20 June 2006

Geneva, Switzerland: More than 8,000 UNV volunteers in 2005 made distinctive contributions to development by providing access to services and service delivery, ensuring inclusion and participation, and mobilizing communities through voluntary action, according to the UNV programme’s new Annual Report launched today in Geneva.

The three distinctive contributions characterize UNV’s activities, UNV Executive Coordinator Ad de Raad said in his foreword to the Annual Report for 2005, titled Making Distinctive Contributions. He is to present it to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Executive Board– to which UNV reports – in Geneva today.

"These distinctive contributions describe the impact and added value of our work in each country where we are present, especially within the context of meeting the eight MDGs," Mr. de Raad said. "Achieving the Goals will require the engagement of many millions of citizens through voluntary action, especially in their own communities."

In his opening message to the Annual Report, the Administrator of UNDP, Kemal Dervis, urged governments to fully utilize the various resources available to them to contribute to the global fight against poverty, highlighting UNV and its volunteers as a strategic partner.

"One of our finest resources is the [UNV] programme," said Mr. Dervis. "UNV is helping to redefine development… 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."

The new report points out that 2005 saw a significant increase in the number of people mobilized as UNV volunteers: 8,122 women and men from 168 countries served as volunteers in 144 countries worldwide; up 11 per cent from 2004. The majority of UNV volunteers – 76 per cent – originated from developing countries and nearly half of the total served in their own countries.

"In these statistics , we see UNV on the front lines of efforts to build capacity," said Mr. Dervis. "We see the essence of South-South cooperation: local people using their specialized skills and knowledge to help themselves, their peers and their neighbours.”

UNV volunteers were engaged in a range of activities with many partners such as the UN system at large, national governments, NGOs, civil society and directly with communities. They carried out 8,470 volunteer assignments in all.

Their activities focussed on achieving the MDGs and reducing human poverty; fostering democratic governance; promoting sustainable energy and environmental policies; strengthening resources to prevent and respond to crises; and fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS.

A significant number of UNV volunteer assignments were also attached to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations in support of 13 UN peacekeeping operations in 14 countries. In fact, UNV volunteers in 2005 constituted more than 30 per cent of international civilian peacekeeping personnel, providing expertise in more than 120 functional categories, from human rights advisers to supply managers and press officers.

Additionally, thousands of online volunteers—making their skills available through UNV’s Internet-based Online Volunteering Service —participated in UNV-led or supported initiatives aimed at contributing to UN system-wide efforts towards achieving the MDGs. University graduates, private sector employees, and other volunteers were part of this initiative.

"Our actions over the past year, in collaboration with other UN Departments, Agencies, Funds and Programmes, and other partners, helped to establish momentum towards the achievement of the MDGs," said Mr. de Raad. "I am very proud of what the programme and the thousands of UNV volunteers across the globe have achieved."