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UN Peacekeeping and COVID-19: Adapting to a changed world
28 Apr 2021 - When the Coronavirus took hold as a worldwide threat, daily life changed for everyone in a matter of weeks. UN Peacekeeping's operations were no exception.
It has been more than a year since the Coronavirus took hold as a worldwide threat. Daily life changed for everyone in a matter of weeks. UN Peacekeeping’s operations were no exception.
To keep our personnel safe and ensure they didn’t become contagion vectors, our missions significantly changed course on how they work and meet their mandates. We put in place health and sanitation policies and procedures for all our personnel, adapted rotations and implemented strict quarantine rules.
I am deeply grateful to all the personnel in our operations, civilian, military and police, who showed courage, flexibility and adaptability throughout the past year to ensure continued mandate implementation. I’m also very grateful to the troop- and police-contributing countries for their continued and steadfast support throughout this pandemic.
Peacekeepers have also supported the national response in many ways. This includes capacity-building of local authorities and distribution of medical equipment, as well as sensitizing communities on social distancing measures and helping to dispel misinformation.
Though COVID-19 vaccines are now becoming a reality, we are not in the clear yet. For poorer nations, including those affected by conflict, access to a vaccine is a lot more difficult. Global coordinated action is needed to ensure that these barriers are eliminated, and that distribution is equitable.
As the Secretary-General has stressed, we must work together to ensure that everyone gets a vaccine. It is the best chance we have for ending the pandemic. No one is safe until we’re all safe – we are truly all in this together.
It has been more than a year since the Coronavirus took hold as a worldwide threat. Daily life changed for everyone in a matter of weeks. UN Peacekeeping’s operations were no exception.
To keep our personnel safe and ensure they didn’t become contagion vectors, our missions significantly changed course on how they work and meet their mandates. We put in place health and sanitation policies and procedures for all our personnel, adapted rotations and implemented strict quarantine rules.
I am deeply grateful to all the personnel in our operations, civilian, military and police, who showed courage, flexibility and adaptability throughout the past year to ensure continued mandate implementation. I’m also very grateful to the troop- and police-contributing countries for their continued and steadfast support throughout this pandemic.
Peacekeepers have also supported the national response in many ways. This includes capacity-building of local authorities and distribution of medical equipment, as well as sensitizing communities on social distancing measures and helping to dispel misinformation.
Though COVID-19 vaccines are now becoming a reality, we are not in the clear yet. For poorer nations, including those affected by conflict, access to a vaccine is a lot more difficult. Global coordinated action is needed to ensure that these barriers are eliminated, and that distribution is equitable.
As the Secretary-General has stressed, we must work together to ensure that everyone gets a vaccine. It is the best chance we have for ending the pandemic. No one is safe until we’re all safe – we are truly all in this together.
