Resident Coordinator Country Profile Mauritius and Seychelles. c) Family or Non-family? Family

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1 1 Country: Mauritius and Seychelles Resident Coordinator Country Profile Mauritius and Seychelles 2 Duty Station: a) Location: Port Louis, Mauritius b) Classification: A c) Family or Non-family? Family 3 Required Language(s): English and French 4 Languages that would be an asset: Creole 5 Country Situation: No security phase is presently in force in Mauritius and Seychelles: At night normal security precautions are recommended in parts of Mauritius and one should be aware of pick-pockets. There exists, however, underlying social tensions, sometimes along the lines of existing ethnic and religious boundaries. The main security threat comes from natural disasters, and Mauritius is exposed to tropical cyclones from November to April. Seychelles is generally peaceful and less exposed to natural disasters. It was, however, affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. 6 Will there be additional coordination functions, e.g. Humanitarian Coordinator? While the Resident Coordinator is not currently designated as Humanitarian Coordinator, the Resident Coordinator may have to perform humanitarian coordination functions -- with or without a formal HC designation -- as humanitarian needs may arise as a result of natural disasters, which are recurrent in the region The RC is also the Designated Official (DO) for Security and Chair of the Security Management Team, responsible for safety and security of UN staff in compliance with UN-DSS instructions. The DO, with the support of the Regional Field Security Coordination Officer (RFSCO), stationed in Madagascar, ensures that the Minimum Operating Standards for Security are met in UN premises (MOSS) and UN staff residences (MORSS). The DO regularly assesses the security developments, ensures preparation of quarterly incidence reports (QIR) and issuance of appropriate safety and security instructions. WHO, the only other resident Agency in Mauritius, is closely associated with these processes. 7 Is RC also the Director of UNIC? N/a 8 Is there an SRSG or other Special Envoy of the SG assigned to the country? No 9 List all represented UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies (incl. Regional bodies): 1

2 Mauritius: UNDP and WHO. UNAIDS also has a Focal Point who liaises with the UNAIDS regional Office based in Madagascar, supports the Office of the RC in all HIV/AIDS programmatic and advocacy initiatives, and provides support to the UN Extended Theme Group on HIV/AIDS comprised of UNDP, WHO, Government Services and Civil Society Organizations. UNFPA and UNICEF closed resident offices in December Seychelles: WHO and FAO (through a nat. Focal Point based in the Ministry of Agriculture). Non-Resident Agencies are located in Madagascar (FAO, ILO, UNIDO, UNICEF, UNFPA,), South Africa (OCHA, OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNHCHR, UN Women and the World Bank), Tanzania (UNESCO), and Kenya (IMO and UNODC). Given such limited number of Resident Agencies, combined with the limited existence/ scope of existing Programming Frameworks, Mauritius and Seychelles are classified as Category C / non-harmonized cycle countries for which a CCA/UNDAF process is not mandatory. 10 Inter-Agency Task Forces and/or UN Theme Groups operational in the Country: Extended UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS 11 Status of Development Planning Instruments: a) Country Strategy Note (CSN): N/a b) Common Country Assessment (CCA): CCA for Seychelles (without UNDAF); c) Harmonization of Programme Cycles: N/a (cf. #9) d) United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF): Mauritius last UNDAF cycle ran from 2001 to Mauritius and Seychelles currently don t have not a UNDAF. The UNCT is developing instead a UN Common Framework of Assistance (CFA) for each country. The aim is to strategically target a selected number of thematic areas where joint UN technical assistance can have a high impact. UNDP Mauritius is in the process of the formulation of a new CPD ( ). For Seychelles a roadmap for Delivering as One (DaO) is being developed 12 Key political and socio-economical Issues significant for UN System Development Assistance Mauritius: is a multi-party democracy, independent since 1968 and a Republic since Following the general elections which took place in May 2010, the Alliance de l Avenir (Alliance for the Future) came to power. The Alliance de l Avenir is a coalition between the Labor Party, the Parti Mauricien Social Democrate (PMSD) and the Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien (MSM). The MSM is led by Mr. Pravind Jugnauth, the son of the current President of the Republic, Sir Aneerood Jugnauth whose mandate runs until The losing Alliance Alliance du Coeur (Alliance of the Heart), was led by the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) of Mr Paul Berenger. Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, leader of the Labor Party, was 2

3 given a second 5-year mandate as Prime Minister. The elections validated the work done by his government, as the Alliance de l Avenir secured a comfortable two-third majority in Parliament allowing them to undertake an ambitious programme focusing on the theme Building our Future Together. Overall, the elections were conducted smoothly, in the presence of observers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU). The elections were assessed to be free and fair. The representation of women in Parliament has increased only marginally after the recent election. Women s representation in Parliament has gone up to 18.8% (13 out of 69 Members of Parliament-MPs), as compared to 2005 when the ratio was at 17.1% (12 out of 70 MPs). In August 2011, the ruling coalition split after the MSM party withdrew from the alliance, leaving it with a very slim majority of 36 seats versus 33 for the opposition. The six MSM ministers had resigned in July in protest at the arrest of the health minister on corruption charges, leading Prime Minister Ramgoolam to reshuffle the government. The population of Mauritius is of mixed origins, the majority being of Indian descent (itself subdivided in ethno-cultural groups), followed by the population of African origin (Creoles), Chinese immigrants, and the Franco-Mauritian community. The Indian population dominates the public sector, while the large landowners and investors are Franco-Mauritian, and the Chinese population is concentrated in trade and liberal professions. Communities are separated on grounds of culture and religion, a fact often exploited for political purposes. While the situation is generally peaceful, those underlying factors remain a powerful influence on the Mauritian socio-political life, and are deemed by some as a source of potential unrest. Mauritius is one of the most prosperous and stable countries in Africa. Prudent macro-economic management, political stability, favorable regulatory and institutional arrangements, investment in human capital development, an entrepreneurial culture and a developed financial system have led to a resilient economy with high growth and growing affluence reasonably well spread in the population. Mauritius has one of the highest per capita incomes in Africa (figure). With its high performing economy and impressive human development indicators, Mauritius has made a mark among African countries. The sustained emphasis on investment in social welfare, health and education through the various initiatives taken by successive governments over the years have helped the country in making significant progress in achieving many MDG goals and targets. Mauritius has attained most of the targets set under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and ranks high on the Human Development Index with according to the Global Human Development Report (GHDR) Mauritius does not have a national poverty line. Extreme poverty as defined by the World Bank on the basis of US$ 1 a day recalibrated by CSO as US$ 1.25 is negligible in Mauritius being less than one per cent. If the US$ 2.0 a day poverty line is used as more appropriate for a middle income level country as Mauritius, the proportion of poor people is then estimated to be less than 1.5% in according to numbers published in The country uses the half median income indicator to measure poverty. Mauritius is very well on target to achieve most of the MDGs, if no major external factors impacts negatively in a dramatic way on its economic growth, which has already been slowed by the international economic crisis of 2008 and the recent Euro zone crisis 3

4 Seychelles: Following 16 years as a one party state, multi-party politics was re-introduced in Seychelles in Elections have been held regularly since then, and democracy has been broadly conducive to growth and stability. A presidential election was completed across all the 115 islands on 21 May Incumbent President James Michel, from the majority People's Party (PP) was facing three other candidates, including Wavel Ramkalawan from the Seychelles National Party (SNP), the main opposition party. The Office of the Electoral Commissioner announced on 22 May 2011 that President Michel received 55.46% of the vote, while Ramkalawan received 41.43%. Michel later addressed citizens on national television and said that he would work for the wellbeing of all Seychellois during his third, five-year term in office. About 58,000 people voted, with a turnout of around 83%. While the three-day election process was entirely peaceful, the People s Party and the Seychelles National Party accused each other of vote buying during the pre-election period. The Commonwealth Secretariat team recommended that as Seychelles strives to deepen and consolidate its democratic culture and practice, it should address several key electoral issues, including the creation of an Electoral Commission. On 12 July 2011, the National Assembly passed an amendment of the Constitution to create this Commission to replace the Electoral Commissioner. Following Mr. Michel s reelection, the assembly was dissolved in July and an early parliamentary election was held from 29 September to 1 October The SNP boycotted the election, arguing that the government had failed to revise electoral laws as promised, in particular regarding the amount parties can spend while campaigning. Breakaway members of the SNP rushed to form a new party to contest the elections, the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), arguing that they did not want to return to a one-party state, but it did not secure any seat having won only 7% of the votes. The PP won the election with 89% of the votes and obtained all the seats in the assembly. Seychelles joined the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in August 2008, an act that has strengthened its ties with the African mainland. In addition, the Government will continue to strengthen its links with India, China, and other Indian Ocean states. It is also discussing increased collaboration in the fight against piracy with various international partners. With the threat of piracy growing in the Indian Ocean, Seychelles is emerging as a new base against pirate gangs in the region. The Indian Ocean Tsunami hit the Seychelles on 26 December 2004 and caused considerable damage to infrastructure, livelihoods, housing and social infrastructure, primarily on the islands of Mahe and Praslin. Subsequent heavy rains compounded the impact of the tsunami waves. The extent of the damages warranted the inclusion in the Flash Appeal for USD 8.9 million. Seychelles has a high per capita income ($10,524 in 2010) and high human development indicators (0.773, 52 out of 187 in 2011). The country had a population of 86,525 in Since November 2008, Seychelles has been undergoing a major structural transition, from a welfare state to a market-based economy. The Seychelles economy has rebounded from the debt and balance of payments crisis of 2008, and the global recession of High foreign direct investment, coupled with a rebound in tourism, resulted in a revival of economic growth. Inflation remained low, near zero, and the country continued to reduce public debt and rebuild its international reserves. According to the IMF s third review, the economic programme supported 4

5 by the Extended Fund Facility remains on track and all quantitative performance criteria were met at the end of December There has been strong growth in tourism, Seychelles largest sector, and this has important links with the rest of the economy, including direct investment flows for construction. Real GDP grew by an estimated 6.2% in Seychelles has achieved most of the MDG targets, especially those relating to health and social development: access to education, sanitation, safe drinking water and health, literacy rates, universal coverage for essential medicines, antiretroviral therapy, and access to new technologies, such as the Internet and cellular telephones. The country is well on its way to meet those MDGs that have not yet been achieved 13 Highlights of Collaborative UN Assistance: The following are the highlights of collaborative UN assistance: a) HIV/AIDS at the National and Regional Levels Reinforcing the Indian Ocean Commission s leadership in combating HIV/AIDS, through an extended Regional Theme Group. The HIV/AIDS partnership organizes on annual basis a scientific colloquium to ensure exchange on best practices in prevention, quality care and support, access to treatment and testing. The partnership has been instrumental in mobilizing some USD 10 million for the programme. At national level, specific actions are undertaken to provide UN technical support to care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS, stigmatisation and discrimination and fighting drug abuse and spread of HIV/AIDS. An evaluation of HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns was carried out by a local NGO, with UN support, which fostered a wide-ranging multi-sectoral partnership between Civil Society / Faith-Based Organizations, and the Government. In HIV/ AIDS, a UNV Technical Advisor was successfully deployed to support essential capacity-building work for the National Aids Council, such as the mobilization of technical and financial resources needed to conduct the review of the National Strategic Plan, the provision of access to HIV prevention and the visibility of key populations, especially Men who have sex with Men, as well as the compliance with major reporting obligations (e.i. UNGASS). The UNV also helped the UNCT clearly identify specific HIV/AIDS areas and activities for Delivery as One. The UNCT is now preparing a joint programme to that end. b) Promoting Human Rights In May 2006, UNDP Mauritius and OHCHR Southern Africa joined forces to support the Mauritian Ministry of Justice in its endeavour to formulate by end of year a National Human Rights Strategy for the country, following the Vienna Conference recommendation of 1993, that each State consider the desirability of drawing up a national action plan identifying steps whereby that State would improve the promotion and protection of human rights. The 2006 phase of this two-year project, funded through a US$ 175,000 allocation from the Democratic Governance Thematic Trust Fund, witnessed the implementation of two crucial outputs: (1) the compilation of a wide-ranging 5

6 National Human Rights Situation Analysis which involved thorough consultations with a large number of national stakeholders; and (2) the holding of two consultative formulation workshops which fostered consensus on the overall structure and thematic focus of the future strategy. Beyond the immediate output of generating a draft strategy for the country, this project opened up a unique space of policy dialogue and cooperation among state and non-state Human Rights actors upon which OHCHR Southern Africa and ORC/UNDP Mauritius intend to capitalize in 2007, notably through added targeted advocacy and technical focus on three thematic areas identified as priorities during the strategy formulation exercise, namely: women s & children s rights, prison management, and law enforcement. Additional activities were carried out in parallel, notably a needs assessment / development plan consultancy for the establishment of a Human Rights Centre; the organization, under the aegis of the National Human Rights Commission, of sensitization workshops for senior Police Officers, Local Government Officials, and members of the media profession; the participation of a Human Rights Legal Expert to a Government-Civil Society round-table convened by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice to discuss the provisions of an HIV/AIDS Preventive Measures Bill and, as advocated at the regional level by OHCHR and the UNDP RSC, ensure that appropriate Human Rights lenses would be used during the review / amendment exercise. Advocacy activities on women s Human Rights led through three Ministry of Justice-NGOs partnerships, also received our technical and financial support during the 16 Days of Activism campaign of November. During 2010, major reforms by Government moved ahead on track, such as reforming the police force into a police service. The reform of the police is jointly supported by UNODC and UNDP, through an excellent partnership in line with the MoU both Agencies signed in December The joint UNDP- UNODC police Reform project was highlighted among the good practices in UNDP s Democratic Governance Thematic Trust Fund (DGTTF) This successful UN partnership has led to the posting of a full-fledge UNODC Focal Point/Associate Expert in Criminal Justice and Crime Prevention within the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator. c) UNDP-UNESCO Joint Programme on Education and Community Development This project aims to support the Ministry of Education to address the low performance level of primary schools located in socially deprived regions, through the mapping and development of innovative pedagogical and managerial approaches, and capacity-building in favour of communitybased organizations and networks in the immediate environment of these schools. After a period of technical consultations with the Ministry of Education and other national stakeholders, followed by an official mission of the UNESCO Dar es Salaam Cluster Office Director Mr. Cheikh Tidiane Sy, and Programme Specialist for Education Ms. Cecilia Barbieri, the implementation process was inaugurated with the organization of an initial four-week In-Service Training for all ZEP school teachers, which will be complemented by follow-up workshops during the first quarter of In December 2006, the Ministry of Education, UNDP Mauritius and UNESCO Dar es Salaam invited some hundred teachers and Civil Society representatives to participate in a ZEP 2006 Programme Evaluation and 2007 Action Plan to take stock of what had been achieved, review implementation mechanisms, and launch new activities, among which a set of additional training sessions which will specifically target Head Teachers and their management personnel. During the second half of 2006, significant progress was also made on the Community Development component of this joint UNDP-UNESCO initiative, with the conceptualisation of a pilot project which will seek to increase the capacity of Community-Based Organizations operating in the Black River District (located in a south-western region of the island) with a view to improve the design, implementation and monitoring of activities around ZEP schools, encourage a more 6

7 coordinated, integrated approach to community-led initiatives, and foster, in the process, a more socially conducive environment for the children attending these schools. Particular efforts will be made to assist this consortium of regional actors in acquiring the necessary resource mobilization capabilities and tools to efficiently engage in partnerships with the Private Sector, building on a national context of increased awareness and interest in Corporate Social Responsibility / Global Compact principles. d) ILO-UNDP: Capacity Building for Gender Equality and Women s Empowerment The difficult economic adjustment phase undergone by Mauritius over the past few years, particularly affecting its sugar and textile industries, led to a significant number of retrenchments among women employees who had traditionally constituted the backbone workforce of these two sectors. Seeking to accompany this transition in a more effective and socially responsible manner, and place itself in a position to elaborate informed, efficient reskilling strategies, the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment undertook, with the support of UNDP Mauritius and ILO Madagascar, a tracer study to track the situations of retrenched textile factory male and female workers. Concurrently, a study on gender-based discriminatory laws and practices was also carried out, followed by a consultative workshop on its findings facilitated by ILO. UNDP Mauritius and ILO Madagascar also collaborated through the organization of a training course on negotiating skills in collective bargaining, specifically targeting women trade union members. 14 Key Elements of Current Year s RC Work Plan: UNCT Work Plan for Mauritius: Continuation of ongoing Joint Programming initiatives between UNDP and Non-Resident Agencies (UNESCO, OHCHR, ILO), initiation of new interagency collaborations, notably around HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS, UNFPA), and exploration of new cooperation avenues (UNIDO, FAO), through Joint Programming opportunities but also a possible reorganization of the Office of the UN RC to include additional national Focal Points who would provide country-level support to Non-Resident Agencies on a number of key sectors. UNCT Work Plan for the Seychelles: Finalization of the CCA process, continuation on the DaO roadmap. 15 Status of Common Premises: The two resident UN Agencies in Mauritius are located in the same premises. In Seychelles, the UNDP and WHO technical offices are located in separate buildings. 16 Status of Common Services: Joint UNDP-WHO LTA agreement with a local travel agency. 7