Since the signature of the framework agreement in 2004, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme has enjoyed a strong partnership with France, represented by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires Étrangères – MEAE). The collaboration is implemented though the partnership with the delegation for international civil servants (Délégation aux Fonctionnaires Internationaux – DFI) and takes place though the Full Funding Programme. Since 2018, France has also been contributing to UN’s Special Voluntary Fund (SVF).
France directly supports UNV activities and in 2019 presented its National Situational Analysis on Volunteering, a source for generating evidence and data on volunteerism.
In its voluntary national review, France reported on progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2016, and made a reference to the role of volunteers for SDG4, quality education (ref. the civic reserve; p.21) and SDG12, responsible consumption and production (ref. local authorities volunteering to reduce waste; p.37).
In March 2019, the French delegation for relations with civil society and partners of the Directorate General for Globalization took an active role in the Regional Consultation on the Plan of Action to integrate volunteering in the 2030 Agenda in Europe, participating in a panel on the key findings of regional synthesis reports.
France also actively co-sponsored the UN General Assembly Resolution on Volunteering for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/C.3/73/L.13).
In 2024, 182 French nationals served as UN Volunteers, with 62 fully funded by the Government of France.
For further information, visit the website of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France and dedicated page for UNV. Also refer to UNV's Annual Report 2024, including our Special Voluntary Fund and Full Funding reports.
