This report aims to assist UNDP/Sierra Leone in formulating strategies to reform different aspects of civil service, as it heads into upcoming elections. It begins with a discussion of the types of civil service reforms that may be useful, and methods of implementation. It was difficult to find examples of experiences correlating PAR reforms and electoral cycles.  However, we did find examples of reform programmes from a number of countries.  These programmes tend to be implemented over a minimum of four (4) years; at which time the country has often undergone some type of major election.  

The overwhelming trend across the international reports found seems to point towards avoiding election times when it comes to civil service reforms. Reforms in other countries have begun either before or after elections, but do not tend to be heavily implemented during election time frames. Although civil service reform is the main topic of the report, it would be difficult to have meaningful reforms without legitimate leadership, chosen through democratic elections. Because of the difficulty in maintaining fair elections in the past, it seems that electoral reform is a necessary precursor to civil service reform, especially given the temporal proximity of the next elections.

The report concludes with observations and questions for further study, which may aid UNDP/Sierra Leone as it attempts to reform civil service and public sector laws, while anticipating upcoming elections.

Even though women represent more than half of the voting population in many countries and have been widely incorporated into the economic sphere over the last decade, reality tells us that there is still an important gap between these advances and women's access to elected or political party positions. While considerable improvements have taken place in women's participation in political decision-making bodies, the numbers continue to show substantial levels of underrepresentation. In the eighteen Latin American countries examined in this study, there is an average of two women representative for every ten male mayors, and those countries with an Upper Chamber have less than two women Senators for every ten men.

In oder to resolve this asymmetry, and in response to the demands of socially and politically organized women - as well as the international consensus supporting them- several countries have chosen to include quota mechanisms in electoral regulations. These quotas have been functioning with greater or lesser effectiveness depending on the context and regulatory framework in which they are applied.

This manual provides political party members and leaders with the means to implement concrete strategies for achieving equality for women within party organizations and to access positions of power and representation.

More than a year of research and field work in 18 Latin American countries is condensed in this publication, which describe 95 "good practices" implemented by party organizations. It also analyzes the progress and the challenges still facing women in politics, both in the region and in each of the countries studied.

The production of an English version was undertaken by UNDP and was made possible through the generous support of the United Nation’s Development Programmes Gender Team, in the Bureau for Development Policy.

The Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWiP) initiative is part of a larger Africa regional project by UN Women which aims at stimulating evidence-based, systematic and institutionalized response mechanisms to the issue of electoral violence against women. It was first piloted in the February 2011 elections in Uganda. Nigeria is the second pilot site and Zimbabwe will be the third. In Nigeria, the pilot study is being implemented by a coalition of Nigerian civil society organizations, activists and volunteers with the support of UN Women in collaboration with UNDP’s Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) Project. The Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) is the key implementing technical partner.

Actualizing the promises and potential of Security Council resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888 and 1889 requires intentional action at the national level by a range of stakeholders. SCR 1889, adopted by the Security Council in October 2009, calls on Member States, in partnership with key actors, to “specify in detail women and girls’ needs and priorities and design concrete strategies.”1 Effective implementation of these resolutions requires the development of truly gender-responsive aid in conflict and post–conflict settings.

The study recommends that a comprehensive needs assessment and costing of women’s security and peacebuilding take place as an immediate step forward in the post-conflict period and provides recommendations for strengthening the inclusion of gender-sensitive provisions in NPTF projects including: Cantonment Management, Rehabilitation of the Internally Displaced Persons and the Management of Electoral Processes. The study also includes recommendations from women’s groups and gender experts in Nepal for advancing the implementation of SCRs 1325, 1820, 1888 and 1889.