UN DEMOCRACY FUND - INTERNATIONAL
News: UN
fund launched in 2005 on sidelines of India-US N-deal
What's in the news?
● Recently
India said that it has no objections to the UN Democracy Fund(UNDEF) giving
grants to NGOs funded by George Soros, while he is put on the watchlist in
India underlines a contradiction.
Key takeaways:
● India and the US were
prime movers behind the UN Democracy Fund in 2005,
when they were negotiating the civilian nuclear co-operation deal.
UN Democracy Fund:
● It
was established in 2005 as a United
Nations General Trust Fund to strengthen global participation in
democratisation efforts.
● The
UNDEF has funded several significant projects over the years, including empowering civil society, promoting human
rights, and encouraging participation of all groups in democratic processes.
● UNDEF
projects are two years long, with project grants ranging from $100,000 to
$300,000.
● It
also backs a number of major global and regional projects with a normative and
policy focus.
Funding:
● UNDEF
works entirely on voluntary
contributions from governments around the world.
● Presently,
the United States (first) followed by Sweden (second) top the contributor
chart, respectively and India is in third position.
Financial Support:
● UNDEF
provides financial support for the projects depending on the six thematic areas, including
○ Rule
of law and human rights
○ Women’s
empowerment
○ Youth
engagement
○ Strengthening
civil society interaction with government
○ Media
and freedom of information
○ Electoral
processes.
● The
Fund supports projects that strengthen the voice of civil society, promote
human rights, and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic
processes.
● India
considers the Fund to be an effective instrument for the promotion of democratic values and processes.
India and UNDEF:
● India
and the US were prime movers behind the UN Democracy Fund in 2005, when they
were negotiating the civilian nuclear cooperation deal.
● India
also handed over a voluntary contribution of US $150,000 to the UN Democracy
Fund for the year 2022–23.
● India
is a founding partner of the UNDEF and has contributed over US$ 32 million to
the fund since its inception.