The United Nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mostar Old Bridge, UN Day 2020

The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) is the main inter-agency mechanism in the country for inter-agency coordination, coherence and decision-making. It is led by the Resident Coordinator and composed of the representatives of the UN Sustainable Development Group (UN SDG) entities that are signatories to the 2021-2025 United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and carry out operational activities for sustainable development and implementation of the UNSDCF in BiH.   Under the current 2021-2025 UNSDCF, 12 resident and 6 non-resident United Nations entities contribute to the defined UNSDCF outcomes by complementing and coordinating their available expertise and capacities.

UNCT coordinates its work closely with the entities that are not UNSDCF signatories, including the Bretton Woods institutions, OCHA, UNDSS, UNIC, UN Peace and Political entities, in order to maximize the impact of the 2021-2025 UNSDCF implementation.

Milestones

1

Bosnia and Herzegovina became a United Nations Member State on 22 May 1992. Since then, Bosnia and Herzegovina held mandates in UN Security Council, Human Rights Council and UN Peacebuilding Commission, and continues to contribute to UN Peacekeeping missions across the world. In 2019, Bosnia and Herzegovina presented its first Voluntary National Review for the Agenda2030 and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.

2

The BiH Council of Ministers officially adopted the “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Framework in BiH” on 8 April 2021, following the previous endorsement by the entity and Brcko District authorities. As such, the SDGs Framework in BiH represents a country-wide strategic vision of sustainable development recognizing the importance of the SDGs as an opportunity to significantly improve social, economic and environmental aspects of life within the country and to enhance regional cooperation. 

3

The work of the United Nations in BiH is guided by the comprehensive 2021-2025 UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), endorsed by the BiH Council of Ministers in December 2020, approved by the BiH Presidency in March 2021, and officially signed on 20 May 2021.

 

4

The 2021- 2025 UNSDCF outlines 4 strategic priorities for joint work by 2025: Sustainable, resilient and inclusive growth; Quality, accessible and inclusive education, health and social protection; People centered governance and rule of law; and Citizen and community engagement for social cohesion. 

5

UN Generally Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution A/RES/72/279 on the repositioning of the United Nations development system in May 2018, establishing a new generation of the UN Country Teams through a revitalized, strategic and results-oriented United Nations development partnership framework and a reinvigorated Resident Coordinator system separated from UNDP, accountable directly to the UN Secretary-General and structured reporting and relationship model between the Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team members.

6

BiH Council of Ministers officially established the 2021-2025 UNSDCF Joint Steering Committee between the United Nations and the authorities in BiH in April 2022, responsible for the strategic oversight of the 2021-2025 UNSDCF implementation in BiH ensuring full alignment of the UN activities with the SDGs, UNSDCF and other priorities in BiH, stronger coordination and cohesion between the UN agencies in BiH and reduction of transaction costs for the authorities in BiH.

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The Sustainable Development Goals in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the earth’s environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. These are the goals the UN is working on in Bosnia and Herzegovina:

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