Kemal Dervis, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The gathering last September of global leaders at the 2005 World Summit re-affirmed the international community’s determination to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). I urge national governments, as they set in motion their plans for the fight against poverty, to take advantage of every resource.

One of our finest resources is the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme.

UNV is helping to redefine development. It works closely with a wide array of UN agencies, funds and partners to bring entire communities into the active service of their own cause. It makes distinctive contributions to national capacity building, the process of empowering countries to improve the lives of their citizens, which is at the very heart of the agenda of UNDP.

By building capacity, and doing so with an approach that puts human rights at the forefront, UNDP and UNV give countries the tools they need to achieve the MDGs. With partner nations, we are working to combat poverty; ensure fair and efficient energy distribution with minimal environmental impact; battle the spread of HIV/AIDS; support democratic governance; and strengthen our ability to prevent and respond to crises. In all these endeavours, we are striving to tackle the deep-seated inequalities between men and women that so often hampers progress across all these fronts.

I have seen UNV in action in the field; it is making remarkable contributions. The majority of the 8,100 UNV volunteers are from developing countries and nearly 40 percent worked in their homeland in 2005. In these statistics, we see UNV on the front lines of efforts to build capacity. We see the essence of South-South cooperation: local people using their specialized skills and knowledge to help themselves, their peers and their neighbours. Indeed, we see UNV making volunteerism in its various forms—mutual aid and self-help, philanthropy and service, advocacy and campaigning—an effective driver of development.

UNV works with governments to find ways and means for citizens to get involved.
Pakistan’s National Volunteer Movement is a fine example from 2005. Set up in response to last October’s earthquake, this movement has given the people of Pakistan a chance to join in the global response to the disaster.

Accomplishments like this highlight UNV’s essential role within both UNDP and the UN system as a whole. UNV volunteers stepped forward in 2005 to foster empowerment, ownership and participation for those afflicted by poverty and exclusion. They continue to expand the scope of development. Let us emulate their energy and dedication in our efforts to achieve the MDGs.