Voluntary Trust Fund for the purpose of assisting developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, land-locked developing countries and small island developing States

Background

Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 69/292 of 19 June 2015, a special voluntary trust fund was established for the purpose of assisting developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, land-locked developing countries and small island developing States, in attending the meetings of the Preparatory Committee and the intergovernmental conference by providing for economy round-trip airfare for delegates. Pursuant to resolution 72/249 of 24 December 2017, the trust fund will include daily subsistence allowance in addition to defraying the costs of economy-class travel, limiting requests for assistance from this trust fund to one delegate per State for each session.

Contributions

Currently, the Trust Fund has very limited capacity to provide assistance to representatives from developing countries. Pursuant to paragraph 20 of resolution 72/249, Member States, international financial institutions, donor agencies, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and natural and juridical persons are invited to make financial contributions to the Trust Fund. Contributions received before 15 January 2020 will be crucial to the provision of assistance to as many representatives as possible from developing countries in attending the fourth session of the Conference.

Application process

Each request for financial assistance shall be considered by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs. In considering the applications the Division shall be guided by: the need to give priority to requests for assistance from least developed countries, land-locked developing countries and small island developing States; the need to finance the participation of one participant per requesting State; the need for equitable geographical representation; the timeliness of applications; and the availability of funds. If the number of requests for assistance exceeds the availability of funds, the Division may engage an advisory panel of experts composed of one representative from each of the United Nations regional groups to assist the Division with the evaluation of the requests for assistance and the selection of the recipients.

Application details

The application package, to be sent by Governments through their Permanent Missions to the United Nations, must contain the following:

1. A communication from the Government requesting financial assistance from the Voluntary Trust Fund for the delegate who will attend the meeting, clearly indicating the following:
   
   1. The name, date of birth and detailed contact information for the delegate;
   2. The dates during which the delegate will be required to attend the meeting;
   3. What assistance with respect to travel, if any, will be provided to the delegate by the Government;
2. A completed and signed Application Form;
3. A copy of the passport biodata page and any required visas for the delegate; and
4. A completed and signed F.249 banking form for the delegate and verification of bank account information (e.g. voided check)

It is important to note that economy round-trip airline tickets will be issued directly by the United Nations in due course. It is of the utmost importance that the beneficiaries of the travel assistance do not purchase their own tickets. Furthermore, the delegate will be requested to provide the Division with copies of all boarding passes as a condition for assistance.

Deadline

Applications should be made as soon as possible to the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea no later than 31 January 2020. The Secretariat will not be in a position to accept incomplete or late applications. Applications may be sent by email to: doalos@un.org or delivered to:

Office of Legal Affairs
Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea 
United Nations Headquarters 
Room No. DC2-0450 
New York, NY 10017 

Application Form 

F.249 Banking Form