News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

Conflict, health crises and the climate emergency may have dominated headlines this year but, behind the scenes, countless unsung heroes were working tirelessly to put the values of the UN into action. Here are some of the inspiring personal stories we featured on our UN News pages during 2021. As…

UN Photo / Haidar Fahs One of UNIFIL’s more than 50 positions in south Lebanon made history recently by becoming the first such position to rely fully on the sun for its energy needs. The UN position (UNP 1-31), tucked atop a hill near the south-western Lebanese village of Labbouneh, now operates…

We have been made aware of the Kosovo authorities’ declaration as “persona non grata” of a staff member of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK. No official communication has been received by the Mission from the Kosovo authorities with respect to this announcement. The doctrine of “persona…

UNMISS peacekeepers from Rwanda demonstrating one effective tool to prevent malaria in an Eastern Equatorian community. Photos: Okello James/UNMISS When new health threats, like the Covid-19 pandemic, appear on the scene and steal the limelight, old foes do not necessarily go away. Instead, they go…

Not everyone is up for the task of protecting thousands and thousands of civilians from floods in Unity State, but our Pakistani peacekeepers are. When the going gets tough, the Pakistani peacekeepers based in Unity State and serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan aren’t ones to shy…

Women in Loguruny, a village in Eastern Equatoria State, interacting with an UNMISS patrol team. Photos: Moses Yakudu/UNMISS Since intercommunal relations in and around Loguruny village in Eastern Equatoria State appear to be deteriorating, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan will call on…

UNMISS peacekeepers teaching women in and around Wau the fine art of tailoring. Photos: Dawit K. Tedla/UNMISS “I used to sell veggies in the market, but it did not pay well,” says Lucia Richard Ujang, a 35-year-old widow and a mother of three children. “Today I have been awarded a sewing machine for…

UN Photo / Pasqual Gorriz UNIFIL’s Nepalese peacekeepers handed over a major agricultural and public garden project this week to local authorities of the south-eastern Lebanese village of Blida. It was their country’s first ever large-scale civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) project undertaken in a…

In close dialogue and cooperation with the South Sudan National Police Service, that is how the new UNMISS Police Commissioner Christine Fossen wants to be seen as often as possible. “Just do it,” her husband and three grown-up children said. And so she did. Meet Christine Fossen, the new Police…

It may look idyllic, but the presence of a minefield is a threat to these villagers in Pigi County. Floods have so far made clearance of the area impossible. Photos: Ines Surwumwe/UNMISS Residents in Pigi County, on the Jonglei State side of the river border with Upper Nile State, need to tread…

Irene Antoniou is a 28-years-old Cypriot from Paralimni and a volunteer at the Famagusta Avenue Garage. Together with other participants, she took part in the "peacebuilding in divided societies" programme, organized by UNFICYP Civil Affairs Section. Referring to the programme, Irene notes that “it…

Meltem Burak is a creative young Cypriot from Famagusta, who believes that “peace can only be sustainable if it is diverse and inclusive where women and young people’s voices are heard at the peace talks’ table”. Meltem emphasises that “so far, mostly, if not only, men have been involved in the…