![Portuguese special forces personnel line up at the UN peacekeeping base in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. Portuguese special forces personnel line up at the UN peacekeeping base in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Libraries/Production+Library/13-03-2020-MINUSCA-Portugal-Peacekeepers-02.jpg/image770x420cropped.jpg)
Portuguese peacekeepers are playing a key role in protecting civilians in the Central African Republic as part of the UN’s mission in the country, MINUSCA.
Portugal is a key partner of the UN’s Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative which seeks to build stronger, more effective operations with leaner & more focused mandates.
MINUSCA/Leonel Grothe
![Portuguese UN peacekeeper,Telmo Sentieiro (left) cooks dinner with a Brazilian colleague in the mountains of Timor Leste. Portuguese UN peacekeeper,Telmo Sentieiro (left) cooks dinner with a Brazilian colleague in the mountains of Timor Leste.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Libraries/Production+Library/13-03-2020-NICA-490127-UNMIT-Peacekeeping.jpg/image770x420cropped.jpg)
Here a Portuguese peacekeeper in Timor-Leste (left) relaxes at night with a Brazilian colleague after walking four hours to a village in the mountains to interview a local leader about the security situation as part of community engagement efforts.
UN Photo/Martine Perret