Panama

The United Nations in Panama 

The United Nations in Panama began operations in 1951. In 2005, the United Nations Regional Centre in America was established in the country. Currently, various UN agencies, funds, programmes, and offices operate with national, subregional, and regional programmes. 

The work of the United Nations in the country is people-centred and focuses on supporting the Panamanian state to close the inequality and poverty gaps that prevent all people from enjoying their rights and reaching their full potential to fulfill with the commitment of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs promise to “Leave no one behind”. 

To this end, the UN's work in Panama is established through a five-year agreement with the National Government called the Development Cooperation Framework, which establishes the key lines for the cooperation of the United Nations system in the country. 

Our agenda in the country reflects the global consensus among the UN member states, which includes Panama, as one of the founding countries of the organization in 1945. The agreement was reached with all national counterparts, including the private sector, the academia, civil society, and government institutions. 

The work of the United Nations system is led by the figure of the Resident Coordinator, who coordinates and supports the comprehensive efforts of the agencies, funds and programmes to address and respond to Panama’s priorities in terms of sustainable development. 

Contributions 

1. Access to quality services. We work together with the authorities and national counterparts to close inequality gaps and improve access to quality services that contribute to the expansion of protection and care systems, better quality  education and health services, prevention mechanisms for all types of violence, and advancements to achieve gender equality. 
    
2. Governance, institutions and justice. We join the country to achieve participatory governance with strong, effective, transparent, and inclusive national and local institutions that work and provide services to the population that guarantees their human rights at the national level without any exclusion. The goal is to ensure that no one is left behind.
    
3. Environment and climate change. We work with national counterparts in the design and development of public policies to improve the capacity for adaptation and mitigation of climate change, to protect biodiversity, and reduce the risk of disasters with a gender perspective, accounting for the life cycle of people, its interculturality and always guaranteeing human rights. 
    
4. Human rights. We work together with our national counterparts to achieve inclusive and comprehensive protection of rights, with a broad focus on the prevention and care of all forms of violence and discrimination, considering gender, life cycle, ethnicity and/or people in any vulnerable condition. 

To learn more, visit: https://panama.un.org/.