MACHINE NAME = WEB 1

New UNCTAD-International Labour Organization partnership in Rwanda leads to sustained technical assistance

04 November 2014

​UNCTAD accesses Rwanda's One UN Fund for the seventh consecutive year thanks to its role within the UN Inter-Agency Cluster on Trade and Productive Capacity.

The United Nations system-wide coherence reform "Delivering as One" (One UN) is a flexible and efficient mechanism for mobilizing resources and providing predictable funding for achieving national and global priorities.

In line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the United Nations Agenda for Action, the resources available at the national and regional levels can only be accessed if a number of requirements are met:

  • alignment with national priorities

  • harmonization and coordination through inter-agency cooperation

  • effective and inclusive partnerships

  • achievements of development results and mutual accountability

In Rwanda, UNCTAD has been participating in the formulation and implementation of the One UN Programme under the umbrella of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2008-2012. This was developed as part of One UN because Rwanda is one of the eight original Delivering as One UN Pilot countries. The joint programmes are now developed in the context of the new UNDAF cycle called the United Nations Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP 2013-2018).

Under UNDAP, UNCTAD participates in a new joint programme on Youth and Women Employment, which is led by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Under the Joint Programme UNCTAD activities will aim at facilitating the potential younger entrepreneurs to access business role modelling and mentorship through business linkages. For its participation, UNCTAD is accessing the Rwanda' One UN Fund for its seventh consecutive year.

Developed within the UN Inter-Agency Cluster, the joint programme on Youth and Women Employment perfectly illustrates that joint policy initiatives developed at the headquarters level (in that case between UNCTAD and ILO) can effectively be materialized at the country level to best respond to governments' needs and priorities. The process leads to an increased vision, coherence and impact of the technical assistance delivered by the United Nations.

The joint programme also shows that multi-year and non-earmarked (or "softly earmarked") sources of funding such as the Multi-Donor Trust Funds (One UN funds) allow the United Nations to focus on long-term and sustainable capacity development.