United Nations Peace Fund for Nepal (UNPFN)

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.

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 cantonment that host the People Liberation Army (PLA); registration/verification and reintegration of combatants, late recruits and minors; disposal of mines and other unexploded devices;
• Elections/Governance: Technical advice and logistic support on elections/constitutional issues; assistance to restore government at 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.

The UNPFN is also expected to enhance UN coordination in support of the peace process and to contribute to coherence, efficiency and aid effectiveness in relation to the peace process.

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