30 June 2022 | UNDSS Comms
The Division of Headquarters Safety and Security (DHSSS) within the United Nations Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS) recently supported the Stockholm+50 international meeting, which was held in Sweden on 2 and 3 June 2022. The meeting aimed at emphasizing the need to address global environmental issues and fair transition to sustainable economies.
Stockholm +50 meeting was convened by the UN and co-hosted by the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ms. Magdalena Andersson, and the President of Kenya, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta. Highlighting the global urgency of the matter, the meeting was attended by the President of the UN General Assembly Mr. Abdulla Shahid, and Secretary-General Mr. António Guterres alongside seven heads of state and government including His Majesty, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. In his speech, Mr. Guterres said, “We need to change course – now – and end our senseless and suicidal war against nature.” As the high-level deliberations unfolded in the main plenary halls, a team of security officers worked around the clock to guarantee their smooth operation.
“Our major goal was to ensure that the event happened without any security-related incident within the venue,” said Mr. Peter Marshall, Chief, Security & Safety Service, United Nations Office at Nairobi who was the Event Security Coordinator. “We had a team of 44 personnel drawn from major duty stations in DHSSS to provide security coverage in this important event.” Security coordination was complex and entailed working with the host government security apparatus to maintain the security integrity of the venue several days before the meeting commenced. “Through collaboration with the Swedish Police, Stockhomassen Security Services, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), we were able to undertake the necessary security measures such as bomb sweeps and implementing access control procedures in line with the established safety and security standard operating procedures (SOPs),” explained Captain Eric Bramwell who served as the Deputy Event Coordinator.
As tradition dictates, the venue was officially handed over to the United Nations two days before the official commencement of the meeting. “The venue handover ceremony, marked by raising of the UN flag, signify that the grounds are under UN’s control,” Mr. Marshall added. “Regardless, we maintain close liaison with host country security officers who lead all security affairs outside the conference’s perimeter.” At the venue, UNDSS supported access control, delegates registration and other authorized personnel, very-important person coordination, and conference area security.
“We produced over 5,300 conference badges and several secondary passes based on the various needs,” mentioned Lieutenant Akwata Ekessah, who headed the registration team. In such a high-level event, the production of badges is a rigorous and collaborative process ensuring that only duly authorized persons access the venue. “We worked for long hours and covered many kilometers during the event but that did not prevent us from being professional, polite, and cordial when handling the delegates,” remarked Raphael Edward Mercuri, who was the Liaison Security Officer for media and non-governmental organizations.