Management Response

: Kyrgyzstan
: 2018 - 2022 , Kyrgyzstan (CO)
: PVE 1 Evaluation 4 Evaluation of the Joint UN Programme Inclusive Governance and Justice System to Prevent Violent Extremism
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: Kyrgyzstan
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The objective of the evaluation was to assess achieved results and performance, the sustainability of benefits while drawing lessons that can inform future prevention of violent extremism (PVE), Peacebuilding and Development interventions. The evaluation team applied a method mixing quantitative and qualitative data collection tools. Data collection and analysis has involved the review of the project documentation and PVE-related publications (over 100 documents), remote and face-to-face interviews, electronic surveys, and questionnaires. The evaluation has applied United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) norms and UNDP Evaluation Guidelines and Ethics throughout the assignment. This external review has covered the entire implementation period, from 15 December 2017 to 14 June 2021. It has looked into the results achieved, and the extent to which these results have capacitated State Institutions to put into practice inclusiveness and participation, especially towards marginalized citizens.
: Approved
Recommendation: Follow-up with the current government and recently appointed institution staff on the project activities requiring further institutionalization.
Management Response: UN Women continue its cooperation with Kyrgyz government and included stronger, cross-fertilizing approach in its Strategic Note 2023-2027 which allows strengthening the conflict/peace/PVE elements across the sectors
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Oversight/governance
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Gender expertise of Programs of socio-economic development plans of 12 municipalities has been provided which included the actions of PVE. UN Women 2022/12 Completed
Recommendation: Develop a joint UN Peacebuilding Operational Strategy aligned to the Peacebuilding overall strategy as to the facilitate and frame the process of translating the strategy into joint UN agencies projects from the conceptual stage.
Management Response: The recommendation is complex and difficult to implement within the particular project, however, the United Nations continues to work towards cohesive and synergized programming in peacebuilding within the Strategic Results Framework (SRF) for PBF programming 2022-2026 and UNSDCF 2023-2027. The overall peacebuilding strategy will be promoted through fostering Infrastructures for Peace within the ongoing SRF PBF programming cycle for 2022-2026. The recommendation is well taken in the new PBF supported project which will be jointly implemented with UN Women, FAO and Roza Otunbaeva Initiative. UN Women will mainstream peacebuilding initiative in the frame of the Joint Annual Work Plan between the UN System and Security Council. The sensitive concepts such as “Kyrgyz Jarany”, “peacebuilding” is included in the new PBF project.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Alignment with strategy
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
UN Women included stronger, cross-fertilizing approach in its new project which allows strengthening the peacebuilding element and Climate sector UN Women 2022/12 Completed
Recommendation: Social media has now most of youth interest and continues to grow in importance and influence. The use and behaviour of youth in social media is a key to understanding, identifying interests, vulnerabilities, potentials, perception, and ways of thinking. Any educational programme nowadays cannot skip a deep research of youth interaction with social media, as a basis to develop attractive and impactful educational contents.
Management Response: • The planning of future interventions of UNDP include countering Hate Speech as well as greater engagement of civil society organizations media into peacebuilding • UN Women continues to work with the youth within its various projects including Spotlight Initiative and Promotions of Innovations in HIV and EVAW areas
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Description: Social media is also the one tool allowing to reach out the vast majority of youth communities where there are no physical internationally funded projects. The youth in these in rural remote areas, is less educated, connected and exposed to diversity, with fewer job opportunities, thus more exposed to manipulation, frustration, and radicalisation. Reflecting on the previous and following lessons learned, the social media has become a fundamental tool, relevant to not only PVE but also Peace Building in general. The feedback on the use of social media by the youth also provides a strong indicator that it is an essential platform for education, including youth education.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Capacity building of youth on prevention of discrimination and other discriminatory practices, stigma, conflict prevention UN Women 2022/11 Completed
Recommendation: This project and all of the over 40 reports and publications related to PVE underline the importance of the contextualization of PVE interventions to the local level. CSOs and the private sector (illustrated by the Ololo Company experience supporting young entrepreneurs) are long-term actors, holding a unique access, knowledge, and understanding the vulnerabilities of youth to PVE. As such, this stakeholder categories are essential sources and partners in the PVE formulation. They are the link allowing the youth to relate to stories they feel close to. The private sector has been the first to engage into social media, and it certainly opens the space for the internet-based mentorship.
Management Response: • Engaging private sector, businesses, business accelerators and IT industry become a key sector of engagement within UNDP ongoing interventions • UN Women continues to enhance partnerships with private sector to promote GEWE and prevention of discriminatory practices, including the work with social media via Spotlight Initiative
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Advocacy
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Relevance
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Partnerships has been enhanced with Private sector and the Initiative on promoting Gender Bonds was launched jointly with private sector. UN Women 2022/12 Completed
Recommendation: Education involves building knowledge and awareness-based education: the knowledge of Islam of the Muslim community, as much as the knowledge about the Muslim community, appears to be limited, and the more limited it is, the more it is subject to misinterpretation, with misinterpretation potentially, leading to manipulation, especially in rural areas. This is a lesson for educational component development of PVE interventions. Education is really a cleaving area and determining factor, that can lead to either more tolerance if based on thorough knowledge or increased prejudiced if made of cognitive superficial shortcuts.
Management Response: • UNDP supported the Government in the development of the State policy in Religious Sphere by capturing educational component and continues to support its implementation • UN Women project interventions within the project ‘Communities resilient to Violent Extremism’ were focused at providing young women and men with critical skills, engaging them in civic life, but also strengthening capacity among local self-governments and adults who had a potential role in countering youth violent extremism as they engaged with them on a daily basis, and ensuring social inclusive and gender sensitive programming at local level
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Description:
Management Response Category: Partially Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Coordination of the preparation of Gender, non-discrimination in school education: for specialists in education”, “Learning living together: methodological guidance on developing basic competencies of school children in gender and non-discrimination for teacher of social sciences” in Kyrgyz, Uzbek and Russian languages UN Women 2021/12 Completed
Recommendation: Government staff high staff turnover is a major challenge to any capacity-building, developmental project. Projects have no influence over this situation, however, there are innovative ways to mitigate this threat to institutional memory. This challenge is known to all, mentioned systematically in project reports and publications. As much as it is overwhelming, there are ways to be explored to remedy to this structural challenge. Four of the most damaging effects of high turnover are (a) loss of institutional memory, (b)weakening of project ownership, (c)disruption of project dynamic and (d) opportunities abusive to cancel informal advancements and agreements. Those four challenges are creating potential gaps that need to be filled in an institutional manner. This can include relying on joint knowledge platform where, smaller but crucial steps, tools, or any intermediary advancement can be stored online and referred to when new institution staff come on back. Such platform could be the subject of Memorandum of Understanding between RUNOs and Institutions in the frame of specific projects.
Management Response: • UNDP under every particular project envisages high staff turnover, loss of institutional memory, weaking ownership, disruption of project dynamic and cancellation of agreements under the Risk Log Frame with particular mitigation n measures • OHCHR will support capacity building at the MIA Academy, which will establish a sustainable knowledge base for current officers and for future law enforcement officers • UNICEF supported creation of on-line courses for child justice professionals and trained more than 700 specialists including judges, prosecutors, case managers, police and free legal aid lawyers • UN Women continues to integrate learning approach into new projects by adding a specific components on learning as well as joint reflection sessions on learning ‘what works’ including via knowledge fair with different stakeholders
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Efficiency
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Capacity building of state partners including Security Council staff on innovative approaches in the area of Peacebuilding UN Women 2022/12 Completed
Recommendation: Several relevant and important reports at pointing at the timeliness of RUNOs joining efforts to develop a Peacebuilding strategy: The evaluation recommendation from the 2014-2017 PPP, the short life of the project cycle vis-à-vis long-term peacebuilding objectives, and the PBF Peacebuilding Strategic Review of the 2018-2020 PPP: “Donors highlighted the need to move away from project-based approaches and instead join forces under a joint peacebuilding strategy in Kyrgyzstan that also includes regional aspects. They highlighted the UN’s unique position to address conflict sensitive areas with the government and its singular ability to build platforms and safe spaces on sensitive issues. The PBF, donors advised, should function as a coordination platform to help shape the debate». “A review of new funding commitments shows that the major donors are moving toward a sustainable development agenda.
Management Response: • United Nations envisioned long-term peacebuilding objectives under the new ongoing PBF programming cycle for 2022-2026 • The recommendation is well taken, UN Women has focused on sustainable development agenda in a new PBF funded project with a special focus on women, peace, security and climate sector
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Alignment with strategy
Organizational Priorities: UN Coordination
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
The sensitive concepts such as “Kyrgyz Jarany”, “peacebuilding” were included in the proposal writing stage of new PBF project “Blossoming Aigul - Capacitated Women Civil Society Organizations sustaining peace in Kyrgyzstan” UN Women 2022/12 Completed
Recommendation: The operational rules specific to each UN agency has made it difficult to implement activities jointly from an operational point of view. The harmonization of procedures among UN agencies would greatly facilitate implementing activities as “one”.
Management Response: RUNO disagree
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Description:
Management Response Category: Rejected
Thematic Area: Peace and security (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Internal coordination and communication
Organizational Priorities: UN Coordination
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
UN Women has integrated learning approach into new projects by adding a specific component on learning to the operational frameworks as well as joint reflection sessions on learning ‘what works’ UN Women 2022/12 Completed