About the Fund

The ISHONCH Fund, also known as the Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund, was established in 2022 further to the Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the Government of Uzbekistan on the modalities for the return of illegally acquired assets forfeited in the Swiss Confederation to the benefit of the population of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Standard administrative arrangement). The Fund will support principled, transparent, and effective asset restitution via programs aimed at accelerating the Government of Uzbekistan’s national reform agenda and the SDGs. 

The Fund aims at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in Uzbekistan by 2030. It is anchored in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2021-25 (UNSDCF) and its successors. The UNSDCF was developed through participatory and inclusive consultations with national stakeholders, UN entities, contributors, IFIs and other development partners. Any successor UNSDCF would undergo the same level of rigorous consultation.  

Strategic Approach

The Fund operates in the spirit of the UN Development System reform and the relevant Strategic Partnership Frameworks between the UN and UN Specialized Agencies for Agenda 2030, and it is grounded in the following principles:

  • The Fund will support policy and programme coherence, ensuring robust inter-ministerial and development partner coordination in the focus areas of all interventions, as well as by striving to fill critical gaps and supporting underfinanced priorities.

  • As a substantive vehicle attracting technical assistance to Uzbekistan’s national SDGs, the Fund will aim to reduce fragmentation and improve coordination and impact with respect to agreed programmatic priorities.

  • The Fund will apply the highest normative standards and mainstream core principles of leaving no one behind, a human rights-based approach to development, gender equality and women’s empowerment, public participation, resilience, sustainability, transparency and accountability.

Governance

The Fund is governed in a transparent manner using a well documented governance structure:

  • The bilateral High-level Strategic Committee maintains political dialogue on the restitution, provides recommendations on the strategic direction and structure of the Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund, and provides oversight over its strategic direction.

  • The Management Committee is responsible for the management of the Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund. It is co-chaired by its members with voting rights, which include one representative of Uzbekistan, one representative of Switzerland and the UN Resident Coordinator in Tashkent.

  • The Secretariat is housed in the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Tashkent. It supports the Management Committee and the High-Level Strategic Committee in all their tasks and is responsible for the daily management of the Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund.

  • The Administrative Agent is the UNDP Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF-O), a service provider for the UN system on UN multi-partner trust funds design and administration. The MPTFO administers the funds transferred to the Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund, in accordance with decisions by the Management Committee.

  • The Civil Society Advisory Council is composed of representatives of national and international civil society organizations, and academia. It ensures interaction between the Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund and civil society through a consultative role.

  • Programme implementation is the responsibility of Implementing Organizations, which include Participating UN Organizations (PUNOs) and any UN Specialized Agencies that have a signed MOU or equivalent with the Administrative Agent. Each Implementing Organization will assume full programmatic and financial accountability for the funds disbursed to it by the Administrative Agent. The designated convening/lead agency for each Joint Programme will be responsible for coordination of interventions between Implementing Organizations. Allocated funds will be administered by each Implementing Organization in accordance with its own regulations, rules, directives, and procedures.

Thematic Priorities

The programmatic scope and theory of change of the Fund are anchored by the current UNSDCF (2021-2025) and its successors. The current UNSDCF focuses on three strategic priorities with five outcomes:

Effective governance and justice for all:

  • Outcome 1 - All people and groups in Uzbekistan, especially the most vulnerable, demand and benefit from enhanced accountable, transparent, inclusive and gender responsive governance systems and rule of law institutions for a life free from discrimination and violence (national SDGs: 1, 5, 8, 10, 16, and 17).

  • Outcome 2 - The population of Uzbekistan benefits from more harmonized and integrated implementation of the reform agenda due to strengthened policy coherence, evidence-based and inclusive decisionmaking and financing for development mainstreamed in line with national SDGs (national SDGs: 1, 5, 10, 16, and 17).

Inclusive human capital development leading to health, well-being and resilient prosperity:

  • Outcome 3 - Youth, women and vulnerable groups benefit from improved access to livelihoods, decent work and expanded opportunities generated by inclusive and equitable economic growth (national SDGs: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, and 11).

  • Outcome 4 - The most vulnerable benefit from enhanced access to gender-sensitive quality health, education and social services (national SDG 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, and 16).

Sustainable, climate-responsible and resilient development:

  • Outcome 5 - The most at-risk regions and communities of Uzbekistan are more resilient to climate change and disasters, and benefit from increasingly sustainable and gender-sensitive efficient management of natural resources and infrastructure, robust climate action, inclusive environmental governance and protection (national SDGs: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 15).