Governance
Illustration of the common governance arrangements for the
Government's Nepal Peace Trust Fund and the UN Peace Fund for Nepal
(click for larger version)
In order to avoid duplication of effort and ensure strategic coherence in support of the peace process, the United Nations Peace Fund for Nepal (UNPFN) and the Government’s Nepal Peace Trust Fund (NPTF) functions within the same governance structure.
Steering Committee
The Government-led Steering Committee provides overall policy guidance to the operations of the UNPFN and the NPTF. It is responsible for identifying funding needs and priorities for 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 Steering Committee is convened as required under the chairmanship of the Minister of Finance. Decisions regarding Steering Committee 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 Advisory Group
The Donor Advisory 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 Advisory Group provides advice to the Steering Committee on the operations of the NPTF and UNPFN and comprises of all donors whose paid-in contributions or binding 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 Advisory Group is responsible for providing strategic advice on the Fund, through the Steering Committee 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 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 designated by the Steering Committee, a donor representative designated by the Donor Advisory Group, the Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG), the UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC) and representatives of Participating UN Organizations or implementing partners as needed. The SRSG serves as Chair and the UNRC as 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 Steering Committee and Donor Advisory 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 Expert Group
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; the Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) and the UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC) respectively.
Administrative Agent
The United Nations Development Programme’s Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) 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.
