UNV highlights women UN Volunteers in peacekeeping

International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers
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Today we recognize and pay tribute to the over 1,500 UN Volunteers currently serving across nine UN peacekeeping missions in: Abyei (UNISFA), Central African Republic (MINUSCA), Darfur/Sudan (UNAMID), Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Haiti (MINUJUSTUH), Kosovo (UNMIK), Mali (MINUSMA), South Sudan (UNMISS), and Western Sahara (MINURSO). With a view to leaving no one behind in the promotion of peace, UNV encourages the participation of women in Peacekeeping Missions and dedicates this year's International Day of Peacekeepers to women all over the world volunteering for peace and justice.

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.

Where human rights are protected, peace will prevail

Shree Adhikari
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Shree Adhikari, UN Volunteer Human Rights Officer with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) tells his story of commitment to peace and human rights in his assignment.

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 Volunteers go above and beyond in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo
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UN Volunteers often go beyond the duties that are assigned to them and reach out to communities to volunteer in other ways as well. In Dungu, a town in the Province Orientiale in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), ten UN Volunteers took it upon themselves to address water and hygiene issues at a local orphanage.

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. 

Supporting government efforts to implement SDGs with UNDP in Azerbaijan

Delawar Barekzai, international UN Volunteer with UNDP Azerbaijan
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Following Presidential Decree of 2016, the Azerbaijan government founded the National Coordination Council for Sustainable Development (NCCSD) to align their development programs with the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP has been supporting the government by nationalizing SDGs, prioritizing targets and indicators, and mainstreaming policy development and implementation. Currently serving as a UN Volunteer, SDG Policy Advisor; Delawar Barekzai joined UNDP Azerbaijan in August 2018, bringing with him almost 10 years of hands-on experience in the development field.

Having previously worked with multiple UN agencies on SDG nationalization and localization process, governance and multi-stakeholder approaches to inclusive development, Delawar believes his work as International UN Volunteer in Baku at the UNDP Country Office is making a real difference.

Fueling Change Through Green Energy Promotion in Kazakhstan

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The dream of changing the world for the better by helping those in need drove Alen Kuspanov to become a UN Volunteer in Kazakhstan. Holding a master’s degree in International Relations from KIMEP University, Kuspanov has been engaged with several UN agencies and projects in the country since 2013.

At present, Alen is working as a Procurement Assistant in a UNDP-GEF project on “Derisking Renewable Energy Investment,” which is connected with SDG #7: “Affordable and clean energy.” The significance of this project can be gauged from the fact that 40% of heat production in Kazakhstan is generated from centralized district heating systems that run on combined heat and power plants (typically coal-fired).  The remaining heat is produced by heat-only boilers, which often have low efficiencies.

Joint action plan between UNODC and UNV to strengthen crime prevention and justice

Vienna, Austria
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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.

Joint action plan between UNODC and UNV to strengthen crime prevention and justice

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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.

Promoting awareness of children’s lives affected by conflict in the Middle East

Rasha Abou Dargham, Marah Khalid, Nami Yasuda and Yuka Kuratsu
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Over 47 million people, especially the younger generations, are affected by conflict and crisis across the Arab States region, according to a UNESCO report published in 2017. More than 13 million children and youth are not going to school. Rasha, Yuka, Nami and Marah, all women UN Volunteers serving with UNICEF, are dedicated to communicating better on issues affecting children and youth in the Middle East.

Over the years, communicating effectively on issues affecting children and youth in the Middle East has become more challenging, as the public pays less and less attention to civil society and human rights violations.

Rasha Abou Dargham, originally from Lebanon, is serving as a UN Volunteer Social Media Officer with UNICEF in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Office in Amman. As a UN Volunteer, she is learning how to speak on behalf of children in a multicultural and demanding environment.

Local volunteers in Brazil promote the rights of LGTBI and work to prevent hostile public attitudes and discrimination

Lua Da Mota Stabile
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On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, UNV highlights the relevance of volunteer work in making progress towards SDG 10 and inclusion of LGTBI in Latin America and the Caribbean.

According to civil society organizations, one person is killed every 27 hours in Brazil because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and Brazil ranks first in the world in the number of trans people killed every year (TGEU, 2018). The country still has laws criminalizing homophobia and transphobia, and it does not have comprehensive public policies for the LGBTI population.

Female UN Volunteers on the frontline to protect civilians in Africa

International Day of UN Peacekeepers
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Civilian populations, especially women and children, are the ones who suffer the most when armed conflict, political and social upheavals break out. As a response, the protection of civilians has been at the heart of UN peacekeeping. Over the past decades, UNV has mobilized thousands of UN Volunteers to support peacekeeping operations in war-torn areas, especially in Africa.

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. 

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