With the International Day of UN Peacekeepers just around the corner, one would be forgiven but in the wrong if “only” images of blue helmets – uniformed soldiers and police officers – spring to mind. Peacekeeping operations around the globe – and the one in South Sudan is certainly no exception – also consist of equally courageous and essential civilian personnel, some of whom are women.*

“My main ‘weapons’, as it were, are my words. I use them in the stories I write, in the radio reports I submit for broadcasting and in the remarks I deliver at various outreach events,” says Janet Adongo, a Kenyan public information officer and United Nations Volunteer serving in Malakal.

Much like Ms. Adongo, her South Sudanese public information colleagues affirm that they, too, are peacekeepers. They may not wear helmets or carry guns, but they contribute to the protection of civilians and the building of durable peace by using microphones, digital recorders, cameras and computers to provide the general public, in South Sudan and beyond, with accurate information on a variety of relevant topics.

And lest we forget: the facts and perceptions these public information officers and other civilian staff collect on the ground also guide the decisions made by the management of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

The same goes for the inputs provided by the many women occupying leadership posts that demand sound judgement and the confidence and the ability to make difficult but crucial decisions.

“As the peacekeeping mission’s Civil Affairs Department, our main task is to create a conducive environment for dialogue and peaceful co-existence between and among all communities in the country,” says Yousra El Ghorayeb, head of the department’s unit at the field office in Rumbek.

To successfully perform their plentiful duties, civil affairs officers rely heavily on cooperation with other specialized colleagues.