Overview
The UN Partnership to Promote the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) is a unique partnership among the Participating UN Organizations, persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, governments and other partners that intend to work together through joint country programmes to promote the human rights of persons with disabilities in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
According to the World report on disability it is estimated that more than a billion people, or about 15% of the world's population, live with some form of disability. In 2006, the United Nations adopted the CRPD, acknowledging the widespread discrimination, exclusion and marginalization that persons with disabilities are facing, the need for a paradigm shift towards a human rights-based approach to disability and the duty on States to take all appropriate measures to promote, protect, respect and fulfil the rights of persons with disabilities.
The CRPD now represents the overarching international normative framework on disability comprehensive in nature, covering civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights, and which allows for both immediate and progressive realization of the provisions set-out for States Parties. However, few countries have adequate mechanisms in place to respond to the rights of people with disabilities. The innovative nature of the CRPD as well as the numerous barriers faced by persons with disabilities in their daily life around the globe continues to make its implementation by national stakeholders very challenging.
The goal of the UNPRPD is to develop the capacities of national stakeholders, particularly governments and organizations of persons with disabilities, for the effective implementation of the CRPD, including through promoting disability-inclusive internationally agreed development goals. A UNPRPD Multi-Donor Trust Fund (hereafter referred as UNPRPD MDTF or UNPRPD Fund), starting on 8 June 2011 and ending on 31 May 2016, has been established to generate and manage resources for action towards this goal.
The UNPRPD has been launched by agencies with expertise on the promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities worldwide: the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) as the normative and expert organizations on the main international instruments on the rights of persons with disabilities; the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as the lead agency on human development and United Nations coordination; the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as the lead agency on children, with specific technical expertise related to children’s disability issues, the International Labour Organization (ILO) as a normative and expert organization in the field of international labour standards and the World Health Agency (WHO) as the lead agency on health, with specific expertise on disability data, health, rehabilitation and support services. In the spirit of “Delivering as One”, any UN Organizations engaged in the promotion of the human rights of persons with disabilities as well as international and regional organizations and financial institutions may participate in the UNPRPD.
The UNPRDP will facilitate coordinated support to States from UN agencies, encourage complementarity of action, reduce duplication and contribute to improvements in the effectiveness and impact of the United Nations Development System (UNDS) at the country level, and promoting greater coherence of UNDS activities in support of national priorities.
The UNPRPD will be the first global UN inter-agency initiative with a programmatic focus on the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. The UNPRPD fund will allow for effective implementation of joint and individual programmes at the country level, supported and complemented by strategic interventions at regional and international levels.
The UNPRPD Multi-Donor Trust Fund is administered by the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in accordance with its financial regulations and rules.
Programme Outline
The UNPRPD aims to have a direct and lasting impact on the advancement of the rights of persons with disabilities and implementation of the CRPD at the national and local levels. Therefore the UNPRPD MDTF will primarily support joint programmes at the country-level in which Participating UN Organizations collaborate around common capacity development goals. Country-level programmes will be supported by thematic, regional and global undertakings.
1.Country-level Programmes
Activities will be implemented at the national level preferably by joint programmes, or through individual agency programmes/projects, within the framework of the respective UNCT (the development of UNCT capacities will be supported as long as it is necessary for national capacity development). Thematic priorities for UNPRPD MDTF include:
A. Promoting ratification and reforming and/or developing legislation, policy, strategies and plans of action;
B. Improving the delivery of programmes and services (mainstream and specialized);
C. Raising awareness and enhancing dialogue and coordination between States, persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, social partners and UNCT's;
D. Improving data and research on disability.
2. Global and regional support activities
Country-level programmes will be supplemented by global and regional activities that also serve to strengthen the implementation of the CRPD at country level. Such efforts will be designed to maximize country benefits in the delivery of UNPRPD by ensuring consistency in approaches and economies of scale in the development of knowledge and capacities.
Governance
The UNPRPD Terms of Reference sets out a collaborative framework for UN Organizations that intend to work together through joint country programmes to promote the human rights of persons with disabilities in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
The Policy Board, established as a high-level body, will meet once a year to set the strategic direction of the Partnership and address the implications of major policy issues for the Fund. It will review the work of the Fund and provide programmatic oversight for the allocation of financial resources.
A Management Committee (MC) will be established as a working-level, standing committee of the Policy Board with the responsibility to review proposals for funding and decide on the allocation of funds, also on the basis of an external peer review process.
The UNPRPD Technical Secretariat, working closely with the Administrative Agent, as appropriate, will provide support to the UNPRPD Policy Board, Participating UN Organizations, UNCTs and other UNPRPD stakeholders. It will be tasked with the following activities:
• Draft criteria for the selection of joint programmes and projects receiving UNPRPD MDTF funding for adoption by the Policy Board;
• Develop guidelines for the preparation and submission of proposals for approval by the Policy Board;
• Coordinate the peer review of proposal vetting by requesting technical feedback from Participating UN Organizations and recognized experts in the field, as will be further described in the ROP of the Policy Board;
• Review proposals submitted by Participating UN Organizations for completeness and consistency with these Terms of Reference (TOR) and the established criteria and guidelines (initial vetting);
• Recommend to the Management Committee for its decision on proposals to receive funds from the UNPRPD Fund;
• Transmit approved proposals to the Administrative Agent for fund disbursement;
• To the extent possible, provide technical assistance to country programmes as well as to regional and global activities, e.g. by facilitating access to relevant technical expertise;
• Synthesize and consolidate the narrative reports submitted by Participating UN Organizations each calendar year and upon completion of each UNPRPD project/joint programme;
• Assess and compile lessons-learned from the programme and initiatives supported and develop and implement an effective knowledge management system;
• Identify, monitor, evaluate and disseminate good practices related to global and regional initiatives and actions;
• Facilitate independent programme/project evaluations;
• Contribute to ensuring that policies and strategies decided by the UNPRPD Policy Board are implemented and adhered to.
Administration of the UNPRPD MDTF is entrusted to the UNDP Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office), as the Administrative Agent that serves as the administrative interface with donors and Participating UN Organizations. UNDP’s accountability as the Administrative Agent is set out in the policy “UNDP’s Accountability when acting as Administrative Agent in MDTFs and/or UN Joint Programmes using the pass-through fund management modality.” (see http://www.undp.org/mdtf/docs/UNDP-AA-guidelines.pdf). UNDP performs the AA functions in accordance with the UNDG "Protocol on the Administrative Agent for Multi Donor Trust Funds and Joint Programmes, and One UN Funds".
Each Participating UN Organization shall assume full programmatic and financial accountability for funds transferred to them by the Administrative Agent and will be responsible for prepare and submit proposals to the UNIPP Technical Secretariat for review; design, implement and oversee projects financed by the UNIPP MDTF; and establish a separate ledger account for the receipt and administration of the funds disbursed to it by the Administrative Agent. Indirect costs of the Participating UN Organizations recovered through programme support costs will be 7%.
Lead Agencies
In the case of country-level programmes, the Participating UN Organizations may designate a ‘lead agency’ to coordinate the programmatic aspect of a joint programme, its reporting and Monitoring and Evaluation. During programme implementation, the lead agency can recruit a Joint Programme Coordinator who will be responsible for promoting synergies between agencies, public representation and communication of objectives, joint reporting of results, and other joint activities.
National Steering Committee
Where appropriate, a funded programme may establish a National Steering Committee which would include representatives of the UN, government and organizations of persons with disabilities as well as social partners and civil society organizations as relevant. The key role of the National Steering Committee would be to ensure adequate consultation with concerned parties in the implementation of the funded programme and in line with the UNDG Guidance Note on Establishing, Managing and Closing Multi-Donor Trust Funds.
Decision Making Process
Participating UN Organizations seeking funding will be invited to develop individual and joint programme documents based on in-country demand, in consultation with governmental institutions, organizations of persons with disabilities and civil society partners, or other partners as relevant (e.g. social partners, academia, etc.). Resident Coordinators will play a key role in facilitating the process at the country level and engaging UNCTs. The draft joint programme proposal will then be submitted to the Technical Secretariat for review in line with design guidelines and standards.
The UNPRPD Management Committee, supported by the Technical Secretariat, may decide to approve the proposals, approve proposal with modifications/conditions, defer/return with comments for further considerations or reject proposals. The Management Committee draws on feedback received from external partners and recognized experts in the field through the peer review of proposals coordinated by the Technical Secretariat. The decision of the Management Committee has to be signed off by the Chair of Policy Board in order to become operational.
On receipt of the UNPRPD Policy Board’s programme approval, the representatives of country/regional offices of the Participating UN Organizations will proceed with the signing of the joint programme document. On receipt of the UNPRPD Policy Board’s approval of a programme and a copy of the signed programme document accompanied by the programme budget, the MPTF Office, acting as Administrative Agent, will pass funds to the Participating UN Organizations. Periodic reviews of joint programme management and implementation will be undertaken jointly with the Participating Organizations.
