed the importance of ensuring full Government participation in the formulation of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework and its full ownership through the agreement of the recipient Governments concerned to the finalized Framework, bearing in mind that the responsibility for coordination of all assistance and developmental activities rests with national government.

In this context, the following could be possible key arenas wherein an UNDAF for India might focus:

1- Poverty eradication

Reform and liberalization have opened new vistas for India’s development. And while economic reform has shown that high growth rates are possible and within reach, the challenge is to ensure that this growth is broadly based and equitable, reaching out to the poorest of the poor through more effective public action and investment. Wide gaps in human development between states, districts, and social groups need to be addressed on a priority basis. Children need to be in school rather than involved in labour activities and their parents should be assisted in finding suitable livelihoods. The cultural aspirations of people and artisan livelihoods should also be taken into account when investment policies are being considered. Poverty Eradication will also add towards promoting a culture of peace which is an important element for sustainable development as is tapping the spirit of volunteerism. Concerted public action along the lines seen in states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh is needed. Community action programmes have demonstrated the potential of community mobilization and strengthening group formation amongst disadvantaged women.

How can the UN system support the Government in respect of such processes while at the same time leveraging other resources (private and public) to the same end? How can the UN focus its development efforts on the most severely disadvantaged groups, states or regions of the country taking into consideration poor absorptive capacity and weak infrastructure?

2- Gender considerations

Addressing gender bias has been recognized as an essential step towards combating poverty as well as reducing gender inequity within society. Gender bias affects a woman’s access to and control over resources, her active participation in society and her ability to exercise her rights. This includes her rights over land, over her body, within marriage etc. Gender inequality is particularly pronounced in the northern states of India. India’s adverse sex ratio and the continuing downward trend in certain states underscores the extent of this disparity- later seen in differential participation and completion levels of primary education between boys and girls and literacy between men and women. Economic, political and social empowerment of women is essential to guarantee women equal opportunities to development. Mobilization of women and building women’s capacities into the design of all development efforts are goals of the Beijing World Conference on Women.

3 - Access to Basic Social Services for All

Following-up on the global UN Conferences, especially those on Health (Alma Ata, 1978), Education (Jomtein, 1990), Children (New York, 1990), Environment and Development (Rio, 1992), Human Rights (Vienna, 1993), Population and Development (Cairo, 1994), Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995), Women (Beijing, 1995), Human Settlements (Istanbul, 1996), Food (Rome, 1996), and the Special Summit Meeting on World Drug Issues (New York, 1998), Culture (Stockholm, 1998) the UN system is mandated to help ensure access to reproductive health and family planning services, primary health care, nutrition, basic education, drinking water and sanitation, shelter, and reduction in supply and abuse of illicit drugs. India’s success has been in increasing the coverage of many social services towards 70-80% of the population. Current trends in resource allocation, however, especially in the low human development states, indicate there is a sharp decline in the ratio of development expenditure to non-development expenditure. If the goal of universal access is to be achieved, a new focus on the unreached 20-30% of the population is required for all basic social services and calls for qualitatively different strategies to be adopted. Policy reform in support of reaching the ‘difficult to reach’ may be required.

What steps can be supported by the UN system to ensure access to basic social services for the last 20-30% of the population? How can the UN bring its international experience to help increase demand for services and ensure that people participate in service development?

4 - Sustainability

Sustainability is the primary theme of at least two of the World Conferences: the UN Conference on Environment and Development and the Copenhagen Social Summit. Major adjustments need to be made in agriculture, environment, and economic policy at both national and international levels in developed as well as developing countries to create conditions for sustainable development. This will need to involve education initiatives, restructuring of incentives, development of indigenous and innovative technologies, public-private sector mechanisms for sustainable industrial development, better approaches to natural resource management and environmental protection, all which give due regard to people’s cultural aspirations. Promoting sustainable lifestyles and increasing access to income through employment generation and job creation, especially within the small and medium enterprises, including artisanal and cultural industries, are also important. Sustainable development requires that development initiatives be set within a new paradigm of community participation (which includes women), ownership of and responsibility for the development process. Models for sustainable development are still scarce and not widely known. The UN system can bring international perspectives to help pilot, share, learn and replicate such experiences.

How can the UN system assist the Government of India to create an enabling environment and involve "people" in policy and programme planning processes and the implementation of development initiatives to ensure that development is equitable, people-centred, and sustainable? How can the UN system bring its international experience on sustainable development to trade and macroeconomic policy discussions to ensure that they remain people-centred?

Until the end of the 1980s, a serious gap appeared to lie between the achievement of human rights and development objectives. With the almost universal adoption of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of the Discrimination of Women) and the CRC (Convention on the Rights of the Child), there has been growing recognition of the vital relationship between the two areas of action. The rights to economic, political and social development, including among minorities, are seen as the prerequisite for the achievement of human rights objectives. Each of the conventions emphasizes universality of rights, non-discrimination and the interdependence of rights that were laid out in the original Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Obligations under the conventions are created at all levels of society from the individual and family household level to the national and international. It is important to remember that these obligations go beyond those of the ‘state parties’ who signed the international Convention. Translating these Conventions into development goals and processes is a central part of the mandates of a number of UN organizations. The 1993 Vienna Conference on Human Rights specifically adopted the 1986 General Assembly Declaration on the Right to Development as a goal and supported the rights approach to development, which is now being spearheaded notably by UNDP. Modalities of how this should be accomplished in development programmes are still being explored. The challenge will be to ensure that rights are incorporated harmoniously into development frameworks, explicit targets are set and processes of accountability established from the community upwards.

6 - Decentralization

Moves continue towards a more federal structure with development responsibilities devolving to the States and the local governing bodies. Decentralization is seen as an important strategy for the success of local development initiatives, especially for anti-poverty programmes. With the 73^rd and 74^th amendments to the Constitution there is now a need to strengthen the capacities of local leaders, particularly women, to enable them to take up these new responsibilities. The UN is actively rethinking its mainstream programmes in the light of these developments and seeks to maximize its support at the local level while avoiding distorting local development priorities. Capacity building especially amongst a new generation of women leaders and UN system experience in social mobilization are important inputs that can be provided by UN organizations.

7 - Partnerships

In all of the operational work of the United Nations, partnerships –with Government, with NGOs, communities- are important components. This has been in the design of programmes, their implementation, as well as in their evaluation and financing. There has been a major shift in the recognition of the essential contribution Civil Society involvement can make to achieve many development objectives. In all of the agendas outlined above however, partnerships need to be reassessed and made a much more central part of strategies adopted. A conscious effort is required to develop and sustain such partnerships calling for respect and clear mechanisms.

How can processes be streamlined within the Government’s development priorities to facilitate the UN system’s work with civil society and other development partners? How best can the results of joint initiatives be documented by the Government of India, the UN system, and civil society partners (including national NGOs and the private sector)?

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