The Government of Germany is a long-standing key partner of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, and regular consultations take place with the two lead ministries to assess and advance this multi-faceted partnership: the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Federal Foreign Office. UNV also collaborates with other stakeholders, including the State of North-Rhine Westphalia, City of Bonn, Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) and the United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN).
Germany is host and strong partner to the United Nations presence in the country. The Federal City of Bonn is home to numerous UN organizations, programmes and offices. Today there are 24 UN institutions based in Bonn, with more than 1,000 members of staff. UNV moved to Bonn in 1996.
Germany's diverse support to UNV includes contributions to UNV's Special Voluntary Fund (SVF), a flexible resource to implement its Strategic Framework 2018-21, and contributions for specific projects such as UNV's Digital Transformation and the UNDP-UNV Talent Programme for Young Professionals with Disabilities.
In 2018, the German Government was also one of the 124 co-sponsors of the UN General Assembly Resolution Volunteering for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/C.3/73/L.13).
The Government of Germany has been supporting the full funding of UN Volunteer assignments for German nationals and people from the global South, in support of UN coordination at country level. Germany and UNV also engaged in a pilot initiative in 2017, through which Germany is funding UN Volunteer assignments for German nationals in support of UN peace efforts. In addition, Germany is funding Junior Professional Officer positions at UNV; during 2020, five JPOs served with UNV in headquarters and regional locations.
During 2022, 40 German nationals served as UN Volunteers, 12 of these serving in United Nations peacekeeping missions.
For further information, visit the websites of the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and Federal Foreign Office of Germany. Also refer to UNV's Annual Report 2023, including our Special Voluntary Fund and Full Funding reports.
