Tenth Anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 27 Social development, published in 2012.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report · 2012

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2012	A/67/153	Follow-up to the implementation of the International Year of Volunteers report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/66/67

What subjects does this mandate have?

8 subjects

Anniversaries Community Participation Cooperation Between Organizations International Voluntary Services International Years Staff Security Voluntary Service Youth

What’s in this document?

27 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the successful observance of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers in 2011, and also welcomes the growth and development of volunteerism since the International Year, in 2001;

Acknowledges that the tenth anniversary has provided the opportunity and impetus for an increased and unprecedented level of collaboration among Governments, the United Nations system, civil society, private sector partners and people from a broad cross-section of societies all over the world, and reaffirms the need for further efforts to achieve the goals of the International Year in the areas of the recognition, facilitation, networking and promotion of volunteerism worldwide;

Commends the contributions from national and international volunteers for their fundamental role in disaster prevention and recovery, most recently evidenced by their performance in the aftermath of natural catastrophes in many parts of the world, such as mass landslides and floods in south-eastern Brazil and the devastating earthquake that struck eastern Japan in March 2011;

Also commends the increasing link between volunteerism and sports, which, through the invaluable contributions of national and international volunteers to the preparation and organization of major sport events such as the Olympic and the Paralympic Games, contributes to the promotion of the ideal of peace;

Recognizes the valuable contribution of volunteering, including traditional forms of mutual aid and self-help and other forms of civic participation, to social and economic development, thus benefiting society at large, communities and volunteer networks;

Encourages Member States to support the setting-up of knowledge and information platforms, as well as focal points at the international, regional, national and local levels, in order to foster the sharing of resources and good practices of volunteerism that could be adapted, implemented, replicated and scaled up on a sustained basis;

Encourages Member States and volunteers to take appropriate steps to enhance the protection of volunteers, and also encourages the adoption of good practices in the promotion and management of volunteerism;

Reaffirms the need to recognize and promote all forms of volunteerism in order to engage and benefit all segments of society, including women, children, young persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, minorities, migrants and those who remain excluded for social or economic reasons;

Acknowledges the importance of civil society organizations to the promotion of volunteerism, and in that respect recognizes that strengthening the dialogue and interaction among Member States, the United Nations and civil society contributes to the expansion of volunteerism;

Takes note that volunteerism contributes to human development, and invites Governments to integrate volunteering more fully into peace and development programmes and initiatives, which offer opportunities to build strong and cohesive volunteer coalitions around shared goals at the local, national, regional and international levels;

Also takes note of the actions taken by Governments to support and promote volunteerism, and reiterates its call upon them to continue such action;

Calls upon the relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to further recognize and integrate volunteerism in its various forms into their policies, programmes and reports, recognizes the contributions of volunteers and volunteer organizations, and encourages their participation in future United Nations and other relevant international conferences;

Recognizes the importance of further involving all relevant partners, including civil society, and facilitating their coordination and cooperation towards creating an enabling environment where individuals can engage in volunteer activities and promoting the well-being of volunteers, welcomes in this regard the expanding involvement of the private sector in support of volunteerism, and encourages its further engagement through the expansion of corporate volunteering and employee volunteer activities;

Welcomes the work of the United Nations Volunteers as the focal point for the tenth anniversary of the International Year in support of Member States, including by co-hosting regional consultations for the tenth anniversary of the International Year, held in Quito, Ankara, Manila and Dakar, preparatory to the Global Volunteer Conference co-hosted with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, held in Budapest from 15 to 17 September 2011, as well as the Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organizations Conference, held in Bonn, Germany, from 3 to 5 September 2011, and requests the United Nations Volunteers to continue their efforts to promote volunteerism, including through the mobilization of national and international volunteers and the development of newer and innovative recruitment modalities such as online volunteering;

Emphasizes that people-to-people relations are the core value of volunteerism, and encourages further efforts to build and strengthen networks among volunteers and all relevant partners at the national, regional and international levels, including the World Volunteer Web as a global networking hub;

Welcomes the active engagement of national committees and coordinating bodies in the promotion of the tenth anniversary of the International Year, and emphasizes the importance of further enhancing this global network for building their partnership and sharing experiences and good practices;

Recognizes the need to further strengthen the link between domestic volunteers and international volunteer-sending organizations in order to facilitate the globalization of volunteer opportunities;

Emphasizes the important contribution of volunteering to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and calls for a people-centred, holistic approach to the promotion of volunteering;

Also emphasizes the important contribution of volunteering and the participation of individuals and communities to the achievement of sustainable development and related initiatives;

Further emphasizes that volunteerism offers valuable opportunities for youth engagement and leadership to contribute to the development of peaceful and inclusive societies, while also allowing youth to acquire skills, build their capacities and increase their employability;

Requests Governments and the United Nations system to work together with other volunteer-involving organizations to support efforts to enhance the security and protection of volunteers;

Encourages the preparedness of volunteer-involving organizations and volunteers for respecting national and local norms and customs in performing their responsibilities;

Decides that two plenary meetings devoted to the follow-up to the International Year and the commemoration of its tenth anniversary shall be held as follows:

At the opening of the plenary meeting to be held at 10 a.m. on 5 December 2011, statements will be made by the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, the chairs of the five regional groups, the representative of the host country and the Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers;

Following the opening of the plenary meetings, the launch of the first State of the World’s Volunteerism Report² will be held until 1 p.m., with the participation of the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, the chief author of the report and two selected United Nations Volunteers;

²United Nations publication, Sales No. E.11.I.12.

At the plenary meeting to be held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., statements will be made by Member States and those with a standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly;³

³As listed in A/INF/65/5.

Looks forward to a full report on the marking of the tenth anniversary of the International Year, as well as recommendations to further integrate volunteering in peace and development during the next decade and beyond, bearing in mind the request to the Secretary-General to report on this subject to the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session under the item entitled “Social development”.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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