Viet Nam - IOM in Viet Nam has joined a strategic and environmentally friendly initiative in the national’s capital Ha Noi, where a groundbreaking ceremony was held yesterday for the construction of the Green One UN House.

The enterprise is one of the six pillars of the “Delivering as One” reform initiative of the UN in Viet Nam, and will bring together staff from 14 agencies, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the UN and IOM’s development work. It will also allow substantial savings to be made by integrating various administrative services.

The eco-friendly building will be energy and water efficient, and will reduce the carbon footprint of the UN in Viet Nam. Work is already underway to ensure that staff also adopt ‘‘green” approaches in their daily work.

The Green One UN House is a joint endeavor between the Government of Viet Nam, donors and the UN Country Team, of which IOM is an active member. The government has contributed a high-value plot of land with some existing buildings and structures, and also granted a ten-year rent-free period for all agencies. Bilateral donors, including Australia, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, have financed the construction costs, alongside the participating agencies.

“IOM’s participation in the ‘Delivery as One’ reform process, and now in the Green One UN House is a  measure of our commitment to cooperate as closely as possible with UN agencies to enhance the impact of our work for the benefit of migrants and governments,” says IOM’s Chief of Mission for Viet Nam, Florian G. Forster.

The Green One UN House is expected to be ready for the participating agencies to move in during the first quarter of 2014.

The global “Delivering as One” reform initiative was launched in 2006 when the governments of eight countries – Albania, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uruguay, and Viet Nam – volunteered to become “Delivering as One” pilot countries.

The eight countries agreed to capitalize on the strengths and comparative advantages of the different members of the UN family and look at ways to increase the UN system’s impact in the development field.

In Viet Nam, the initiative brings together the expertise, experience and capacities of all UN agencies and IOM in the country to provide more coordinated and effective assistance. The six pillars of reform in Viet Nam include One Plan, One Budget, One Leader, One Set of Management Practices, One Voice and the Green One UN House.

For more information, please contact

Florian Forster
IOM Viet Nam
Tel. +84 9 03450196
Email: fforster@iom.int