UNITED NATIONS VOLUNTEERS IN TIMOR-LESTE......................

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that supports human development globally through advocacy of volunteerism, integration of volunteerism into development planning and mobilization of volunteers.
UNV's involvement in Timor-Leste began in the lead-up to the Popular Consultation - the vote for Independence on 30 August 1999. During the national elections on 14 April 2002 more than 960 UNV Volunteers supported the electoral process in Timor-Leste, by far, the largest mission of UNV ever in the history of the UNV Programme. Since then, over 3,000 UNV from more than 100 countries have worked with authorities to develop this country.
UNV also supported in the second national elections held in 2007 by assigment of 250 International UNV Volunteers. All along, Timor-Leste is one of the highest numbers of UNV Volunteer hosting countries. Currently, UNV in Timor-Leste is a two-legged programme: one working for the UNMIT (United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste), the other attached to UN Agencies under UNDP administration.

UNV/UNDP

On the agencies side, UNV usually works through partnership with other UN agencies, Government or NGOs. There are currently almost 50 UNV Volunteers serving in different projects. 15 are nationals and the rest are internationals. They are contributing in different UN agencies (UNDP, UNFPA, UNOPS, WFP and UNICEF) and in different areas: agriculture specialists, project management specialists, IT specialists, interpreter/translators, obstetrician/gynecologists, communications, capacity developers, HIV/Aids specialists, etc.
UNV contributes distinctively in the areas of: access to service and service delivery, inclusion and participation, and community mobilization through voluntary actions. In Timor-Leste, UNV is supporting civil society organizations in promoting citizen participation at the grassroots level. Promotion of local volunteerism, especially youth volunteers and engaging them in socio-economic development activities is one of the focus areas of UNV and which is expected to be scaled-up through partnership with government, youth organizations and other UN agencies.

The National UNV scheme was introduced in Timor-Leste in 2006. It aims at promoting national volunteerism and providing opportunity to the national volunteers to contribute in development and humanitarian activities. Currently, 15 national UNV Volunteers are working as peers of the international UNV volunteers. The use of National UNV Volunteers in combination with other International UNV Volunteers is now considered as an effective means to build and strengthen local and national capacity. The local knowledge and skills of the National UNV Volunteers bring added value to the project activities. Furthermore, their presence at the community level enhances the community’s sense of ownership and facilitates the process of self-reliance. It is also an opportunity to provide qualified and motivated nationals willing to serve as volunteers at the community levels.

In addition, by December 2007 UNV assigned 29 Timorese to work as international UN Volunteers in other countries, sharing their experiences and learning new skills which could be utilized when they will return in Timor-Leste.                 

UNV/UNMIT
The UNV Programme with the United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) is about the human contribution to a peacekeeping mission.  It is about giving knowledge and skills to Timorese counterparts and in return forming friendships, learning about Timor-Leste and gaining an appreciation for different approaches and solutions.  Being a volunteer is a reciprocal arrangement that enriches all involved.

Since the establishment of UNMIT in August 2006, a total of 384 UNV volunteers have worked with UNMIT. 250 UNV volunteers contributed directly to the success of Timor-Leste’s first elections advising in areas such as operations and logistics, training, voter education and monitoring with both CNE and STAE.  In July the contribution of the UNV Volunteers was recognized in an award ceremony at which, President Horta said “the role played by the UNVs was crucial to the success of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in Timor-Leste.”

During the peak of the elections there were 351 UNV volunteers in total, serving not only in electoral roles but also in other areas that directly supported the electoral process such as aviation, administration, communications and information technology, democratic governance, engineering, geographic information systems, human rights, logistics, movement control, political affairs, procurement, public information, supply, translation and interpretation, and transport.  Other areas in which UNV volunteers serve are critical to maintaining services in order that all can work to achieve the overall objectives of the mandate including counseling, finance, general services, HIV/AIDS, medical, serious crimes, and training. 

Currently there are 123 UNV volunteers in the mission from 50 different countries and serving in 63 different roles.  There are 43 women or 35 %. The general profile for serving volunteers is previous relevant field experience, an average of 5 to 10 years professional experience and an average age of 39.  All have a spirit of partnership and solidarity and are motivated and dedicated to volunteerism.