UNV mobilizes volunteers to support peace, humanitarian, and development work carried out by the United Nations system. Established by General Assembly resolution 2659 (XXV) on 7 December 1970, UNV began operations in 1971 and is headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and reports to the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board.
UNV deploys two main categories of volunteers: international UN Volunteers, who serve outside their home country, and national UN Volunteers, who serve within their own country. Assignments range from a few weeks to multiple years and span sectors including peacekeeping, electoral assistance, refugee response, public health, climate action, and gender equality. Volunteers are placed with UN entities such as UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, and DPO field missions, as well as with government counterparts.
The programme also runs the UNV Online Volunteering service, which connects remote volunteers with development organizations worldwide, and the UN Youth Volunteer modality, launched in 2014 to expand opportunities for people aged 18–29. UNV publishes the biennial State of the World's Volunteerism Report (SWVR), the first edition of which appeared in 2011, analyzing volunteer contributions to development.
UNV is funded through the Special Voluntary Fund (SVF), full-funding arrangements with partner governments, and cost-sharing with UN host agencies that request volunteers. Volunteers receive a Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) rather than a salary, reflecting the programme's non-staff, service-oriented model.
Operationally, UNV has supported major UN deployments — including peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Mali, the Ebola response in West Africa (2014–2016), and elections in countries such as Afghanistan, Timor-Leste, and Nepal. For Model UN delegates, UNV is often referenced in resolutions on youth, peace and security (notably under the framework of Security Council resolution 2250 (2015)), volunteerism for the SDGs, and capacity-building components of humanitarian responses.
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In 2014–2016, UNV deployed hundreds of international and national volunteers to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to support WHO and UNMEER in the Ebola response.