text: assistance. It is now clear that there continues to be a strong demand for the operatlona} type of assistance (OPAS) in many countries, particularly those plagued with problems related to the drought situation, and whose relatively weak infrastructures often make it impossible to use effectively the additional resources provided by the international community. The UNV programme provides an excellent instrument for meeting this type of need especially as the average prior experience of the majority of volunteers ranges from five to seven years, and volunteers are now available in some 130 professional categories. oo.DP/1985/44 English Page 4 6. Summarizing, it may be said that UNV represents the twinning of technical skills and idealism. Based on its ability to recruit on a world-wide basis and its insistence on proven expertise, the programme has been able to weld these two qualities together in such a fashion as to ensure an appropriate, effective and economical response to the needs of the developing world. It is in recognition of these characteristics of voluntarism that the Administrator is raising the question of designating an annual international volunteer day. Major themes of activities in 1984 7. The year 1984 was a turning point as far as the direction of certain activities of UNV is concerned. Events and the resulting experiences demonstrated that, in addition to its regular functions, the UNV programme could be particularly suitable and effective in dealing with both operational assistance and emergency operations. The programme could also be instrumental in promoting participatory development activities. (See section I below.) A.Operational assistance 8. The Administrator maintains that effective international development activities require first and foremost the active and sustained participation of the recipient partner at all stages. Such participation is often severely hampered because of the lack of sufficient qualified cadres in the developing
analysis: The text discusses the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, which provides technical assistance to developing countries. The programme is focused on providing operational assistance, particularly in countries affected by drought and infrastructure weaknesses. This suggests that the text is related to humanitarian aid and relief efforts, as well as economic development.