GENEVA (ILO News) – United Nations Volunteers will be given the chance to take part in the International Labour Organization’s work, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.

Moussa Oumarou, ILO Deputy Director-General for Field Operations and Partnerships, and Olivier Adam, Executive Coordinator of UN Volunteers (UNV), signed the agreement on 9 March 2020, at ILO headquarters in Geneva.

“Volunteering plays an important role in promoting social justice and human and labour rights – which is at the heart of the ILO’s mandate,” said Oumarou. “I am delighted that the ILO and its constituents will have the chance to benefit from the skills and enthusiasm of UN Volunteers.”

“We are delighted to sign this partnership agreement to mobilize qualified and highly motivated UN Volunteers to support ILO’s important work and increase the recognition of volunteerism as a valued means of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Adam.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding, UN Volunteers may be deployed in field duty stations to support the implementation of ILO projects.

The ILO is already collaborating with UNV on measuring the impact of volunteering, and has conducted a global review of national practices in measuring volunteer work. In addition, it has developed, tested and provided advice on new survey tools in several countries. The ILO has also supported UNV research on the relationship between volunteer work and labour market prospects for youth, as a contribution to the UNV-International Federation of the Red Cross Global Technical Meeting on Volunteering, which takes place later this year.