Memorandum of Understanding. between. the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal. Republic of Germany,

Transcription

1 R^>l' 7 ál è I Bundesminisleritim für ^ % I ^ W Deutsche GeseUschaft DlVIt, ^ F I wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeil i j l,#_ f^r Internationale und Eniwicklung ^ M I JM H Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH I olunteers inspiration in action Zukunftsentwickler. Wir machen Zukunft. Machen Sie mit. Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH and the United Nations Volunteers programme The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany, hereinafter referred to as "BMZ", the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, hereinafter referred to as "GIZ", and the United Nations Volunteers programme, hereinafter referred to as "UNV" and hereinafter jointly referred to as "the Parties", - recognize the importance of volunteerism in development cooperation and its contribution to respond more effectively to pressing global environmental, social, economic and political challenges, - intend to support international cooperation for sustainable human development and peace through volunteerism, - recognize the existing solid and broad range of cooperation between BMZ and UNV as well as between GIZ and UNV (based on the preceding long-standing and successful cooperation with the former Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED) ggmbh). - consider the expanding and broadening of the partnership between UNV, BMZ and GIZ, and with other German development actors, 1/9

2 - are dedicated to overcome fragmentation and to strengthen coordination and collaboration within the UN as well as between the various development partners with UNV as the UN organization providing UN Volunteers to the entire UN system, - feet encouraged by the achievements of collaboration particularly in the past few years based on shared values, common goats and mutual understanding, - aim to develop a strategic reinforcement of the cooperation, suggesting recommendations to increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness, and setting an agenda for the future cooperation of the Participants, - take into account results of discussions and consultations over the last two years through regular meetings, joint workshops and project presentations, and - emphasize the role of UNDP's Executive Board as UNV's governing body, providing intergovernmental support and oversight to the organization, in accordance with the overall policy guidance of the United Nations General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. NOW, THEREFORE, the Parties agree to cooperate as follows: I. Background and Purpose of the Collaboration UNV is the UN organization that supports global peace and sustainable human development through the promotion of volunteerism, including the mobilization of volunteers. UNV enhances opportunities for engagement and action in peace and development by all peoples through volunteering, including and not limited to. participation in the development and implementation of UN programmes and projects. UNV has evolved greatly over the past 42 years in terms of the size and spread of its mandate, results and activities, driven by the changing external environment for development and peace, by the wider acknowledgment of the role of volunteerism globally and by intergovernmental legislation. Executive Board decision 2006/18 confirmed UNV's business model: (i) mobilizing volunteers, increasing diversity, including online volunteers through the UNV Online Volunteering service, to enable more people to be directly involved in the humanitarian, peace-building and postconflict recovery as well as sustainable development and poverty eradication work of the UN; (ii) advocating for volunteerism and civic engagement in peace and 2/9

3 development; and (iii) pursuing the integration of volunteerism across policy, legislation and programming as well as delivering on internationally-agreed development goals. Volunteering is an important value grounded in German society. The Government of Germany is supporting volunteerism and civic engagement through strengthening of civil society at national and global level, such as during the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers in 2011 (lyv+10). The Government of Germany actively supports volunteering and its different features in international fora as well as its link to the private sector. BMZ is supporting volunteerism in the UN based on the BMZ's strategy on strengthening civil society participation and volunteerism in development. The existing partnership between UNV and BMZ is based on strong support from the Government of Germany and covers a broad range of cooperation areas with an increased level of engagement in recent years. The partnership between GIZ and UNV currently focuses on the joint recruitment of UN Volunteers placed with UN entities worldwide. In addition, GIZ and UNV intend to actively explore further synergies for mutual cooperation in the near future. Through this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), BMZ, UNV and GIZ aim to solidify their strengthened relationship and consolidate a long-term partnership to support volunteering, also engaging other German development actors. The Parties intend to advance their strategic partnership to contribute to peace and development, in particular to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the future post'2015 development framework. The purpose of this MoU is to provide a framework of cooperation and facilitate collaboration between the Parties, on a non-exclusive basis, in areas of mutual interest II. Focus Areas of Cooperation The existing partnership covers a wide range of cooperation areas including BMZ's core contribution to UNV, as well as support for and collaboration in specific programmes. The Parties plan to cooperate with interested joint partners both at the bilateral and multilateral level, in particular with German development actors such as 3/9

4 Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). BMZ and UNV will also discuss to identify further opportunities for partnering with German civil society, private sector and academia. The past and existing cooperation described below serve as examples of how the parties would like to cooperate. Therefore, they serve as the basis for continued and enhanced cooperation in the future. Existing and possible future cooperation include the following areas: 1. Programmatic cooperation Core and non-core funding: The Government of Germany is a key financial donor in terms of core (UNV Special Voluntary Fund) and non-core contributions to UNV. This includes support through cost-sharing for UNV corporate priority projects and initiatives, such as, in recent years, the "Arab Youth Volunteering for a Better Future" programme and UNDP/UNV's Youth Volunteer Trust Fund (YTF). The YTF was established in 2012 in response to the request to UNV in the implementation of the UN Secretary General's Five Year Action Agenda, recognizing the enormous potential of young people to contribute positively to their societies. Another example is Germany's strong support, as one of the key partners, in marking the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers in 2011 (IYV+10), including UNV's flagship "State of the World's Volunteerism Report". Funding of UN Volunteer assignments: The cooperation also covers the full funding of UN Volunteer assignments in partnership with GIZ (UNV Interns and Specialists). Since the 1970s, the former Deutsche Entwicklungsdienst (DED) ggmbh (German Development Service) cooperated with UNV to fund UN Volunteer assignments for strategic placements in UN peace and sustainable development projects for German/EU nationals. With the merging of DED, InWEnt and GTZ into GIZ in 2011, the Parties involved jointly decided to use the given opportunity to create a more strategic and structured alignment of future cooperation. As a result, an agreement was signed between UNV and GIZ on December 5, 2012 to formalize this new partnership as a pilot, with the intention to further develop and strengthen this collaboration and achieve synergies on the ground. Since the end of 2012, BMZ through GIZ funded fifteen UNV Interns, who will be called UN Youth Volunteers in the future, (to leverage youth voices for post-2015 national outreach activities) and 4/9

5 more than ten fully-funded UN Volunteer Specialists including from the South. The results of this pilot will be reviewed in September 2013 with the intention to continue the cooperation if results are positive. Ways will be explored by BMZ, UNV and GIZ to further develop cooperation at the national level to find synergies with the German Technical Cooperation. To achieve the common goals, BMZ will continue to contribute to UNV core and noncore resources to support development and peace programmes of UNV and its core mandate within the UN system, subject to the availability of funds and in accordance with the relevant German laws and regulations. Cooperation on the ground: BMZ and UNV also strive to enhance the collaboration at global and regional level and in the partner countries of German bilateral development cooperation in areas of common strategic priorities. Concrete possibilities will be explored to create synergies between bilateral and multilateral development cooperation at the global, regional and country level, also in terms of complementarity of approaches and programmes, and in dialogue with other development partners in the field. Other areas of possible collaboration include international agenda setting, knowledge sharing and training and learning. 2. Political support In particular through its participation in the UNDP Executive Board in recent years, the Government of Germany acts as a key partner for UNV in strengthening the role of volunteerism in the international development discourse. Germany also supported key processes and consultations on legitimacy through UN resolutions and other key documents at the UN General Assembly. Besides the regular exchange between UNV and BMZ in Bonn and Berlin, the Permanent Mission of Germany to the UN in New York and UNV are also in regular contact for consultations and exchange of information on relevant matters. Germany has also been actively participating in the consultations of UNV's Strategic Framework ( ), which is being developed under the umbrella of the UNDP Strategic Plan , to elaborate results to be delivered by UNV during this period. BMZ will continue to support the UNV Strategic Framework and its 5/9

6 implementation. The Framework generates a concrete focus on UNV's efficiency and effectiveness in achieving organizational results, including leveraging and expanding the knowledge base on the role and impact of volunteering in transformational global change, and supporting development results through volunteers assigned with UNV's various partner UN organizations. 3. Advocacy and outreach for UNV and volunteerism at global level and In Germany In 2011, BMZ and UNV closely cooperated in several international events. Jointly with the Federal Foreign Office and the City of Bonn, the 64th Annual UN Conference for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) associated with the UN Department of Public Information "Sustainable Societies; Responsive Citizens" (3-5 September 2011) was organized in Bonn with more than 1300 delegates. The NGO Final Declaration included a set of coherent recommendations. This document was submitted to the UNGA by the Permanent Mission of Germany to the UN in New York and was adopted as official UNGA document in advance of and during Rio+20 discussions. During the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio in June 2012, a joint visit to a UN-Habitat/UNV project was organized with highest level of participation of UNV, BMZ and UN-Habitat. BMZ also supported several events to raise awareness and promote lyv+10, including side events at the UN General Assembly. In March 2013, BMZ and UNV jointly presented the 2013 UNDP Human Development Report in Germany, at a launch event in Berlin, organized by the United Nations Association in Germany. BMZ and UNV will pursue this strengthened partnership to raise awareness and advocate for volunteerism for sustainable development and peace through joint events and efforts to mobilize key stakeholders, including the public. The Parties will also look into the possibility to organizing joint seminars, workshops and technical training in fields of mutual interest. The Parties will further discuss possible synergies in the area of support and promotion of volunteerism and civic engagement in development cooperation in Germany and worldwide, in particular sharing networks and information as well as 6/9

7 joint outreach with Engagement Global, specifically weltwärts and Ziviler Friedensdienst (Civil Peace Service - ZFD), in Germany and partner countries. Engagement Global, under the guidance of BMZ, is promoting the idea of volunteerism in general and is supporting volunteer work in development through a wide range of programmes. The Information Desk on Civic Engagement within Engagement Global is actively informing interested volunteers about possibilities to engage, including with UNV (as UN Volunteers and online volunteers) and is taking part in the activities at United Nations Day in Bonn. BMZ will support further engagement between Engagement Global and UNV. 4. The United Nations in Bonn Currently, more than 20 UN entities are located in Germany, with the majority hosted by the Government of Germany in the UN Campus in Bonn, Designated by the UN Secretary General as the United Nations representative for managing the occupancy and use of the United Nations Premises in Bonn, the UNDP Administrator has delegated to the Executive Coordinator of UNV the responsibility of coordinating the daily management of the premises, as well as liaising with the Government of Germany on related matters. The UN Secretary General has also designated to the UNV Executive Coordinator the responsibilities as the UN Designated Official for Security in Germany. IV. Consultation and Exchange of Information 1. The Parties shall, on a regular basis, keep each other informed of and consult on matters of common interest, which, in their opinion, are likely to lead to mutual collaboration. 2. Consultation and exchange of information and documents shall be without prejudice to arrangements which may be required to safeguard the confidential and restricted character of certain information and documents. 3. The Parties shall at such intervals as deemed appropriate convene meetings to review the progress of activities being carried out under the present MoU and to plan future activities. 7/9

8 4. The Parties may invite each other to send observers to meetings or conferences convened by them or under their auspices in which, in the opinion of either party, the other may have an interest. Invitations shall be subject to the procedures applicable to such meetings or conferences. 5. BMZ, UNV and GIZ intend to hold one annual partnership meeting to jointly discuss the implementation process of the MoU and to further develop and strengthen this partnership, as well as high level and technical meetings, when relevant. 6. BMZ and UNV will regularly exchange views on the content and focus of the partnership and the structure of non-financial and financial contributions, including through the JPO modality. V. General Provisions This MoU does not create any legally-binding obligations. All activities undertaken pursuant to this MoU are subject to the applicable rules and regulations of each party, as well as the availability of appropriated funds, personnel, and other resources. Any funds received and any activities undertaken by UNV hereunder or further to this MoU shall be in accordance with UNV's regulations, rules, policies and procedures. VI. Entry Into Effect and Amendments This MoU will come into effect on the date of its signature by the authorized representatives of BMZ, UNV and GIZ. The MoU will remain in effect unless temninated by mutual consent. Any Party can end its cooperation at any time. It should inform the other Parties in writing at least twelve months beforehand. UNV and BMZ will update the MoU when relevant and in a consultative manner. VII. Visibility The parties recognize that this MoU should be publicized and therefore jointly decide to acknowledge the role and contribution of each organization in all public information documentation relating to instances of this cooperation and use each organization's name and emblem in documentation related to the cooperation in accordance with 8/9

9 the current policies of each organization and subject to prior written agreement of each party. VIII. Notices and Addresses Any notice or request required or permitted to be given or made under this MoU shall be in writing. Such notice or request shall be deemed to have been duly given or made when it shall have been delivered by hand or mail to the party to which it is required to be given or made at the address specified below or such other address as shall be hereafter notified. For UNV: Marco van der Ree, Chief, Partnerships Section Hermann-Ehlers-Str Bonn For BMZ: Simon Koppers, Head, UN Division Dahlmannstraße Bonn simon.koppers@bmz.bund.de For GIZ: Klaus-Dieter Seidel, Director, GIZ Development Service Friedrich-Ebert-Allee Bonn klaus-díeter.seidel@gíz.de Signed in Bonn, 28 June 2013 l\y\ J^ ^ Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz Cornelia Richter Richard Dictus State Secretary, BMZ Managing Director, GIZ Executive Coordinator, UNV 9/9