As a UN Youth Volunteer with a disability, Kasunjith provided a unique and personal input to the discussions related to inclusion and played a key role in advocating for needs specific to the disabled community. If not us then who? ‘Inclusion’ cannot be fostered without the participation of people with disabilities. It is very important that the disabled community is not left behind in the recognition of Sustainable Development Goals. --Kasunjith Satanarachchi Devesurenda, during the 2019 ECOSOC Youth Forum

Around the world, people volunteer in different ways to achieve diverse impacts, both planned and unplanned. Most volunteering takes place through informal engagement between individuals, with only an estimated 30 per cent of volunteering taking place formally, through organizations. Much of this volunteerism – both informal and formal – takes place at the community level.

Enabling young people to realize their full social, economic and human potential is a key aspect of this UNV-UNFPA partnership.

Within UN Peacekeeping, combining the powers of peacekeepers and volunteers reinforces efforts to foster peace. This strong partnership started in 1992 and has grown to become an inherent component of civilian personnel within most peacekeeping missions since then.

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ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

On 29 November, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Fiji launched a flagship report, the State of the World's Volunteerism Report (SWVR) 2018, demonstrating that volunteers across Asia and the Pacific region are a fundamental coping strategy for resilient communities. The SWVR 2018 launch in Suva, Fiji was held on the occasion of the UNV Executive Coordinator's official visit to the Pacific. 

Resolution A/RES/73/140 was co-facilitated through the Third Committee of the General Assembly by the Permanent Missions of Brazil and Japan, and was cosponsored by 124 Member States. The resolution follows the Secretary General’s report ‘Plan of Action to integrate volunteering into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, which was presented to the Third Committee at its opening session on 2 October 2018.

Resolution A/RES/73/140 was co-facilitated through the Third Committee of the General Assembly by the Permanent Missions of Brazil and Japan, and was cosponsored by 124 Member States. The resolution follows the Secretary General’s report ‘Plan of Action to integrate volunteering into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, which was presented to the Third Committee at its opening session on 2 October 2018.

It is on the ground, in their local communities, that we really see the unique impact of volunteers. For example, UN Volunteers are facilitating the local integration of Syrian asylum-seekers in Armenia, including those who themselves have escaped the conflict. While in Afghanistan, UN Volunteers have brought together youth and religious leaders in dialogue on gender equality, exemplifying the power of volunteerism in bringing communities together, giving voice to marginalized groups and weaving a stronger social fabric.