Integrating Volunteering into Peace and Development
The UN General
Assembly recently approved a resolution on volunteerism, paving the way
for integrating volunteering in the 2030 Agenda.
Assembly recently approved a resolution on volunteerism, paving the way
for integrating volunteering in the 2030 Agenda.
The UN Resolution “Integrating volunteering into peace and development: the plan of action for the next decade and beyond”
was adopted by consensus by the UN General Assembly during its
seventieth session. As in past years, the resolution was co-facilitated
by Brazil and Japan and co-sponsored by 100 Member States! The text
welcomes the latest report of the UN Secretary-General on volunteerism,
which summarizes progress since 2012, including examples from many
volunteer involving organizations around the world, and presents the
Plan of Action. The General Assembly also welcomes the publication of
the State of the World’s Volunteerism Report 2015 and recognizes that
volunteerism can be a powerful means of implementation for the 2030
Sustainable Development Agenda.
was adopted by consensus by the UN General Assembly during its
seventieth session. As in past years, the resolution was co-facilitated
by Brazil and Japan and co-sponsored by 100 Member States! The text
welcomes the latest report of the UN Secretary-General on volunteerism,
which summarizes progress since 2012, including examples from many
volunteer involving organizations around the world, and presents the
Plan of Action. The General Assembly also welcomes the publication of
the State of the World’s Volunteerism Report 2015 and recognizes that
volunteerism can be a powerful means of implementation for the 2030
Sustainable Development Agenda.
Furthermore,
the resolution welcomes the integration of volunteerism in key
post-2015 documents, such as the 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action
Agenda and other related documents; Member States also acknowledge the
multi-stakeholder engagement at global and national level in the lead-up
to the post-2015 Summit. In this regard, the resolution explicitly
names the International Forum for Volunteering in Development (Forum)
and the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE). This is
the first time a UN Resolution names volunteer-involving organisations
along with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red
Crescent (IFRC), as auxiliary to governments, which has consistently
been mentioned in past resolutions. This represents an important
recognition of the joint efforts to position volunteerism in the
post-2015 agenda – along with all the good work on the ground over past
years.
the resolution welcomes the integration of volunteerism in key
post-2015 documents, such as the 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action
Agenda and other related documents; Member States also acknowledge the
multi-stakeholder engagement at global and national level in the lead-up
to the post-2015 Summit. In this regard, the resolution explicitly
names the International Forum for Volunteering in Development (Forum)
and the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE). This is
the first time a UN Resolution names volunteer-involving organisations
along with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red
Crescent (IFRC), as auxiliary to governments, which has consistently
been mentioned in past resolutions. This represents an important
recognition of the joint efforts to position volunteerism in the
post-2015 agenda – along with all the good work on the ground over past
years.
The
resolution also acknowledges the Plan of Action 2016-2030 for
integrating volunteering into peace and development, calling upon Member
States, UN and a wide range of stakeholders to support and resource it,
and recognizing UNV as the appropriate UN entity to support its
implementation. The Plan of Action identifies three strategic
objectives: strengthening SDG mainstreaming to increase people’s
ownership for the agenda; integration of volunteerism; and measurement
of volunteerism’s contribution to peace and development.
resolution also acknowledges the Plan of Action 2016-2030 for
integrating volunteering into peace and development, calling upon Member
States, UN and a wide range of stakeholders to support and resource it,
and recognizing UNV as the appropriate UN entity to support its
implementation. The Plan of Action identifies three strategic
objectives: strengthening SDG mainstreaming to increase people’s
ownership for the agenda; integration of volunteerism; and measurement
of volunteerism’s contribution to peace and development.
UNV
will support the implementation of the Plan of Action from its
headquarters and in the field. After an initial period of national level
situation analyses and regional consultations, the UNGA Resolution
invites the collaboration of UNV and other organizations, such as the
IFRC, in jointly organizing a global technical meeting in 2020 to
further strengthen the engagement and contributions of volunteers with
regard to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
will support the implementation of the Plan of Action from its
headquarters and in the field. After an initial period of national level
situation analyses and regional consultations, the UNGA Resolution
invites the collaboration of UNV and other organizations, such as the
IFRC, in jointly organizing a global technical meeting in 2020 to
further strengthen the engagement and contributions of volunteers with
regard to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.