Governing Bodies

The United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) is located in the United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP). The Advisory Board, the Programme Consultative Group (PCG), and the Office of the UN Democracy Fund are the three main organs of UNDEF.

The United Nations Democracy Fund is the Secretary-General’s Trust Fund. The Secretary-General obtains advice on the work of UNDEF from an Advisory Board composed of 19 members. The previous Advisory Board concluded its work at the end of 2008 and the Secretary-General has appointed his Advisory Board for 2009.

The 19 members of the Board comprise 13 Member States, four personal representatives of the Secretary-General and two non-governmental organizations.

The thirteen Member States that will serve on the Board in 2009 are the seven largest contributors to UNDEF, namely, Australia, France, Germany, India, Japan, Qatar and USA; and six countries to represent the balance of UN membership in accordance with equitable geographic representation, namely, Botswana, Lebanon, Mongolia, Panama, Slovenia and Trinidad and Tobago.

The personal representatives of the Secretary-General are Dr. Sanam Anderlini of the MIT Center for International Studies; Professor Michael Doyle of Columbia University (Chair of the Advisory Board); Mr. Amir A. Dossal, Executive Director of United Nations Office of Partnerships, and Dr. Ashraf Ghani, Chairman of the Institute for State Effectiveness.

The two non-governmental organizations are Femmes Africa Solidarité and The Asia Society.

The main purpose of the Advisory Board is to provide policy guidance for the development of programme and funding guidelines, and to recommend funding proposals for approval by the Secretary-General. It is expected that the UNDEF Advisory Board will meet three or four times during 2009.

The Secretary-General also conveyed his deep appreciation for retiring UNDEF Advisory Board members who served in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

The existing Terms of Reference of the UNDEF Advisory Board are currently under review by the Board Members.

The Programme Consultative Group (PCG) consists of seven representatives from different UN departments, agencies and programmes. Its purpose is to provide advice to the Advisory Board on programme funding criteria and on project proposals.

The Office of the UN Democracy Fund is headed by an Executive Head, who is supported by a small professional staff. The Office's core functions include among others to develop programme funding criteria, in consultation with the PCG; to solicit and receive proposals; and to conduct outreach activities.

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