United Nations - Transport – Land/Sea/Air

The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) issued three se-tenant strips of five stamps each on the theme “UN Transport – Land/Sea/Air” on 2^nd September 2010. The stamps have denominations of 44 cents, F.s. 1,00 and € 0,65. You might also like to see the previous issue of a similar series by the UN in my post dated 5th January 2010 .

Transportation plays an extremely important role for the United Nations in its efforts to maintain its peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. United Nations transport vehicles are critical for deploying UN personnel to peacekeeping missions, shipping large amounts of food to meet emergency needs, supplying emergency medical supplies and transporting other cargo and equipment to the field missions throughout the world. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) is dedicated to assisting the Member States and the Secretary-General in their efforts to maintain international peace and security. The Department’s mission is to plan, prepare, manage and direct UN peacekeeping operations using all forms of transport, whether by land, sea or air. In order for the United Nations to maintain its peacekeeping operations properly, it requires strong transport logistics. The Logistics Support Division (LSD) is a part of the Department of Field Support (DFS) at the United Nations. LSD is based at UN Headquarters in New York City, where a diverse and dedicated team of civilian staff provides logistical support to UN-led peacekeeping, peacebuilding and political missions around the world. The Logistics Support Division is responsible for the implementation and monitoring of policies and procedures for all logistic issues in United Nations peacekeeping. The Division consists of three elements: 1. The Operational Support Service includes logistics, planning and programme support. 2. The Specialist Support Service includes a range of technical logistics sections, including supply, engineering, contingent-owned equipment and property management, and cartographic and medical support. 3. The Transportation and Movements Service ensures effective logistics capabilities in terms of air transport, strategic air- and sealift for movement of military and civilian personnel and cargo, and providing vehicles and spare parts at the required time and place, in the most efficient manner. The Logistics Support Division also oversees the operations of the United Nations Logistics Base in Brindisi, Italy, which manages reserve equipment stocks and strategic deployment stocks that assist in rapid establishment of new missions.

United Nations peacekeeping efforts continue to evolve conceptually and operationally to meet new challenges and political realities. Faced with the rising demand for increasingly complex peace operations, the role of UN transport vehicles is as critical as ever in order to contribute to the most important function of the United Nations-maintaining international peace and security. Thank you Hemant for these lovely covers.