Peacekeeping in a Pandemic: Women on the Front Lines of Peace and Prevention (Global Engagement Online Series)

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UN Peacekeepers are on the frontlines helping war torn countries rebuild, promote democracy and good governance, and support stability and security. During the global pandemic, UN Peacekeepers are not only continuing their lifesaving efforts in places like South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Kosovo but are also preventing the spread of coronavirus through educational campaigns on local radios, providing hand washing stations and soaps to local communities, and supporting logistics for local communities to implement their COVID-19 response plans. UNA-USA will host a discussion in recognition of International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers with women peacekeepers on the frontlines of addressing the coronavirus in fragile spaces. We are also delighted to highlight these women in honor of the 20^th anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325,  which reaffirms women in peace and security, including peacekeeping.

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Lieutenant Dr. Arya Suman Khadka, Medical Officer/Environmental Focal Point Officer, NEPHRPB-2, MINUSCA, BAMBARI

Lt. Dr. Arya Suman Khadka holds a Bachelor’s in biology from Cebu Doctor’s University, Philippines, and a Doctor in Medicine from South Western University, Philippines. In 2017, she completed post-graduate internship at Sacred Heart Hospital, Philippines. 

From 2017 – 2018, she worked in Patan Academy of Health Science (Patan Hospital, previously a missionary hospital and now a community hospital), in Nepal. She began working as a Military Doctor in 2018, and began serving as a UN peacekeeper in Central African Republic in 2019 where she currently serves. 

She speaks Nepali, English, and Hindi. In her free time, she enjoys painting, dancing, reading books, and traveling. 

Unaisi Lutu Vuniwaqa, UNMISS Police Commissioner 

Ms. Unaisi Bolatolu-Vunwaqa is a career police officer spanning 34 years since she joined the Fiji Police in 1986.  She is the Head of Police Component in South Sudan (UNMISS) (since 2018) and also served as Deputy Police Commissioner in the same mission in 2017 – 2018.  Prior to joining UNMISS,

Ms. Vuniwaqa held the position of Assistant Commissioner of Police Administration in the Fiji Police Force having served as Director in various portfolios including Community Policing, Strategic Planning, Human Resources and Training. 

Commissioner Vuniwaqa holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of the South Pacific in Fiji in 2014. Over the years she attended various police and public service training in Fiji, and abroad.  This include; Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii on Advance Security Corporation, International Senior Police Command Course in Malaysia, Professional Diploma in Business Leadership at the University of the South Pacific, Pacific Executive Leadership in Australia, Natural Disaster and Mental Health in China, Civil-Military-Police Disaster Management in New Zealand.

Sandi Arnold, Chief of Mission Support, United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK)

Since 2017, Sandi Arnold of United States of America is serving as the Chief of Mission Support of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), and brings to the position more than 20 years of experience leading and managing integrated teams in peacekeeping and humanitarian affairs across the globe, as well as wider leadership in policy, strategy, management, operations, and crisis management.  Under her leadership, UNMIK became the first peacekeeping Mission to achieve ISO-9001 quality management certificate for end to end operations in 2019.

Prior to UNMIK, Ms. Arnold served as the Deputy Director of Operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Syria (2015-2017), and she was the Ebola Crisis Team Leader for Department of Peacekeeping (DPKO) and Department of Field Support (DFS) in UNHQ New York (2014-15).  Ms. Arnold also served as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Juba (2012-2014).

Ms. Arnold holds an M.A. degree in International Policy Studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California. She is  bilingual in English and Turkish.

Rania Dagash-Kamara, Chief of Policy and Best Practices in the United Nations Department of Peace Operations

Rania Dagash-Kamara is the Chief of Policy and Best Practices in the United Nations Department of Peace Operations in New York, where she supports policy formulation, knowledge sharing and guidance development across UN peace missions. She has served in conflict and post-conflict settings both in humanitarian emergencies and peace missions across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Her work focused on supporting communities and governments during conflict, natural disasters and political transitions. Currently, Rania is involved in several exercises that look into the future of peacekeeping operations.

A practical optimist, Rania Dagash-Kamara is Sudanese, a daughter, sister, wife and mother.

Linnea Hincks, Joint Operations Officer and Team Leader, Timbuktu regional office Joint Operations Center in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)

Linnea Hincks is a Joint Operations Officer and Team Leader for the Timbuktu regional office Joint Operations Center in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Prior to joining the UN, Linnea worked for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, based in the Donetsk regional office. She also served as Press Secretary and Advisor to a former Swedish Minister for European Union and Democracy Affairs.

Linnea holds a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature and human rights from Columbia University and a master’s degree in international relations from Georgetown University.  She is a citizen of the United States and Sweden.

MODERATED BY:

Chandrima Das, Senior Director of Peace and Security Policy at the Better World Campaign

Chandrima Das serves as the Senior Director of Peace and Security Policy at the Better World Campaign, the advocacy arm of the UN Foundation. Ms. Das is the resident expert on UN Peacekeeping Operations and educates Congress and the Administration on the value of UN peacekeeping as an effective part of the U.S. national security toolbox. She spearheads thought leadership and authors policy papers and field reports on UN Peacekeeping. She leads Congressional Delegations to the field to see firsthand the work of UN Peacekeepers. She also served as a special advisor for the UN High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing, providing an American perspective to the panel and her expertise on conflict resolution.

Previously, Chandrima worked at the United States Institute of Peace as a consultant and research assistant writing training curricula on negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution. Her training curricula were used to train local government officials in Iraq and Sudan. She has also worked for CHF International in South Sudan on basic services programs and combating gender-based violence. During her graduate study at George Mason University, Chandrima was a research assistant for the Terrorism, Transnational Crime & Corruption Center, looking at human and arms trafficking routes.

Ms. Das holds a master’s degree in Peace Operations. She received her bachelor’s in Political Science from Syracuse University. Chandrima is an International Career Advancement Program Fellow and serves on its board, which works to elevate under-representative groups in international relations and U.S. foreign policy. She is also a Council on Foreign Relations Term Member.