Remarks by Olivier Adam, UNV Executive Coordinator, on the occasion of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board - Agenda Item 5:  United Nations Volunteers, UNV Strategic Framework, 2018-2021. New York, 24 January 2018. Thank you, Mr. Associate Administrator, for your introductory remarks. I am grateful to you and the Administrator for your leadership, and your strong support to volunteers, volunteerism and UNV. Mr. President, Excellencies and Distinguished Members of the Executive Board,

Richard has been working with UNICEF Ethiopia’s Somali Field Office as a Nutrition Specialist since December 2016 where he has been engaged in the implementation and coordination of the nutrition emergency response. He joined UNICEF at the peak of the food and nutrition crisis and has provided technical support at all stages of the emergency response led by the Somali Regional Health Bureau, in collaboration with UN Agencies, non-governmental organizations as well as woreda (district) health staff.

→ Expand the map here. World Refugee Day marks the need to show support to refugees all over the world, to stand with them in their plight, and honour the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.

Rapid mobilization of UN Volunteers

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme continues to demonstrate its ability to meet contemporary development and peace challenges.  In 2016, UNV’s response to the refugee and migrant influx showcased this flexibility and rapid action capabilities through the deployment of hundreds of UN Volunteers who support humanitarian and development initiatives benefiting Syrian refugees and their host communities. Responding to the refugee and migrant influx in Europe

Following the earthquake, the situation of women and girls was of special concern because they are more likely to become victims of violence and discrimination in a humanitarian emergency. Displacement, over-crowed camps, lack of privacy and lighting, limited and unsegregated wash facilities increase the risks. 

The training is a way to inform and prepare the youth volunteers to better understand the role of UN Youth Volunteers in the context of the United Nations. The Governments of Korea, Ireland, Luxembourg and China are funding the volunteer assignments of these UN Youth Volunteers. After their training, they will serve in Myanmar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kosovo, Mongolia, State of Palestine, Panama, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, Zimbabwe, Viet Nam, Senegal, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Thailand.

“The UN could not deploy, and Security Council mandates could not be delivered, without UN Volunteers,” said Olivier Adam, United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme Executive Coordinator, recounting UNV’s value proposition in the words of UN partners, the Department of Field Support (DFS) and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), as he led a side event to the meeting of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations

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.

New Delhi, India: Miho Yoshikawa, an international UN Volunteer from Japan, was stationed in India with UNICEF. As a UNV Child Protection Officer in UNICEF’s Delhi office, she was responsible for programme monitoring, assistance to the organization’s state offices, documentation and research.