UN Kosovo Team Results Report 2020

Key development partners of the UN in Kosovo:

In a year marked by the COVID-19 crisis, Resources Mobilised in 2020 ($54 m) partnerships were strengthened for renewed efforts to support the people of Kosovo to overcome the devastating effects of the pandemic. Existing areas of cooperation were deepened while new ones emerged both as an immediate response to the pandemic and for green, sustainable recovery.

The close coordination with key UNKT partners in the implementation of its CDP 2016–2020 is reflected in the extensive consultations the UNKT carried out in 2020 in the formulation of its five-year successor document to the CDP (the Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2021–2025), with over 400 participants from the government, the private sector, academia, representatives of groups left behind, and the extensive network of civil society with whom the UNKT regularly interacts.

Funding of UNKT’s CDP 2016–2020 and its Socio-Economic Response Plan (SERP) has been mostly provided by local donor contributions, with an unprecedented USD 49.4 million contributed during 2020 for implementation in 2020 and beyond, in addition to USD 4.6 million of United Nations funding. This USD 54 million envelope is divided into USD 41 million for the SERP and USD 13 million for the CDP, highlighting the importance of the COVID-19 response. These local contributions are complementary to the indispensable core contributions provided by key donors to agencies, funds and programmes of the UNKT globally.

While a major focus of this year’s cooperation has been on responding to COVID-19, bilateral agreements have also continued supporting agencies in areas such as: innovations for youth (Austria); dealing with conflict legacies and building communalities through language (UK); occupational safety and health (Sweden); anti-corruption (Switzerland); combatting cybercrime (Norway); and fighting child labour (USA). Multilateral partners, such as the Council of Europe Development Bank and the European Union (EU), have supported the inclusion of migrants and refugees, employment, and ending violence against women. The United Nations’ Multi-Partner Trust Fund and the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund have supported the UNKT in combating arms tracking and empowering youth to overcome division. Private partnerships have been expanded with banks, businesses and technology companies, and the COVID-19 response saw UNKT for the first time partner up for the distribution of in-kind donations to affected communities.

Coordination has been essential to the UNKT, which has played a constructive role through engagement in fora, co-chair of the health donor coordination group and in the EU Member States+ donor coordination group. As part of the COVID-19 vaccination committee, established by the Ministry of Health, and by providing strategic advice on the targeting and delivery of 15 economic recovery measures adopted by the government during 2020, the United Nations have played a critical role in helping Kosovo respond to the pandemic.