United Nations Volunteers

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide.

Volunteerism is a powerful means of engaging people in tackling development challenges, and it can transform the pace and nature of development. Volunteerism benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer by strengthening trust, solidarity and reciprocity among citizens, and by purposefully creating opportunities for participation.

UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for recognition of volunteers, working with partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing an increasing number and diversity of volunteers, including experienced UN Volunteers, throughout the world. UNV embraces volunteerism as universal and inclusive, and recognizes volunteerism in its diversity as well as the values that sustain it: free will, commitment, engagement and solidarity.

Based in Bonn, Germany, UNV is active in around 169 countries with 12,633 UN Volunteers deployed in 2023. UNV has an office in New York, six regional offices in Amman, Bangkok, Dakar, Istanbul, Nairobi and Panama City, a liaison office in Tokyo and 60 Field Units. 

UNV in the Pacific

The UNV Multi-Country Field Unit in the Pacific, administered by the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, promotes and advocates for the recognition of volunteerism, and manages UN volunteer assignments in 14 Pacific Island countries: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, and Tuvalu.

UN Volunteers have supported development efforts of UN agencies, the governments and civil society actors in the Pacific since 1973. They have provided technical assistance in the fields of education, health, environment, human rights, peace and reconciliation, social inclusion, youth engagement, economic development and many others.

UNV Pacific works by partnering with United Nations entities, the governments and Civil Society organizations and Volunteer involving Organizations. In 2023, 99 UN Volunteers were mobilized to 17 UN agencies in 9 countries across the Pacific.