Ramallah, State of Palestine: "Adolescents can be powerful agents of change in communities," says Chizuru Iwata, an international UN Volunteer from Japan, who worked with UNICEF as a UNV Adolescent Participation Officer in the State of Palestine.

Quito, Ecuador:  «All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights », declares the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. My work at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Quito, Ecuador, has mainly attempted to make this declaration a reality.

The 2014-2015 annual report on the Program for Human Resource Development for Peacebuilding through Volunteer Assignments is now available. The report details the experience and contributions of the 16 Japanese nationals deployed during 2014 and 2015 as United Nations Volunteers under the HRD Program which is a joint partnership among the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the Hiroshima Peacebuilders Center and UNV, funded by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Cairo, Egypt: My name is Mohammad Abbas. I am a national UN Volunteer in Egypt. An accountant for many years, I was really unhappy with my job. I wanted out. I got my chance in 2014. I became a Community Service Intern with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Interacting with people, guiding them, answering queries were all part of my job. In January 2015, I became UN Volunteer Reception Coordinator for UNHCR in Cairo.

Rumbek, South Sudan: As a UNV Human Rights Officer with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the main part of my assignment is to monitor, verify and report human rights violations as per the Mandate (2241, 2015).

Quito, Ecuador:  During my one-year assignment in Quito, Ecuador, I supported the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women). I focused on the programmes that aim to prevent violence against women and girls and to ensure the restitution of their rights.    Violence against women and girls is one of the most frequent violations of human rights. Some consider it a pandemic, as no country is exempt from it.

Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire: As a master student in Canada, I studied Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) processes in West African countries. While doing my internship with UNDP in Namibia, a colleague who was a UN Volunteer encouraged me to register online. I did not have a clue what the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme was, but I took her advice anyway. About a year later, I was recruited to serve as UN Volunteer DDR Officer, which was an academic dream come true.

Quito, Ecuador:  Women in all parts of the world suffer violence and discrimination. They are under-represented in political and economic decision-making processes. They lack access to decent work, face gender gaps and are often denied access to basic education and health care. UN WOMEN is trying to address these global challenges.

Lusaka, Zambia: I did not hesitate to take up the UNV Programme Officer’s assignment in Zambia when the opportunity arose. I had attained my MSc. in Development Management and long experience of what volunteerism contributes to both individuals and their communities.

Bentiu, South Sudan: As soon as I blow the starting whistle, 12 women crash into me, one after the other, hitting as hard has any man ever could. When the stampede passes I see 50 women tearing off into the distance down the back road of the Bentiu protection of civilians (POC) camp in Unity State, South Sudan.