Fund Dates

• Start Date: March 2007
• End Date: 30 June 2016

UNPFN - Reports

• UNPFN Final Consolidated Report
• 2018 Consolidated Financial Report
• 2019 Source and Use of Funds Statement

UNPFN - News

• Article "LOCAL GOVERNANCE BODIES ALLOCATE BUDGET FOR STRENGTHENING INCLUSIVE AND GENDER RESPONSIVE COMMUNITY SECURITY"(25 June 2015)
• Article "Right to education for persons with disabilities"(21 January 2015)
• Article "Successful PPP : CCTV surveillance for enhanced security" (1 December 2014)
• "Shelter for all" article in Republica Daily - Update (August 2014)
• Article on Psychosocial Counselling and Support Service Project - Update (August 2014)
• Article on Building safer communities - Update (August 2014)
• UNIRP releases four lessons-learned documents (September 2013): The United Nations Interagency Rehabilitation Programme (UNIRP) recently released four thematic lesson-learned documents namely Gender Specific Support, Psychosocial Support, Towards a One UN, and Conflict Sensitivity. While there were many lessons learned by UNIRP certain inherent trends began to emerge throughout the duration of the Programme. Through these “Knowledge Management Documents” the project tried to capture the key themes and prominent areas it worked on. UNIRP launched in June 2010 to assist with the rehabilitation and reintegration of Verified Minors and Late Recruits (VMLR) who were discharged from the Maoist army, was completed in July 2013. As a United Nations interagency initiative between UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA and ILO the project illustrates excellent collaboration and cooperation to deliver effectively as One UN. At USD 11.9 million, this project was the largest of all the projects funded by the UNPFN. The purpose of these documents is to offer best practices and lessons learned from the Nepal Peace Process to assist similar programmes in other post-conflict countries around the world. The information provided can be used as guiding documents, though every post-conflict situation is different and certain aspects may not work in all contexts.
• UNPFN Monitoring & Evaluation Framework - Strategic Overview: All Projects 2011, All Projects 2007-2012, and All Projects 2007-2013
• UNPFN Factsheet (March 2013)
• An Independent Review of the UNPFN (Aug 2011) was conducted from May to June 2011 by international and national consultants from the Organisation Development Centre, a Nepali consulting firm. The main objective of the review was to assess and examine the UNPFN’s role and contribution to the peace-building process in Nepal. In doing this, the review specifically examined the UNPFN's: i) Governance, technical and financial systems and performance; ii) Role as a complement to national mechanisms; iii) Contribution to more coherent international and UN peace-building support; iv) Cumulative achievements in support of peace-building in Nepal; and v) Lessons learned with regards to peace-building in Nepal. The review team engaged over 60 key stakeholders and conducted an extensive literature review. The final report not only examines the cumulative peace-building accomplishments of UNPFN projects, but highlights the evolution of the UNPFN and its ‘value-added’ impact as an instrument, with constructive advice for measures to strengthen the approaches and operations of the UNPFN in the future.
• UNIRP Newsletter: Rehabilitation Update (February 2013)
• UN PBF Releases Further $8 million to Nepal (29 June 2012)
• UN RC Op-ed: UN Support to the Verified Minors and Late Recruits (12 February 2012)
• Nepal becomes free of minefields - UNPFN contribution acknowledged (13 Jul 2011)
• The Nepal Peace and Development Strategy, a contribution to development planning from Nepal’s international development partners, was presented to the Right Honourable Prime Minister and Nepali political parties on 12 January 2011. Read the Media Release and visit the PDS website for additional information.
• Voice of Victims – Transitional Justice in Nepal (OHCHR, 28 Jul 2010)

Overview

Following more than a decade of internal conflict in Nepal, a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CAP) was signed on 21 November 2006. The Government of Nepal, in February 2007, established the Nepal Peace Trust Fund (NPTF) as a mechanism for interested donors to contribute to the peace process through direct contributions to the Government.

In March 2007, to complement the NPTF, the United Nations Peace Fund for Nepal (UNPFN) was created to mobilize resources to the UN system in Nepal in support of activities of clear, short-term relevance to the peace process. Key features of the UNPFN include:

•    Delivering focused, time-limited support for urgent peace process and early recovery tasks;
•    Complementing the NPTFund and other existing mechanisms by focusing only on tasks that cannot be funded or implemented through existing Government mechanisms;
•    Ensuring governance arrangements are the same as the Nepal Peace Trust Fund to promote a harmonised and coherent approach;
•    Providing rapid and flexible responses to requests whilst ensuring a strategic UN approach that is sensitive to the unique needs of Nepal’s transitional environment; and
•    Enhancing UN and donor coordination and alignment to ensure more coherent international support to Nepal.

The UNPFN is administered by the  Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in accordance with its financial regulations and rules.

The UNPFN and the Peacebuilding Fund in Nepal: In addition to direct donor contributions to the UNPFN, an $18 million PBF allocation to Nepal is channeled through the UNPFN funding mechanism. This is composed of a $10 million contribution to the first Nepal Priority Plan and an $8 million contribution for the second Priority Plan. Note that this UNPFN Factsheet does not include financial information related to the PBF allocations. . For an overview of all activities in Nepal funded through MDTFs and JPs administered by the MPTF Office, click here.

Assistance Strategy

The UNPFN finances projects carried out within a framework of strategic priorities developed to assist with the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. It complements the peace initiatives launched by the government and financed by the NPTF and other development partners. Only those activities that cannot be funded or implemented through the Government’s NPTF, through the reprogramming of existing projects, or through other existing mechanisms will be funded. The UNPFN is further expected to enhance UN coordination in support of the peace process as well as to contribute to UN coherence, efficiency and aid effectiveness in relation to the peace process.

The UNPFN operates, to the extent possible, based on best practices and principles that normally apply in a post-conflict situation, including the guidelines of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on "Helping to Prevent Violent Conflict" and "Principles for Good International Engagement in Fragile States".

The UNPFN is particularly designed to enable rapid delivery of essential peace support activities responsive to the demands of a changing environment. The UNFPN fosters activities under five main priority areas:

•    Cantonments/Reintegration: Improving living conditions in the cantonments that host the Maoist army; registration/verification and reintegration of combatants, late recruits and minors; disposal of mines and other unexploded devices;
•    Elections/Governance/Mediation: Technical advice and logistic support on elections/constitutional issues; assistance to restore government at the local level;
•    Recovery/Quick Impact Projects: Time-sensitive and high impact projects to particularly vulnerable communities where the absence of a ‘peace dividend’ would represent a proximate threat to the peace process;
•    Security: Restoration of law and order, especially in the countryside; and
•    Rights and Reconciliation: Assistance to initiatives related to transitional justice, national monitoring mechanisms of the peace process and local reconciliation.

Governance

In order to avoid duplication of effort and ensure strategic coherence in support of the peace process, the UN Peace Fund for Nepal (UNPFN) and the Government’s Nepal Peace Trust Fund (NPTF) functions within the same governance structure.

The NPTF Board
The Government-led NPTF Board provides overall policy guidance to the operations of the UNPFN and the NPTF. It is responsible for identifying funding needs and priorities for the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement; helping define major programmatic priorities for the UNPFN; ensuring coherence between peace support activities funded from various channels (including the Government’s NPTF and the UNPFN); and reviewing financial flows and performance as needed to facilitate a harmonized approach to monitoring and evaluation of peace support activities. The NPTF Board is convened as required under the chairmanship of the Minister of Peace and Reconstruction. Decisions regarding Board guidance to the UNPFN are made by consensus with the participation as full members of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the UN Resident Coordinator.

The Donor Group
The Donor Group helps to avoid the emergence of gaps and duplication in funding, as well as ensure that support to the UNPFN complements support to the Government’s NPTF and other existing funding mechanisms. The Donor Group provides advice to the Board on the operations of the NPTF and UNPFN and comprises of all donors that have paid-in contributions or made commitments to either of the two funds, or the two combined, amount to a minimum of USD 200,000 per donor, although smaller amounts may be considered on an exceptional, case-by-case basis. The Donor Group is responsible for providing strategic advice on the Fund, through the NPTF Board and the Executive Committee; reviewing progress of the UNPFN’s operations and ensuring an efficient approach to reporting to all its donors; ensuring coherence and coordination between activities funded from the UNPFN and those financed by the same donors through other channels; and, when requested to do so, advising other donors on the most appropriate allocation of resources, based on needs, priorities and absorptive capacities.

The UNPFN Executive Committee
The Executive Committee (Executive Committee Terms of Reference and Rules of Procedure) reviews and approves proposals and allocates resources of the UNPFN. It is composed of a Government representative (currently the Director of the NPTF), a representative of the Donor Group (currently the Ambassador of Denmark to Nepal) and the UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC), as Chairperson. The UNRC serves as Chair and the RSG as the Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is also responsible for reviewing and defining the UNPFN's requirements and priorities in consultation with the NPTF Board and Donor Group; reviewing and approving the Fund's annual reports; making a formal report and bringing recommendations to the Donor Advisory Group at meetings of the latter; and recommending improvements to project design and/or implementation to make them more effective and efficient in supporting the peace process.

The Technical Expert / Sectoral Cluster Groups
All UNPFN project proposals are reviewed by technical experts / sectoral cluster groups convened by the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (MoPR) which also provides a technical review of all NPTF project proposals. The groups are chaired by Joint Secretaries from the MoPR who are responsible for coordinating NPTF Sectoral Cluster Groups. These groups comprise of technical experts from teh government, development partners, UN agencies and civil society. The Executive Committee is assisted in its work by an Expert Group responsible for reviewing project proposals prior to their submission to the Executive Committee. The members of the Expert Group are nominated by the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee.

Administrative Agent
The United Nations Development Programme’s Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) has been designated as the Administrative Agent for the UNPFN. Its responsibilities as Administrative Agent include the receipt, administration and management of contributions from donors; disbursement of funds to the Participating UN Organizations in accordance with instructions from the Executive Committee; and consolidation of narrative and financial reports produced by each of the Participating UN Organizations and provision of these reports to the Executive Committee for onward submission to donors.

Decision-Making Process

The projects and operations of the UN Peace Fund for Nepal (UNPFN) are designed and carried out under the overall guidance of the Government-led NPTF Board in consultation with the Donor Group, which provides advice on the operation of the UNPFN, and in accordance with the instructions of the Executive Committee, which manages the UNPFN activities.

Eligibility

Any Participating Organization (UN entity) that has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the UNDP MPTF Office, as the Administrative Agent of the UNPFN, is eligible for funding under the UNPFN and may prepare and submit project proposals. Non-UN entities, such as international and national organizations, interested in applying for funding to the UNPFN may submit projects through a relevant Participating Organization.

Application and Allocation Process

When there are sufficient un-earmarked funds available for a competitive funding round, the following process is followed to promote transparency, effectiveness and coordination of UN peace building activities:

•    Step 1. A limited number of strategic outcomes are selected for the funding round in consultation with the Government, donor and the UNCT. UNCT members are invited to apply on a competitive basis.
•    Step 2. Participating UN Organizations provide the UNPFN Executive Committee Support Office with short concept notes outlining their proposed projects which will contribute to the strategic outcomes selected for the funding round.
•    Step 3. The UNPFN Executive Committee convenes to view the concept notes and gives provisional approval for the best concept notes with agreement on notional allocations.
•    Step 4. Successful applicants prepare the full project proposals in close consultation with the UNPFN Executive Committee Support Office.
•    Step 5. Proposals are formally reviewed by the UNPFN Support Office and Expert / Sectoral Cluster Groups are convened by the MoPR / NPTF to provide constructive technical assessment based on specified criteria.
•    Step 6. The UNPFN Executive Committee reviews and approves the final project proposals, submitting the approved project to the Administrative Agent, the MPTF Office, for the release of funds.