I am herewith pleased to submit to you the 2008 Resident Coordinator’s Annual Report on behalf of the UN country team in Jordan. The report, which was drafted in line with the 2008 guidelines from the UN’s Development Group Office was endorsed by the UN Country Team in Jordan, and highlights the collective results and best practices of the UN agencies in the country. In 2008 Jordan’s second UNDAF for the period 2008-2012 was launched and implementation was initiated by the agencies. While Jordan politically remained stable and no significant changes took place, the deteriorating situation in the region at large and in particular neighboring countries including Iraq, and the occupied Palestinian territory/Gaza, have had spillover effects to Jordan and the work of some UN agency operations in the country. Especially the targeting of UN offices in the Arab world and the deterioration on the security front in the region affected the working of a number of UN agencies, which relocated when their offices were found not to be MOSS compliant. The challenge of locating a secure and common premise for the UN will carry on in 2009. In the mean time some UN agencies work from temporary premises, while other, less fortunate agencies, continue to work from home.

Major socio-economic developments and political events affecting the work of the UNCT in Jordan

As the political environment within Jordan remained unchanged and stable, the overall situation in the region deteriorated including that of neighboring countries Iraq, Yemen and the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). While this had limited spill-over effects on Jordan and the work of the UN agencies, it did imply renewed efforts by His Majesty King Abdullah II in advancing peace in the region, in particular in the oPt. The King’s efforts were reflected in a number of his addressees during 2008 including that of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and at the end of the year in his numerous calls on the international community to leverage their influence and demand an end to the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

The global economic downturn and the looming food crisis have also not bypassed Jordan. The King, in his opening speech to the Parliament in October, noted that the national priorities included economic reform and the development of a strong national economy, which allows for effective public service delivery including social safety nets and financial aid for the poor. The global food, resource, and energy crisis was stressed as a key concern and achieving food and water security in Jordan was in 2008 a priority, and will remain so in 2009, which has also been named the year of agriculture.

A major disruption to the work of the UN in Jordan was the decision to relocate from the UN offices that were decided to be non-MOSS compliant. The relocation took place in July 2008 and seven agencies were required to work from home till temporary or permanent office space could be identified. Other agencies were obliged to take extra security measures to remain in their offices, such as relocate to one end of the building, leaving them with little available and functional office space. As a result of the situation, and given the challenges associated with finding MOSS compliant offices in Amman, the UNCT decided to take the opportunity to seek out common UN premises. The UNCT, under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator, has in this regard sought the support of the government and is currently negotiating on several fronts. The efforts will continue into 2009 to secure MOSS compliant common UN premises.

In 2008, Jordan continued to be a generous supporter and host to the UN family. The Kingdom, which hosts a large UN country team, regional offices, and UNRWA HQ, continued to host the UN Iraq family, and also gave safe haven to UN staff and dependent evacuees from Yemen. As in previous years, Jordan remained a major contributor to UN peacekeeping forces, dispatching police and military personnel to disaster and conflict affected areas around the world.

Summary on progress towards UNDAF outcomes

The Gender and Human Rights group in its work during the year emphasized four strategic entry points that can rapidly advance the status of women by catalyzing wide ranging , long-term impacts using CEDAW to frame new laws , building partnership to foster women's participation , bringing equality and pursuing gender justice. In doing so, the group supported national NGOs to end violence against women and the group participated in the 16 days of activism to Say No to Violence. The group supported the police / Family Protection Department to increase women's representation and encourage the national embrace of international human rights standards. It provided training on gender issues, negotiation skills and communication skills. The group also helped draft policies and amendments to the labor law in Jordan, and again provided training to government officials on how to extend support to women. The Communication Group (UNCG) developed a 2008 strategy and through this contributed to raising the awareness of the UN’s work in Jordan through exhibitions and dissemination of information material. The UNCG coordinated events also provided a platform for discussion on e.g. human rights, violence against women, and volunteerism. The UNCG additionally drafted UN joint press releases, media advisories and curtain raisers.

The Operations Management Team (OMT) contributed to an elevated level of coordination and cooperation between the UN agencies in Jordan through the establishment of a common travel service agreement with discounts on airfare and a common telecom service agreement in which savings for the UN were obtained on telephone and internet costs. The UNCT also decided to establish common legal services, and the OMT initiated the process of selecting a firm, which can provide such. The process will be completed in 2009. The OMT likewise put forward a proposal to establish a common recruitment platform for all UN agencies in Jordan utilizing the UN Jordan website as an interface. A proposal was developed in late 2008, and this will be presented to the UNCT in 2009.

In addition to the developmental assistance provided by the UNCT under the framework of the UNDAF, the UN in Jordan also contributes with significant levels of humanitarian assistance to Iraqi and Palestinian refugees. In this context, the specialized UN agencies, UNHCR and UNRWA, took the lead in coordinating the efforts of the UN when delivering assistance to Iraqi and Palestinian refugees in Jordan. Worth mentioning in this regard is that UNHCR this year took the lead in developing the 2009 Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) for Jordan, which included UNHCR, UNESCO, UNDP, WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA and totalled USD 81,182,574.

In regard to humanitarian assistance, it is worth mentioning that while UNRWA and UNHCR participate in the UNDAF, their budgets are not included in this. Despite this their programmes and projects do contribute towards the UNDAF and their delivery is as follows: UNRWA delivered a total of USD 108,575,248 towards outcome 1 in 2008 and UNHCR delivered a total of USD 10,680,405 towards outcome 1, and a total of USD 10,209,986 towards outcome 2.

Summary on progress in UN Reform

In January 2008, the UNDAF was launched for the period 2008-2012, and the UN agencies thus individually and collectively through the UN interagency groups initiated implementation of the new UNDAF. In the course of 2008, the UNCT also translated the UNDAF into Arabic, and shared this with all stakeholders, especially national counterparts, so as to ensure effective dissemination of information on the work of the UN in Jordan.

The UNCT’s second UNDAF in Jordan, covering the years 2008-1012, has three core areas of focus in line with national priorities namely social development, governance, and environment. In order to better support the implementation of the new UNDAF, the support structure was reviewed and revised by the UNCT. Accordingly, three new interagency groups aligned with the mentioned UNDAF pillars, were established, and it was further agreed to dismantle the gender and human rights interagency group and integrate them into the three new pillar groups so as to ensure consistent and continuous mainstreaming of these critical cross-cutting issues within the UNDAF. The Monitoring & Evaluation Group, which consists of UN agencies and government representatives, held a retreat in mid-2008 in which an M&E strategy and a 5-year calendar were developed to monitor the implementation of the UNDAF. It was also agreed that in 2009 a mid-term review of the UNDAF would be undertaken.

• Support to the national government in the preparation and/or implementation of comprehensive MDG-based national development strategies

Jordan published its first National MDG Report in 2004 which revealed that it is on track to achieve some of the goals ahead of 2015. In 2005 Jordan developed its 10-year National Agenda with the main objective to improve the quality of life of Jordanians, create income-generating opportunities and guarantee social welfare. The priorities encompassed the MDGs in the areas of education, training and employment, social welfare and private sector development. The themes of the National Agenda correspond to the Millennium Declaration in the areas of political development, participation legislation, and justice. As a result, Jordan has initiated a process of decentralizing the MDG’s with pilots, and produced its first local MDG report for the Governorate of Aqaba in 2008 and is currently preparing one for the governorate of Zarqa to be released in 2009. These constitute a first step towards decentralizing the goals at the sub-national level and became a basis for local MDG planning.

• Progress UNCTs are making collectively in support of the national partners’ endeavours towards capacity development and aid effectiveness

In 2008 the RCO and the UN agencies revitalized its cooperation and support to the Jordanian Government in the field of aid effectiveness. The entry-points for this were the development of software for mapping of bi- and multilateral assistance, which is expected to pave the way for a project providing assistance to aid management and coordination to the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation in 2009. The RCO in cooperation with UNDP and the European Commission are currently exploring the terms for further engagement. Another noteworthy entry-point for UN engagement in this field was Jordan’s hosting of the Global Community of Practice meeting on Aid Effectiveness in October 2008. This allowed for subsequent talks with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and supported the above-mentioned efforts on developing an aid management and coordination project. The UNCT’s decision to establish interagency working groups in line with the three UNDAF outcomes will better allow for the UNCT to align its efforts with the national development plan and its priorities. It was also agreed within the UNCT that the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action would guide the work of the interagency groups.

• Experiences of common programming, including Joint Programmes and HACT, as well as other highlights in coordination

In 2008 a number of joint initiatives took place in terms of joint programming and joint UN events. As such, one joint project on Environment was developed by four UN agencies, and funded by the UNDP-Spain MDG-Fund. Two new joint proposals were developed in line with national priorities under the themes of ‘Child Nutrition and Food Security’ and ‘Development and the Private Sector’ and submitted to the UNDP-Spain MDG-Fund. The MDG-Fund supported the UN reform process in Jordan by providing the UN agencies with the opportunity to acquaint themselves with sister agency mandates, comparative advantages, and programmes and projects. In doing so agencies were forced to revisit their implementation and cost structures and modalities, so as to allow for the development of models that would facilitate joint implementation hereby moving forward towards the ‘One UN’ model. In late 2008, the RCO put forward requests to HQ to provide training on joint programming to the UNCT. While the training will only be arranged for 2009, initial exposure to the training was given by UNDP HQ during the UNCT retreat. Worth noting is also that the joint development of proposals and projects has injected energy into the MDG agenda and hereby accelerated the progress towards the achievement of the MDGs in Jordan.

In 2008, the HACT taskforce finalized the macro- and micro assessment in Jordan, so as to ensure compliance by end year and enable HACT implementation. The assessments were endorsed by the UNCT and shared with the government. The taskforce further developed a list of current and future partners, which will undergo the assessment exercise. FACE was successfully rolled out in 2008, and UN agencies provided training, and a HACT website was also developed in 2008. During 2008 a number of selected joint events were celebrated by the UNCT in cooperation with key national counterparts. As a result of UNCT efforts, national involvement, and the topical importance of the events they received significant attention from the public and participation from the Royal Court, Government, and Civil Society including the International Women’s Day, Press Freedom Day, UN Day, World AIDS Day, 16 Days of Activism, and Human Rights Day celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. In terms of coordination, the Resident Coordinator’s Office and UN agencies on a parallel track to internal coordination, continued to support and participate in the Donor Lender Consultation Group (DLCG), a donor and UN forum, which seeks to align development partner priorities and efforts with those of the Jordanian Government under the umbrella of the Paris Declaration. Focus during 2008 was very much on increased alignment and harmonization of bi- and multilateral assistance with the Jordanian national agenda. The efforts of the DLCG in 2008 resulted in the development of a UN and European Commission sponsored software that allows for the mapping and monitoring of bi- and multilateral assistance in Jordan. This was presented to the Government, which decided to explore the possibility of establishing a project with the UN and the European Commission. This project will allow for the development and implementation of an aid management and information system within the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC) – such a system is not currently in place in Jordan. Upon the request of the Ministry, the UN’s efforts to support the Ministry in developing its capacity and system with a view to optimizing aid management and coordination will continue in 2009.

Key aspects of the proposed 2009 workplan

The UNCT will in 2009 come together in new interagency groups, as the 2008 groups have been aligned along the UNDAF outcomes to better support the implementation of the UNDAF. The groups will develop their ToR, a set of jointly identified priorities for the year, assess their training needs, and develop their annual workplans. The M&E group will have a significant role to in providing support to the government in the development of indicators for its executive plan for 2009-2011, but it will also play an important role in monitoring the implementation a of the UNDAF, and undertaking an annual review of the framework. The Communication Group will also revisit its ToR and develop a communication strategy and plan for 2009. The RCO will provide support to the UNCG on media and communication through the recruitment of a communication specialist.

On the MDG front, the UNCT will initiate a stocktaking exercise of the status MDGs, which will be followed by a workshop for national counterparts and development partners where the findings will be reviewed. The UNCT will, based upon this initiate the development of a MDG leaflet and a new MDG report on Jordan.

Recommendations

2) Workshops held with national counterparts on findings of MDG review.

3) Publication of MDG Report & Leaflet

2)UN to provide support to development of national capacities for aid management and coordination.

2) Carry out the micro assessment exercise on 2009 based on the identified IPs list for 2009

3) Develop a joint list of new Implementing Partners (IPs) to undergo the Micro Assessment exercise for the year 2009

4) Reports to HQ for all agencies (expected to be launched end March 2009)

5) Report to HQs on Jordan Progress towards HACT implementation in order to declare Jordan as HACT compliment by the year 2009 (expected to be implemented no later than end June 2009).

6) Conduct and Carry out a second  FACE training to TOTs (end August early Sept 2009)

2) Macro-assessment carried out for IPs

3) Joint list developed

4) Reporting on agency basis to HQ

5) Jordan HACT compliant

2) Formation of the UN Joint Team on HIV/AIDS and a Technical Working group on HIV/AIDS (including representation from designated national counterparts).

3) Development of a UN Implementation Support Plan (UN-ISP) to the National HIV/AIDS Response in Jordan.

2)UN Joint Team on HIV/AIDS and a Technical Working Group are functional with developed TORs and regular meetings.

3)First draft of UN-ISP developed by 28 February 2009.

2) Contribute to the operationalization of one national M&E system.

2)Coordinated collection and analysis of Data available on HIV/AIDS for the Annual UNGASS report.

2)Sensitization of members of UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS through a learning activity.

3)Conduct learning activities for members of the UN joint team on HIV/AIDS.

2) One learning activity implemented with the participation of all members of the UN Theme Group.

3)# activities implemented and number of participants from the UN Joint Team.

2) Please see section on Gender Equality Result: Support provided to CEDAW advocacy and progress.

Number of refugees and asylum seekers released from detention.

Extent and level of support to the public services to ensure adequate capacity to serve refugees and asylum seekers in addition to the Jordanian nationals.

2)Capacity development of CEDAW Committee; CEDAW Campaign developed.

Mapping of ongoing and planned activities of UNCT in terms of emergency preparedness. Focal points designated among agencies active within this field and information shared within UNCT.

Overview of emergency preparedness activities and capacities developed and communicated to the UNCT.

2) UN Events

3) UN Publications

2) UN events include Womens Day, Press Freedom Day, World Food Day, UN Day, Human Rights Day.

3) Publication of the Welcome to Jordan brochure, UN Directory, and 2009/2010 planner for the UNCT

2) RC system and UNCT secretariat functions revisted to facilitate effective coordination in view of staff turnover.

3) Media & Communication Specialist based in the RC Unit to support Media and Communication services for the UNCT.

4) RC Staffing

2)Recruitment of Communication and Media Specialist for approx. 8 months.

2) Training on strategic communication and dealing with the media for UNCG.

3) Training on M&E for UNDAF outcome groups

4) RCO and UNCT staff trained on RC system and coordination (e.g. DEVINFO training, salary survey, coordination training for RCO staff etc.)