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| Abbreviation | UNGSC |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1994 |
| Legal status | Active |
| Headquarters | Brindisi, Italy Valencia, Spain |
Parent organization | United Nations Department of Field Support |
| Website | www.unlb.org |
 Politicsportal | |
The United Nations Global Service Centre (UNGSC) is United Nations Peacekeeping office based in Brindisi, Italy, as well as Valencia, Spain that provides logistics, geospatial intelligence, IT services and training to peacekeeping and special political missions around the world. [1]
THE UNGSC traces its roots back to the United Nations Logistics Base (UNLB), which was formed in 1994, and is currently based in Brindisi, Italy. The UNLB was formed due to the fact that the previous storage depot for United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), the United Nations Supply Depot (UNSD), had become too small to handle the DPKO's surplus equipment. [2] The UNLB's primary functions were to provide: logistic support, strategic and global information and communications technology support services and training.
In 2009, the UN Support Base in Valencia (UNSBV) was formed in Valencia, Spain to assist with information and telecommunications of UN missions around the world. [3] The base works in conjunction with UNLB to enhance the UN's capacity to respond efficiently to crises around the world.
On 24 June 2010 the General Assembly passed Resolution 64/269, which created the Global Field Support Strategy (GFSS) which merged the UNLB and UNSBV into one organization called the "Global Service Centre." The mandate of the UNGSC is "to ensure efficient and effective peace operations through the core logistics, geospatial, information and telecommunications technology services it provides." [4]
The UNGSC consists of three main core service areas. Some of their duties include: [4]
Supply Chain Service [5]
Field Technology Service [6]
Central Service [7]
Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare.
The United Nations has authorized 71 peacekeeping operations as of April 2018. These do not include interventions authorized by the UN like the Korean War and the Gulf War. The 1990s saw the most UN peacekeeping operations to date. Peacekeeping operations are overseen by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and share some common characteristics, namely the inclusion of a military or police component, often with an authorization for use of force under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. Peacekeeping operations are distinct from special political missions (SPMs), which are overseen by the Department of Political Affairs (DPA). SPMs are not included in the table below.
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is a dedicated training arm of the United Nations system. UNITAR provides training and capacity development activities to assist mainly developing countries with special attention to Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and other groups and communities who are most vulnerable, including those in conflict situations.
The United Nations Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC) was created to optimise and complement the logistics capabilities of cooperating agencies within a well-defined crisis area for the benefit of the ongoing humanitarian operation. In 2005 the UNJLC was merged with the World Food Programme Logistics Coordination Unit as part of the Logistics Cluster and all UNJLC offices were disbanded in 2008.
The United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) is an international network of six humanitarian support hubs located strategically around the world, that provide supply chain solutions to the international humanitarian community. The hubs are located in Brindisi (Italy), Dubai (UAE), Accra (Ghana), Panama City (Panama), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Las Palmas (Spain).
Brindisi Airport, also known as Brindisi Papola Casale Airport and Salento Airport, is an airport in Brindisi, in southern Italy, located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the city center.
The Department of Peace Operations (DPO) is a department of the United Nations charged with the planning, preparation, management and direction of UN peacekeeping operations. Previously known as the Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), it was created on 1 January 2019 as part of a restructuring of the UN's peace and security apparatus. The DPO retains the core functions and responsibilities of its predecessor, with a greater emphasis on cohesion, integrating different resources and knowledge, and promoting human rights.
The United Nations Spatial Data Infrastructure (UNSDI) is an institutional and technical mechanism for establishing system coherence for the exchange and applications of geospatial data and information for UN activities and supporting SDI development activities in Member Countries.
Contingent Owned Equipment (COE) is the equipment owned and brought by United Nations member states to peacekeeping missions. The UN financially reimburses member states for their contributions of COE, and also for the self sustainment services they provide to contingents. This method of reimbursement is commonly referred to as the “COE System". UN staff in peacekeeping missions serve as COE inspectors, verifying that the member states' equipment and the services they provide meet the standards required for reimbursement.
The United Nations Peacekeeping efforts began in 1948. Its first activity was in the Middle East to observe and maintain the ceasefire during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Since then, United Nations peacekeepers have taken part in a total of 72 missions around the globe, 12 of which continue today. The peacekeeping force as a whole received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.
The Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) is a department of the United Nations providing safety and security services for United Nations agencies and departments as part of the United Nations Safety Management System. UNDSS reports directly to the Secretary-General. The UNDSS manages a network of security advisers, analysts, officers and coordinators in more than 125 countries in support of around 180,000 United Nations personnel, 400,000 dependents, and 4,500 United Nations premises worldwide. The department is led by Under-Secretary-General Gilles Michaud from Canada.
Walter Dorn is a scientist, educator, author and researcher. Dorn teaches military officers and civilian students at the Canadian Forces College (CFC) in Toronto and also at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston. He lectures and leads seminars on the ethics of armed force, peace operations, the United Nations, arms control, Canadian and US foreign/defence policy, Canadian government and society, and science/technology applications. He serves as chair of the Department of Security and International Affairs at CFC and previously was chair of the Master of Defence Studies programme at RMC.
Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role of the UN's Department of Peace Operations as an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished from peacebuilding, peacemaking, and peace enforcement although the United Nations does acknowledge that all activities are "mutually reinforcing" and that overlap between them is frequent in practice.
UNOSAT is the United Nations Satellite Centre. It is hosted at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), with the mission to promote evidence-based decision making for peace, security and resilience using geo-spatial information technologies. UNOSAT provides the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies with satellite analysis, training and capacity development, at their request. UNOSAT also supports the UN Member States with satellite imagery analysis over their respective territories and provides them with training and capacity development in the use of geospatial information technologies.
The United Nations Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA) is a field support operation led by the United Nations Department of Field Support (DFS). It is located in Mogadishu and Nairobi in East Africa, focused on support of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
The United NationsInternational Computing Centre (UNICC) was established in 1971 by a Memorandum of Agreement among the United Nations (UN), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), pursuant to resolution 2741 (XXV) of the United Nations General Assembly. It was created as an inter-organization facility to provide electronic data processing services for themselves and other Users.
Luiz Carlos da Costa was an international civil servant working for the United Nations. Originally from Brazil, da Costa joined the United Nations in 1969 and stayed with the organization for the remainder of his life. His last assignment was as the Principal Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and second in command of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). He died together with his superior, Tunisian Hédi Annabi, in the 2010 Haiti earthquake. On 18 January 2010, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and several high-ranking UN officials traveled from New York to Port-au-Prince to see the devastation firsthand. Mr. Ban hosted a small memorial service with both men's families at the airport in Port-au-Prince.
The Department of Field Support (DFS) was a department of the United Nations dedicated to the support of peacekeeping field missions and political field missions. Following the UN Secretary-general's management reform, it ceased to exist on 31 December 2018. In January 2019, the new Department of Operational Support was created.
The Republic of Singapore officially became the 117th member of the United Nations (UN) after its independence on August 9, 1965. From 2001 to 2002, Singapore held a rotational seat on the United Nations Security Council and has participated in UN peacekeeping/observer missions in Kuwait, Angola, Kenya, Cambodia and Timor Leste.
The United Nations Regional Service Centre in Entebbe (RCSE) is a shared service centre based in Entebbe, Uganda that provides services, such as administrative, logistics and information and communications technology to various United Nations missions in Africa.