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.