Aid agencies revise operating guidelines

Fourteen aid agencies today revised and endorsed the Basic Operating Guidelines (BOG) in recognition of the federal structure of Nepal. The BOGs were first introduced in Nepal in 2003, in the context of the armed conflict and revised with minor changes in 2007.
The BOGs were developed as a way to keep development space open and to ensure the security of staff. They were effective in carrying out development work as they clearly explained operating principles to all concerned actors, in a clear and comprehensible manner, according to a press release issued by the United Nations (UN).
The release further reads that the current revision of BOGs has been undertaken in recognition to the federalised context of Nepal, which meant a difference in the way the development partners and their implementing partners operate.
Co-chair of the BOGs UN Resident Coordinator Valerie Julliand, on the occasion, said that the Basic Operating Guidelines have been revised to reflect the fundamental changes which have taken place in Nepal. “This does not only include the federalisation process, but also focuses on increasing development efforts at national, provincial and local level,” he said, adding that it reaffirms the commitment to the principles of accountability, impartiality, transparency, and inclusion.
Likewise, co-chair of the BOGs group ambassador of Switzerland Elisabeth von Capeller said that the BOG will continue to play an important role in supporting the implementation of federalisation as development partners will comply by using the BOGs as an entry point for the introduction of development activities at the federal, provincial and local level, wherever they work. “In addition to the existing thirteen signatories of the BOG, the American Embassy has also joined as a signatory.”