UNOPS has launched a new policy to clarify how social and economic development and environmental protection must be incorporated into the design and implementation of all infrastructure activities.
 |
| UNOPS conducts extensive consultations with communities when implementing its partners’ infrastructure projects. Photo: UNOPS/Jonathan Buckingham |
In its role as a central resource in the United Nations system for physical infrastructure development, UNOPS is committed to ensuring that the human rights and living conditions of all people are enhanced by infrastructure projects in their communities.
In 2011, UNOPS implemented $318 million dollars worth of infrastructure projects for its partners, often in the most challenging of circumstances, from South Sudan to Haiti to Afghanistan.
|
This policy outlines how UNOPS project teams are required to consider gender equality, decent work, health and safety, accessibility for people with disabilities, sustainable resource use, climate change and much more, both before and during project implementation.
In this manner, UNOPS seeks to maximize positive outcomes for those impacted by infrastructure development and eliminate or mitigate any negative impacts. With this policy, UNOPS is aligning itself with the UN-wide effort to create a sustainable future.
According to UNOPS Executive Director Jan Mattsson: “This policy reflects UNOPS commitment to ensuring that all of our work attains the highest possible international standards of quality for partners and beneficiaries.”
Read the UNOPS policy for sustainable infrastructure in English, French or Spanish.