Brazil’s enduring contribution to UN peacekeeping

Brazilian Peacekeepers patrol Ciité Soleil,the poorest and more dangerous slum in Port au Prince, Haiti. 17 February 2010.
UN Photo/Pasqual Gorriz
Brazilian Peacekeepers patrol Ciité Soleil,the poorest and more dangerous slum in Port au Prince, Haiti. 17 February 2010.
Brazilian soldiers, part of the UN Emergency Force in Gaza, are seen here keeping a watch on the Armistice Demarcation Line, at the southernmost portion of the Gaza strip.

Brazil has a long history of contributing to UN peacekeeping operations. Its troops currently serve in 10 UN missions globally, in locations as diverse as Darfur, Cyprus, Lebanon and Haiti. The first Brazilian peacekeepers were deployed in 1956 in one of the earliest UN missions under the UN Emergency Force to address the Suez crisis. They secured and supervised the cessation of hostilities, including the withdrawal of the armed forces of France, Israel and the United Kingdom from Egyptian territory.

UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata
Peacekeepers of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission III (UNAVEM III) Brazilian battalion on welcome parade during the visit of Secretary-General Kofi Annan. 25 March 1997.

In 1997, Brazilian troops were deployed to Angola to support peace and reconciliation efforts following civil war in the south-west African country. Peacekeepers of the Brazilian battalion (pictured), also known as BRABAT, join a welcome parade in the Angolan capital Luanda during the visit of the then Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

UN Photo/Milton Grant
Brazilian peacekeepers in the neighborhood of Ciité Soleil, Haiti. 14 December 2004.

Brazil provided the backbone of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH. Its troops were present for the duration of the mission between 2004-2017. A peacekeeper surveys the troubled Cité Soleil neighbourhood of the capital Port-au-Prince during an operation.

MINUSTAH
Members of the Brazilian battalion of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) teach a group of local children proper dental care.

An increasing number of Brazilian women are being deployed to UN missions. In Haiti, members of the Brazilian battalion teach a group of local children proper dental care.

UN Photo/Marco Dormino
Brazilian United Nations peacekeepers distribute tarps and tents in down town Port au Prince Haiti.

Peacekeepers assisted Haiti’s transition to democracy and supported reconstruction and stability efforts following the January 2010 earthquake. An estimated 220,000 Haitians died as a result of the quake. Brazilian peacekeepers distributed temporary housing materials to people in Port au Prince made homeless by the disaster.

MINUSTAH/Logan Abassi
Brazilian peacekeepers of UNIFIL Maritime Task Force watching the opening match of the 2014 Brazil World Cup on board of the MTF’s flagship “Liberal” docked at Beirut Port. June 12, 2014.

Brazilian peacekeepers have also served in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. Here, members of the Maritime Task Force relax on board their ship docked in Beirut while watching Brazil play in the 2014 World Cup.

UN Photo/Pasqual Gorriz
At MINUSTAH's Argentinian Military Hospital, a Memorial Ceremony is held in honor of the life of the late Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar, before his body is sent back to Brazil for burial.

A total of 42 Brazilian peacekeepers have lost their lives in the line of duty in UN peacekeeping missions, including 27 in Haiti. In 2006, an honour guard was held for a soldier who passed away while serving in Haiti under the UN flag.

UN Photo/Sophia Paris
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