United Nations Medal

United Nations Medal
United Nations Medal awarded for service with UNMEE
TypeService medal
Awarded forService with a designated United Nations peacekeeping mission
Presented bythe United Nations
Post-nominalsPNBB[citation needed]
StatusCurrently awarded
United Nations Medal ribbon bar
Precedence
Next (lower)NATO Medal (in US precedence)

A United Nations Medal is an international decoration awarded by the United Nations (UN) to the various world countries members for participation in joint international military and police operations such as peacekeeping, humanitarian efforts, and disaster relief. The medal is ranked in militaries and police forces as a service medal. The United Nations awarded its first medal during the Korean War (1950–1953). Since 1955, many additional United Nations medals have been created and awarded for participation in various United Nations missions and actions around the world.

United Nations Medal

The most common United Nations medal is the standard UN decoration known simply as the United Nations Medal. Most countries bestow this award for any action in which a member of the military participated in a joint UN activity.

In situations where a service member participated in multiple UN operations, service stars, campaign clasps, or award numbers are authorized as attachments to the United Nations Medal. These devices vary depending on the regulations of the various armed forces.

The UN has authorised the award of numerals to be attached to the medal ribbon. The qualification for these numerals is not to indicate the number of campaigns served in, but rather the number of qualifying periods of service. Which are counted as 180 days after the initial qualifying period of 90 days if the service is performed as 270 days consecutive. For two or more deployments, each deployment has to be at least 90 consecutive days each.

United Nations Korea Medal

UN Korea Medal

The first United Nations medal to be created was the United Nations Service Medal, also known as the United Nations Service Medal Korea, was awarded to any military service member, of an Armed Force allied with South Korea, who participated in the defense of South Korea from North Korea between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1953. The military forces of the Netherlands are awarded the medal for service to January 1, 1955, while the armed forces of Thailand and Sweden grant the award to July 27, 1955.

United Nations Emergency Force Medal

United Nations Emergency Force Medal (UNEF)

In 1956, to maintain the peace which brought the end of the Suez Crisis the United Nations Emergency Force was established. This was the first Peacekeeping operation of the United Nations. To reward the service of troops from Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, India, Norway, Sweden and Yugoslavia those troops who completed ninety days of service with the UNEF were awarded the United Nations Emergency Force Medal. The mission lasted from November 1956 until June 1967. It is unique from other United Nations Medals in that instead of saying UN on the obverse, it says UNEF. Subsequent missions did not use the mission’s abbreviation on its medals.

United Nations Medal ribbons

In most nations, the standard United Nations Medal is awarded in lieu of a campaign-specific medal. Most operations utilize a different ribbon for each mission, though there have been some notable exceptions. In some countries where the UN Security Council determines a mission in the same geographic region, but changes the mission mandate by way of Security Council Resolution, there may be a number of missions which have identical campaign ribbons and then later will change the ribbon to reflect the changing environment.

The United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) was originally established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 867 on 23 September 1993 and lasted until in June 1996. This mission was an effort to end the conflict and instability caused by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état. Subsequent missions to maintain stability and train the Haitian National Police were undertaken under UNSMIH, UNTMIH, MIPONUH, and MICAH. These subsequent missions all used the same ribbon as UNMIH.

In East Timor, the medals awarded for UNAMET, UNTAET and UNMISET all have the same ribbon.

Years Ribbon bar Operation Operation area
1948– United Nations Medal ' UNTSO Middle East
1949– United Nations Medal ' UNMOGIP India, Pakistan
1958 United Nations Medal ' UNOGIL Lebanon, Syria
1960–1964 United Nations Medal ' ONUC Congo
1962–1963 United Nations Medal ' UNSF West-Papua and Indonesia
1963–1964 United Nations Medal ' UNYOM Yemen
1964– United Nations Medal ' UNFICYP Cyprus
1965–1966 No mission medal DOMREP Dominican Republic
1965–1966 United Nations Medal ' UNIPOM India, Pakistan
1973–1979 United Nations Medal ' UNEF II Egypt, Israel
1974– United Nations Medal ' UNDOF Golan Heights
1978– United Nations Medal ' UNIFIL Lebanon
1988–1991 United Nations Medal ' UNIIMOG Iraq, Iran
1988–1990 United Nations Medal ' UNGOMAP Afghanistan, Pakistan
1988–1991 United Nations Medal ' UNAVEM I Angola
1989–1990 United Nations Medal ' UNTAG Namibia
1989–1992 United Nations Medal ' ONUCA Central America
1991–2003 United Nations Medal ' UNIKOM Kuwait, Iraq
1991– United Nations Medal ' MINURSO Western Sahara
1991–1995 United Nations Medal ' UNAVEM II Angola
1991–1995 United Nations Medal ' ONUSAL El Salvador
1991–2003 United Nations Medal ' UNGCI Iraq
1991–1992 United Nations Medal ' UNAMIC Cambodia
1992–1995 United Nations Medal ' UNPROFOR Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
during the Yugoslav Wars
1992–1993 United Nations Medal ' UNTAC Cambodia
1992–1993 United Nations Medal ' UNOSOM I Somalia
1992–1994 United Nations Medal ' ONUMOZ Mozambique
1993–1995 United Nations Medal ' UNOSOM II Somalia
1993–1994 United Nations Medal ' UNOMUR Rwanda, Uganda
1993–2009 United Nations Medal ' UNOMIG Georgia
1993–1997 United Nations Medal ' UNOMIL Liberia
1993–1996 United Nations Medal ' UNAMIR Rwanda
1993–1996 United Nations Medal ' UNMIH Haiti
1994 No mission medal UNASOG Libya Chad
1994–2000 United Nations Medal ' UNMOT Tajikistan during civil war
1995–1997 United Nations Medal ' UNAVEM III Angola
1995–1999 United Nations Medal ' UNPREDEP Macedonia
Years Ribbon bar Operation Operation area
1995–1996 United Nations Medal ' UNCRO Croatia
1995–2002 United Nations Medal ' UNMIBH Bosnia-Herzegovina
1996–1998 United Nations Medal ' UNTAES Croatia
1996–1997 UNSMIH Haiti
1996–2002 UNMOP Croatia
1997 MINUGUA Guatemala
1997–1999 MONUA Angola
1997 UNTMIH Haiti
1997–2000 MIPONUH Haiti
1998 UNPSG Croatia
1998–2000 MINURCA Central African Republic
1998–1999 UNOMSIL Sierra Leone
1999– UNMIK Kosovo
1999 UNAMET East Timor
1999–2005 UNAMSIL Sierra Leone
1999–2002 UNTAET East Timor
1999–2010 MONUC Democratic Republic of the Congo
2000–2001 MICAH Haiti
2000–2008 UNMEE Eritrea, Ethiopia
2002–2005 UNMISET East Timor
2003–2018 UNMIL Liberia
2003–2004 MINUCI Ivory Coast
2004–2018 UNOCI Ivory Coast
2004–2017 MINUSTAH Haiti
2004–2006 ONUB Burundi
2005–2011 UNMIS Sudan
2006–2012 UNMIT East Timor
2007–2020 UNAMID Sudan
2007–2010 MINURCAT Central African Republic, Chad
2010– MONUSCO Democratic Republic of the Congo
2011– UNISFA Sudan
2011– UNMISS South Sudan
2012 UNSMIS Syria
2013– MINUSMA Mali
2014– MINUSCA Central African Republic
2017–2019 MINUJUSTH Haiti
1974– UNHQ For service in the United Nations Headquarters

United Nations Special Service Medal

UNSSM ribbon

For 90 days of service with a United Nations mission or organization where there is no specific approved United Nations medal, personnel may be eligible for the United Nations Special Service Medal (UNSSM). Some examples of qualifying service are the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, or the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs Accelerated De-Mining Programme (MADP) in Mozambique, work with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and more.

Receipt and wear of UN Medals

France, Australia, Canada and New Zealand

Some nations, such as France, the Commonwealth of Australia, Canada and New Zealand permit members of the military and police to receive and display multiple United Nations Medals as separate decorations.

Ukraine

Personnel of the Armed Forces are allowed to wear United Nations medals if they choose to. Such medals shall be worn after National and Presidential decorations, decorations of the Ministry of Defense, decorations of the General Staff, decorations of other military units, Ministries and departments and before decorations of the European Union and NATO in order of award.

United Kingdom

Other countries, in particular the United Kingdom, permit British citizens to receive the relevant United Nations medal and authorization for it to be worn is given by the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office). Numerals may be added to denote multiple tours to one mission, the medals are worn in order of award and take precedence alongside British campaign medals.

United States

In the United States Armed Forces, prior to 13 October 1995, all US military personnel wore the blue and white United Nations Ribbon regardless of the ribbon awarded. On 13 October 1995, the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) approved a change to the wear policy of the United Nations Medal. Effective on that date, personnel who are awarded the United Nations Medal may wear the first medal and ribbon for which they qualify, adding a bronze service star for subsequent awards of the United Nations Medal for service in a different mission. No more than one UN medal or ribbon may be worn at a time. On US uniforms, the UN Medal is worn before the NATO Medal, except for the United Nations Korea Medal, which is worn as a campaign medal just before the Vietnam Campaign Medal.

US military personnel are eligible to wear the medal from one of the following United Nations operations as their one approved medal:

  • UN Truce Supervisory Organization in Palestine (UNTSO)
  • UN Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP)
  • UN Observation Group in Lebanon (UNOGIL)
  • UN Security Forces, Hollandia (UNSFH)
  • UN Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA)
  • UN Security Force in West New Guinea [West Irian] (UNSF)
  • UN Iraq/Kuwait Observation Group (UNIKOM)
  • UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)
  • UN Advance Mission in Cambodia (UNAMIC)
  • UN Protection Force in Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR)
  • UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC)
  • UN Operation Somalia (UNOSOM)
  • UN Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ)
  • UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG)
  • UN Mission in Haiti (UNMIH)
  • UN Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP)
  • UN Transitional Administrational Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirium (UNTAES)
  • UN Support Mission in Haiti (UNSMIH)
  • UN Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA)
  • UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK)
  • UN Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET)
  • UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET)
  • UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
  • UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE)
  • UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET)
  • UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)
  • UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)
  • African Union / United Nations Hybrid Operation In Darfur (UNAMID)
  • UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT)
  • UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO)
  • UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA)
  • UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)

Argentina

Members of the Argentinian Armed Forces are allowed to wear the different UN medals as separate decorations. However, authorization for use must be formally requested for every single medal, and is granted on an individual basis. Regulations for the use of either medals or ribbons apply for each uniform. In the Argentinian Army, a national-issued, maroon-and-white bar showing the number of tours of duty may be worn in lieu of (but not together with) the UN-issued ribbons.

Switzerland

Members of the Swiss Armed Forces are allowed to wear one UN ribbon (of their choice between all UN awarded decorations). The ribbon is to be worn before EU (Althea Mission) or NATO ribbons but after the Swiss ribbons. Numbers are allowed on the UN ribbon as well as on other allowed "foreign" ribbons.

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-02-21 12:15 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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