I had the chance to know about the UN Blue Helmet force during the UN Model organized by my high school - Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Hidalgo (HIDALMUN 2013).

Truthfully, I didn’t know what it would be like in the beginning, nor could I imagine what kind of experiences I would take home with me; I thought my job wasn’t going to be that serious.  Once HIDALMUN was over, I realized it was one of the most rewarding experiences I had in school. I was able to lend my support to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), I did my best and played my role as UN Blue Helmet force with so much enthusiasm and responsibility because I realized the Blue Helmet peacekeeping force has a considerable influence and is also an institution to look up to. I know the work we did cannot be compared with what they do "in the real life", but I am sure we all played our roles proudly and earnestly.

The most gratifying aspect for me was realizing the huge responsibility all delegates have, how they strive to prepare and take the roles of the countries they will represent and all the effort and excellent performance of the Organizing Committee.

I am taking a lot of experiences home and even though it was not an easy or that long a task, the satisfaction of being a part of it will be even greater. They will be gratifying memories and an unforgettable experience altogether. I am looking forward to the next UN Model.

By Brenda Mabel Quiroz Alarcón

On Thursday 21st March, UNIC Antananarivo took part in a big event organized by Antsirabe Military school called “Dialogue de la defense”.

About 500 Officers, local authorities, and diplomatic corps were present at the event which ran for two days. 

About 200 documents provided by UNIC were presented to the Military school, and distributed to the participants, including the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and informational material on peacekeeping.

The event received high media coverage.

The Italian Desk of the UN Regional Information Centre (UNRIC/Italy) in Brussels took part in the first edition of the advanced training course in “UN-EU logistics” held at the Inter-force logistics training center, the Italian Defense Ministry in Rome.

Some forty Italian high-ranking Army officials were trained in the international implications of logistical and field activities, with specific focus on the UN and the EU.

A spin-off of the NATO training course in logistics, UNRIC has been developing a segment for the last three years. A key innovation was the interaction between UNRIC and the UN Logistics Base in Brindisi, whose representative complemented the presentation given by the desk officer. UNRIC/Italy created an updated presentation on UN peacekeeping, expanding upon the political, financial and military aspects of the operations, while the UN Logistics Base (UNLB) presented its structure and functioning. The desk officer took questions and requests from participants who asked to be included in the mailing list of peacekeeping-related information material. 

The inauguration of a new training activity as well as the opening of a promising cooperation with UNLB represent two welcome developments for UNRIC, which is increasingly asserting its role in UN public information and peacekeeping-related matters within the context of high-level training activities organized by both the academic and the military/public institutions.

Experts in the training of peacekeepers and in investigating abuses and misconduct by UN personnel engaged an audience in a lively discussion following the screening of the film “The Whistleblower.” Using the occasion of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, the UN Information Service (UNIS) in Vienna organized the showing of the movie with a post-screening debate on 30 May, at the Vienna International Centre (VIC).

Around 70 UN staff members and representatives of Permanent Missions, as well as interns and other guests attended the lunchtime screening of the film that deals with topics such as human trafficking, sexual violence and abuse and the misconduct of individual peacekeepers becoming involved in organized crime.

In a fictionalized account of events, “The Whistleblower” tells the story of a UN peacekeeper investigating the case of young women trafficked to Bosnia to work in forced prostitution.

The post-film panel discussion featured Riikka Puttonen, UNODC Specialist on organized crime and illicit trafficking, Anais Salvin, Investigator of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), and Lt.Col. Karl Wolf, Deputy Commander of the Austrian Armed Forces International Centre in charge of training Austrian Peacekeepers prior to deployment. With these specialists present, UNIS Director Janos Tisovszky, moderated the debate focusing on UN policy towards the misconduct of peacekeepers and possible measures of prevention.

Unfortunately, organized crime and the misconduct of individual peacekeepers are still a reality that UN peacekeeping missions have to confront. But the UN has come a long way since 1999, when the story portrayed in the film took place, and has introduced the “zero tolerance”, and 100% attention, policy for sexual exploitation and abuse, instituted by the Secretary-General. Furthermore, more robust systems have been set up to handle misconduct in peacekeeping operations, with a Conduct and Discipline Unit established in the Department of Field Support, and Conduct and Discipline Teams in each peacekeeping mission, and improved supervision and training of peacekeepers.

Delivering valuable insights into the work of peacekeeping missions and measures introduced by the UN to combat sexual violence and abuse as well as human trafficking, the event left the audience with an increased awareness of these issues.