The Government of the Republic of Korea has announced a US $3.15 million contribution to support the work of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in 2017. These funds will be allocated to increase the number of UN Volunteers from Korea deployed in support of peacebuilding and climate action, particularly in Africa.
“In view of the importance of Korea-UNV cooperation, our government has decided to increase the UNV contribution from US $1.96 million to US $3.15 million and expects to continue our budget contribution in the future,” said Mr Lee Jang-keun, Director General of the International Organizations Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Based on the increase in our contribution, we plan to double the number of UN Volunteer specialists and UN Youth Volunteers fully funded by Korea.”
UNV Executive Coordinator Olivier Adam is visiting the Republic of Korea on 15 March for a Strategic Dialogue with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that will explore the existing partnership, as well as ways to continue to advance the relationship.
“Korea has partnered with UNV since 1986 and is now one of our strongest partners. We are delighted that our partnership has continued to grow and evolve over the years,” said Olivier Adam. “Korean UN Volunteers have been engaged around the world in issues ranging from climate change to the rule of law, and from humanitarian assistance to communications. Our UN Volunteers help the United Nations tackle some of the most challenging global issues through volunteerism.”
The Republic of Korea is among UNV’s top funding partners. The contribution received represents a significant increase of 38 per cent over 2016 and makes the Republic of Korea the organization’s second largest funding partner after Germany.
In 2016, UNV had 6,500 UN Volunteers on the ground in 126 countries, supporting sustainable development as part of the workforce of our United Nations partners. Of these, 45 per cent were female, and 84 per cent came from the Global South. Korea currently has 65 UN Volunteers deployed around the world, working across the UN system as specialists, youth and university volunteers. They were assigned in with 13 UN partner organizations in 34 countries.
About UNV
The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. We work with partners to integrate qualified, highly motivated and well supported UN Volunteers into development programming and promote the value and global recognition of volunteerism.
UNV is active in around 130 countries every year. With field presences in over 80 countries, UNV is represented worldwide. UNV is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
For more information about UNV and UN Volunteers, visit www.unv.org and follow UNV on Twitter and Facebook.
For further information, kindly contact:
Jennifer Stapper, Chief, Communications
Jennifer.stapper@unv.org
+49 15201522181