It was early 2015 when I heard about UNV at an international job fair in Berlin. I had graduated with a law degree and newly qualified as a magistrate, with professional experience at the European Commission in Brussels. I was looking for opportunities that would take me far, and not place me behind a desk handling legal cases. While at the job fair, I attended an information session on German lawyers at the UN. Coincidently, the person leading that session was a former UN Volunteer, and that's how my journey in the UN system began.

The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), established in September 2014, now has over 305 UN Volunteers. On the occasion of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, we share a video message from Mr Emmanuel K. Agawu, Chief of Operations and Resource Management at MINUSCA.

Astrid Aulanier-Rebeschini (France) and Gilbert Kilimo (Kenya) are UN Volunteers working to combat accelerated nature degradation by promoting biodiversity conservation strategies. Astrid, who is 23 years old, supervises biodiversity management with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Benin. Her passion for issues related to biodiversity and global warming brought her to Cotonou. Her role as a UN Volunteer is to make a lasting impact on the lives of people through the implementation of projects to protect biodiversity.

Coming to CAR was not an easy decision because I had to leave my family and friends in Guinea Bissau where I am from. I am motivated to gain new experiences with the UN, growing in the organization, and contributing to peace and stability worldwide. As a UN Volunteer, I am here not only to promote peace but also to assist populations. And it is possible to do it in different ways.

Ronald Cumberbatch is an international UN Volunteer from Guyana, serving as an Energy and Environment Specialist with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Liberia. He has been supporting the Good Grow Partnership (GGP) programme for almost 3 years. Launched in 2017, the GGP programme is aimed at reducing deforestation caused by mass production of global key commodities. It also focuses on facilitating strong supply chains and creating an enabling environment in support of sustainable production.

Whether with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Missions in Mali (MINUSMA), the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), or the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSO), female UN Volunteers address the root causes of conflicts and evolving security challenges that impact the people.

UN Peacekeeping is one of the largest United Nations partners of the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme. In 2019, more than 2,000 UN Volunteers served with UN Peacekeeping in 17 different missions around the world, contributing to protection and peacebuilding efforts and promoting volunteerism across the United Nations system.

UN Volunteers assigned to UN entities such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), play important roles, advocating for improvements in environmental management and engaging communities to protect the ecosystem. In 2017, 266 UN Volunteers in West and Central Africa, or 17 per cent of all volunteers deployed in the region, served in assignments linked to environmental issues.

The UN sets aside 29 May as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers to honour the memory of UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the cause of peace. The Day is also to pay tribute to the estimated one million men and women who have served and continue to serve under the blue flag with professionalism, dedication and courage since the first UN peacekeeping mission was deployed in 1948.