The signing of the SCF 2021-2022, marked the greatest milestone from the coordination standpoint for the Unite Nations Country Team in Bahrain in 2021. The document, which was developed in close partnership with the Government of Bahrain and later extended for another two years, will guide the work of the United Nations in the country until 2024. Following the signing of this key strategic document, the UNCT made considerable further progress towards strengthening its coordination, coherence and efficiency on the ground.

Several important joint initiatives were implemented or developed during the year, reflecting the complementarity and synergies operating across the United Nations entities working in the country. The draft Action Plan of the National Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2022-2026 was developed with input from multiple United Nations entities coming together and contributing their specialized knowledge and expertise to the process in a display of genuinely joint activity. Several United Nations entities also provided technical advice to the Government during the preparation of its Action Plan for Human Rights. Significant joint efforts were also undertaken in the fields of labour migration, urban health, SDG mainstreaming in higher education and youth engagement in development work.

The United Nations Country Team also made considerable progress during the year in strengthening its coordination mechanisms, with tangible results.

Coordination Structures Established in 2021

  • A United Nations Communication Group was established to improve coordination on communication and advocacy issues and promote joint communication

  • A Unite Nations Country Team Disability Inclusion Coordinator was appointed, and a United Nations Country Team Disability Inclusion Task Force was established to guide the United Nations Country Team work on disability inclusion

  • Four Results Groups were established – one per strategic priority under the SCF 2021-2022 – to coordinate the implementation of the document and monitor the achievement of the envisaged development results

Furthermore, joint analysis and assessment were consolidated during the year, with the production of a draft Common Country Analysis. The document represents the United Nations development system’s independent, impartial and collective assessment and analysis of the country’s situation vis-à-vis the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and other commitments. The analysis benefited from the insights of the United Nations Country Team but also from those of numerous government officials and other stakeholders. Its findings will inform United Nations programming in the country moving forward.

Through joint efforts, a Unite Nations Country Team Gender Equality Scorecard was implemented to assess the United Nations gender mainstreaming practices and performance at the country level. The United Nations Country Team in Bahrain was one of the first in the region to implement the exercise, and its results will help strengthen the United Nations programming, operations and communications from a gender mainstreaming perspective in the country. Also implemented were a United Nations Country Team Accountability Scorecard on Disability Inclusion Scorecard and a 2030 Youth United Nations Country Team Scorecard.

UNCT Disability Inclusion Task Force

The United Nations Country Team Disability Inclusion Task Force served as the driving force behind the join United Nations efforts on disability inclusion and the support provided in the development of the draft Action Plan of the National Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2022-2026. In December 2021, the Task Force, in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development, organized a workshop on disability inclusion, which brought together more than 100 representatives of the United Nations entities, government ministries, and a wide range of organizations of persons with disabilities to discuss and inform policy decisions concerning the rights of persons with disabilities.

Finally, the United Nations Country Team developed its first ever Joint Work Plan for 2021-2022 that captures the work of all United Nations entities working in Bahrain. The document was endorsed by the United Nations Country Team and presented to the Government of Bahrain at the beginning of 2022. This plan, for the first time, offered the United Nations Country Team and its partners a comprehensive overview of how the United Nations entities collectively contribute to the development of Bahrain and the advancement of SDGs in the country.