The United Nations in Nepal

The United Nations (UN) started its work in Nepal almost seventy years ago, when the Food and Agriculture Organization opened its office in Kathmandu in 1951. Since then, the UN presence has increased and now 17 UN Agencies are resident in Nepal, while an additional nine agencies have programming in country.

UN Agencies and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office make up the UN Country Team (UNCT), which is led by the Resident Coordinator. The UNCT is committed to working with the Government and the Nepali people in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and an inclusive and sustainable future for Nepal. We as the UN, are here to support Nepal in realizing its ambition for a prosperous and happy Nepal. The overall framework guiding the work of the UNCT is the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2018-2022, prepared in close collaboration with the Government of Nepal. The UNDAF has four outcome areas aligned with the Government of Nepal’s development priorities and international instruments to which Nepal is party:

  • Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Growth
  • Social Development
  • Resilience, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change
  • Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights

Considering that Nepal is also at risk of natural hazards such as earthquakes and flooding, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) works together with the Federal, Provincial and Local Governments to strengthen Nepal’s disaster risk preparedness and management, ensuring a swift and coordinated response in cases of emergency.

In all of our work, we are committed to advancing human rights, gender equality and social inclusion, ensuring that we reach those furthest behind.

Milestones

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Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Growth

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Social Development

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Resilience, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change

4

Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights

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Nepal was the first country to produce a national Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) report.

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Nepal holds historical elections in 2017, establishing the federal state and electing a total of 35,041 local representatives across 753 local levels. It marks a high point in women’s political representation in the region, with over 14,000 entering elected office. 2022 sees national and local elections, further strengthening Nepal’s democracy and federal state. 

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In 2020 Nepal carries out the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), reporting on actions the Government has taken to improve the human rights situation in the country. As part of this process, the UNCT submitted its own UPR Report to OHCHR

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The UN works in partnership with the Government to respond to the immediate health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and assists in addressing potential social and economic impacts of the crisis on vulnerable and marginalized groups.

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The UNCT in partnership with the Government embarks on the process of developing the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (SDCF) for 2022-2027

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The UN works in close collaboration with the Government, civil society, the humanitarian community and the people of Nepal on earthquake response and recovery in the aftermath of the devastating 2015 earthquakes.

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The Sustainable Development Goals in Nepal

Nepal committed to the SDGs early on, and this commitment has been reaffirmed in key policy documents, such as the current 15th Development Plan and the 25 Year Long-Term Vision 2100 that internalises the Goals. SDGs codes are assigned for all national development programmes through the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework. Further, Nepal has prepared the SDG Status and Roadmap to localize the SDG indicators with baselines and targets for 2030. Other key documents are a SDGs Needs Assessment, a Costing and Financing Strategy, and additional SDGs Localization Guidelines. Finally, Nepal has conducted a Development Finance Assessment (DFA) to provide an overview of development finance flows and institutions and policies that can align finance with national development priorities. These are the goals the UN is working on in Nepal: