The year 2001 saw United Nations peace operations in almost every part of the globe. In Africa, there were four peacekeeping missions, and in Europe five. Asia and the Pacific accounted for three. And in the Middle East, the UN had three long-running peacekeeping operations. The UN also maintained a number of liaison offices in the Balkans to help support the peacekeeping work. In addition, in Africa, Asia and the Pacific and in Central America there were four United Nations peace-building support offices and nine UN political offices. At year's end, UN peacekeeping operations deployed some 39,500 soldiers and officers and 7,500 civilian police. The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) itself comprised as many as 17,500 uniformed personnel, making it the largest of the 15 peacekeeping missions. The number of States contributing to UN peacekeeping reached a record high of 90 early in the year. Working with the uniformed personnel were almost 4,300 international civilian staff and some 8,500 local civilian staff. As for the 13 peace-building support and political offices, their staff numbered around 600, most of them international and local civilians. Peacekeepers and peace-builders performed a variety of tasks. Some of these men and women were military observers, some road engineers, some deminers. Others among them were political analysts, media specialists, child protection officers and human rights workers. Still others were helping prepare a new country for independence, setting up the infrastructure of a provincial administration, or supporting a disarmament and demobilization programme. There were drivers, interpreters, doctors and diplomats. Tragically, 58 of them lost their lives since the beginning of the year.

In this publication, we hear some of the voices of United Nations peacekeepers and peace-builders as they look back over their experiences and accomplishments in 2001.