Dear friends, family relatives, and colleagues,

As we approach the end of 2017, I want to thank you for your support, your dedication and your service. We are thankful for all you do, as we reflect on our accomplishments and challenges and look ahead to 2018.

Our accomplishments in United Nations family during 2017 included the successful closure of UNOCI and the transition of MINUSTAH to MINUJUSTH. The withdrawal of UNOCI illustrates the remarkable progress made by Côte d'Ivoire towards sustainable peace and stability and economic prosperity. Thirteen and a half years after MINUSTAH was established, Haiti has a very different outlook. Despite the many challenges still facing the country, the Haitian people enjoy a considerable degree of security and greater stability, political violence has diminished considerably and armed gangs no longer hold the population hostage. We are also pleased with the progress we made in managing the environmental impact of our missions -- today, all our peacekeeping missions have Environmental Action Plans to minimize environmental risk and optimise efficiency.

2017 was also a challenging year for us all who works as peacekeepers around the world. We are in the midst of the Secretary-General’s peace and security architecture reform, which aims to make us stronger in prevention, agiler in mediation, and more nimble, effective and efficient in our operations. Underpinning peace and security and other reform efforts is the management reform, which will bring about simplified procedures, decentralized decisions, and greater transparency, efficiency, agility, and accountability.   

This year we have also faced significant losses in our peacekeeping family. We honor the 128 peacekeepers who paid the ultimate sacrifice this year in the cause of peace. Our mission in Mali remains the deadliest, with the loss of 23 peacekeepers in 2017. Earlier this month, we suffered the worst attack in decades with the killing of 15 peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While the loss in the DRC was significant, it also shows how we can come together and persevere, as our teams worked to address both immediate and sustained support needs. These losses also give us the strength and determination to endure personal sacrifice for the greater good.

We wish you and your families and friends a happy, healthy and safe holiday season. 

orphanage located in Croix-des-Bouquet

It was a nice and rewarding activity developed in the orphanage located in Croix-des-Bouquet and managed by Colombian Nunes in favor of disabled and handicapped Haitian children. There were recreative games, plays about pirates, gifts given to children and food and beverages to everyone who attended this wonderful event. At least there was a short reliance moment to those very "special" children. "May your faith in God brings comfort and peace of heart to you, that you may never be sad or lonely no matter how dark the way seems"

Thanks to all and blessings. 

CM. John Jairo Jaramillo Buitrago

Social activity supporting the Orphanage in Croix-des-Bouquete.

What is peacekeeping?

United Nations Peacekeeping helps countries torn by 

conflict create conditions for lasting peace.

Peacekeeping has proven to be one of the most effective tools available to the UN to assist host countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace. 

Peacekeeping has unique strengths, including legitimacy, burden sharing, and an ability to deploy and sustain troops and police from around the globe, integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to advance multidimensional mandates.

UN Peacekeepers provide security and the political and peacebuilding support to help countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace.

UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:

• Consent of the parties;
• Impartiality;
• Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate.

Peacekeeping is flexible and over the past two decades has been deployed in many configurations. There are currently 16 UN peacekeeping operations deployed on four continents.

Today's multidimensional peacekeeping operations are called upon not only to maintain peace and security, but also to facilitate the political process, protect civilians, assist in the  disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants; support the organization of elections, protect and promote human rights and assist in restoring the rule of law.

Success is never guaranteed, because UN Peacekeeping almost by definition goes to the most physically and politically difficult environments. However, we have built up a demonstrable record of success over our 60 years of existence, including winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Peacekeeping has always been highly dynamic and has evolved in the face of new challenges. Recently, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon established a 17-member High-level Independent Panel on UN Peace Operations to make a comprehensive assessment of the state of UN peace operations today, and the emerging needs of the future. (Copyrights: Taken from DPKO/UN )

Please watch the following video performed by George Clooney about Peacekeeping task.

Haiti is sadly a very suffering country-See the images