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Peacekeeping during the Pandemic: Conversations with UN Leadership

This podcast series explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work of our peacekeeping missions.

Throughout the pandemic, UN peacekeepers have continued to carry out their work in challenging circumstances, while also supporting local communities and their fellow team members.

In this series, you'll hear directly from UN leadership about their experiences during these unprecedented times, and on actions taken by missions to adapt, deliver and keep themselves and the people they serve safe, during this global health crisis.

Episodes will be published every two weeks and can be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and everywhere else you listen to podcasts.

 
Episode 1: “We had to make it work”: An interview with Denise Brown, Deputy Special Representative in the Central African Republic

In the first episode of the podcast series on the impact of COVID-19 on UN peacekeeping operations, interviewer Rania Dagash takes listeners on a journey to the Central African Republic to hear from Denise Brown, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, who reflects on her experiences as a senior official, a humanitarian and as a mother during the pandemic.

 
Episode 2: More that unites than divides: An interview with Barrie Lynne Freeman, Deputy Special Representative in Kosovo

In this episode of the podcast series on the impact of COVID-19 on UN peacekeeping operations, interviewer David Haeri sits down with Barrie Lynne Freeman, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General DSRSG in Kosovo, to learn about how the UN played a critical role in supporting local communities during the pandemic, and witnessed unseen solidarity between different groups as they faced a new common threat.

 
Episode 3: “Fighting a common enemy”: An interview with Colin Stewart, former Special Representative in Western Sahara

In this episode of the podcast series on the impact of COVID-19 on UN peacekeeping operations, interviewer Naomi Miyashita meets Colin Stewart, the former Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, who provides an insight into the challenges of responding to a pandemic across the ceasefire line.

 
Episode 4: No peace without communications: An interview with Guang Cong, Deputy Special Representative in South Sudan

In this episode of the podcast series on the impact of COVID-19 on UN peacekeeping operations, interviewer Rania Dagash and Guang Cong, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in South Sudan, discuss how the mission facilitated virtual peace talks between grassroots parties, to ensure conversations could continue, despite the many challenges of the pandemic.

 
Episode 5: The power of partnerships: An interview with Bintou Keita, Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo

In the final episode of the podcast series on the impact of COVID-19 on United Nations peacekeeping operations, interviewer Rania Dagash speaks with Bintou Keita, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who started her assignment in early 2021 at the helm of the peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO. They discuss the challenges of mis-and disinformation, the value of partnerships to support communities, and how SRSG Keita managed to fulfill her duties despite movement challenges.