The General Assembly designated May 29th as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers by adopting resolution 57/129 in 2002. Today, we recognise the more than 88,000 troops and police from 124 countries, joined by nearly 14,000 civilians, who are deployed to UN peacekeeping missions around the world. Over the past decades, UN Volunteers have been part of these important efforts to support peacekeeping operations in war-torn areas. Watch our historic video on UN Volunteers in Peacekeeping to see where and how.

I have a law and human rights back ground, and I strongly believe that bullets have never been a source of peace in any setting. 

UN Volunteer Lucy Tabot Akabum is a Human Rights Officer at the UN Joint Human Rights Office of MONUSCO in Bukavu, in eastern DRC. She was one of ten UN Volunteers who contributed to the Volunteer Initiatives for Peace and Development (VIPD) project to provide clean water for 39 orphans. 

In 2019, over 1,500 UN Volunteers are assigned to peacekeeping operations worldwide, of which 1,317 are serving in Africa. In West and Central Africa specifically, they play an active role to protect the most vulnerable, through various assignments in Human Rights, Civil Affairs, Political Affairs and Logistics. In addition, a significant number of UN Volunteer Movement Control Officers and Air Operations Assistants provide technical support to facilitate and coordinate the movements of peacekeepers and civilian personnel of the missions. 

In Niger, in response to an urgent call for assistance in dealing with an overwhelming number of suspects detained on terrorism charges, UNODC recruited and trained ten lawyers as national UN volunteers to assist in improving access to justice and providing legal assistance to detainees associated with Boko Haram or affiliated to the Islamic State.

In Niger, in response to an urgent call for assistance in dealing with an overwhelming number of suspects detained on terrorism charges, UNODC recruited and trained ten lawyers as national UN volunteers to assist in improving access to justice and providing legal assistance to detainees associated with Boko Haram or affiliated to the Islamic State.

The implementation of Agenda 2030 in Latin America and the Caribbean requires an intercultural approach that favors integration and inclusion, especially relevant for the establishment of joint work and dialogue with communities identified values and traditions of the vast and varied range of indigenous peoples that inhabit the region

In my youth, I often volunteered with orphanages and animal rescue organizations in my country. Although I felt that I could and should do more to help build a better world, I didn’t know where to start. This was until I delved into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I then realized that what I wanted was a volunteer assignment within the United Nations system, particularly in a place where I could advocate for equality, respect for diversity and peace and development. I applied for a UNV assignment and was accepted as an Air Operations Assistant with UNMISS.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a vast country with a large number of UN Volunteers (currently almost 460) serving in 25 different duty stations (including the Entebbe Support Base in Uganda). Over 80 per cent of these volunteers serve with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democractic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). The remainder serve with seven other UN agencies, funds and programmes.

By joining the United Nations as a volunteer, Dany, as his patients call him, hopes that his medical expertise and day-to-day contributions will help promote peace in the country. 'When I arrived, I first assessed the health risks related to the region and set up the clinic with care services for the patients," says Dr. Daniel. Ndele is one of the regions of CAR with a small government presence, including police and security forces, and where MINUSCA's priority is to gradually restore the state of authority by facilitating the conditions for their redeployment.