United Nations peacekeeping remains one of the most effective tools to respond to today’s challenges of global peace and security. Every day, women and men who serve under the UN flag, put their lives on the line, protecting millions of civilians at risk, supporting fragile political processes and sustaining peace. They have been successful in helping countries like Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire return to peace.

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Recent peacekeeping missions have proved that supporting the fight against impunity and strengthening the justice sector are effective in engaging politically with stakeholders, not only in post-conflict settings, but also during conflicts. This lays the foundation of a more sustainable peace even before it is achieved.

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Volunteerism is all about efforts towards improving the life of others and leaving a place in a better condition than it was found. More than one billion people volunteer each year around the world, at home or abroad, including with the United Nations.

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For nearly two decades, UN Peacekeeping has been at the forefront of a complex security operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is mandated to protect civilians, build sustainable institutions of governance and promote state authority. MONUSCO is the UN’s longest standing multidimensional peacekeeping operation and the largest UN presence in the country.

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The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) completed its mandate in December 2005, ending seven years of UN peacekeeping in the country. The Mission helped the Government and people of Sierra Leone rebuild from the ruins of a devastating decade-long conflict. Over the course of the mission’s mandate, Sierra Leone underwent a remarkable turnaround from a war-ravaged country to a state steadily heading towards a future filled with hope and the promise of a better life for its people.

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On 30 March 2018, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) came to a successful end. This was a pivotal moment in history and the people and Government of Liberia welcomed the Mission’s conclusion after having achieved its mandate. The withdrawal of UNMIL signifies that Liberia is strongly positioned on the path of lasting stability, democracy and prosperity. Prior to UNMIL’s 15-year deployment, Liberia had gone through a long period of civil crises. The fighting that began in 1989 lasted until 2003. The country was torn apart by warring factions; leading to a complete breakdown in governance and rule of law. More than a quarter of million Liberians, mostly civilians, were killed. Thousands of others were displaced internally and beyond the borders, resulting in some 850,000 refugees in neighboring countries. For most Liberians, the war was senseless. It was a form of insanity.

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Some 8,000 women are currently deployed in our 14 peacekeeping missions across the world, more half of them wearing the police and military uniform. However, as the United Nations strives to reach gender parity by 2030, women represent less than 5% of the total uniformed personnel within our peacekeeping missions. Recruiting and retaining women in the field — including those in uniform — is an operational imperative, says Bintou Keita, Assistant Secretary-General for UN Peacekeeping Operations, in an interview with Medium UN Peacekeeping.

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