Commission On Legal Empowerment of The Poor

The Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor was an independent international organization, hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and established in 2005 as the “first global initiative to focus on the link between exclusion, poverty, and the law.” Drawing upon three years of research, the Commission proposed strategies for creating inclusive development initiatives that would empower those living in poverty through increased protections and rights. Its final 2008 report, Making the Law Work for Everyone, argued that as many as 4 billion people worldwide are “robbed of the chance to better their lives and climb out of poverty, because they are excluded from the rule of law”. In response, the Report proposed four “pillars” for legal empowerment of the poor (LEP), which, the Commission argued, would enable those living in poverty to become partners in, rather than passive recipients of, development programs. These four pillars are: access to justice and the rule of law, property rights, labor rights, and business rights.

Upon concluding its research and producing its final report, the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor ceased to exist as an independent organization. However, the Commission’s findings continue to be an integral part of the UNDP’s Initiative on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, and have contributed to the creation of similar LEP initiaves in organizations such as the World Bank and the Open Society Foundations.