The United Nations Special Service Medal (UNSSM) is presented to personnel with 90 days of service with a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

mission not covered by a specific

United Nations Medal 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, an ...

United Nations Headquarters zh, 联合国总部大楼french: Siège des Nations uniesrussian: Штаб-квартира Организации Объединённых Наций es, Sede de las Naciones Unidas , image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004.jpg , im ...

service is not eligible.

Eligibility

The following is an incomplete listing of eligible missions which qualify for the Special Service Medal: *United Nations

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disaster ...

(UNOCHA) Peshawar 1989 to 1990 *United Nations Mine Awareness and Clearance Training Program in Pakistan and Afghanistan 1989 to 1991 *

United Nations Special Commission on Iraq United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) was an inspection regime created by the United Nations to ensure Iraq's compliance with policies concerning Iraqi production and use of weapons of mass destruction after the Gulf War. Between 1991 and 1 ...

(UNSCOM), 180 non-consecutive days may also fulfill service requirement. April 1991 to the present *Service with

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

(UNHCR) detachments in support of the Sarajevo Airlift or 100 landings in Sarajevo while serving as part of Operation Cheshire (United Kingdom) 1 July 1992 to 12 January 1996 or Operation Airbridge (Canada) 15 February 1992 to 31 March 1995 *Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) 17 February 1994 to present *

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan ('UNAMA'') is a UN Special Political Mission tasked with assisting the people of Afghanistan. UNAMA was established on 28 March 2002 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1401. Revie ...

(UNAMA) as part of Operation Accius November 2002 to present *Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General in West Africa as part of Operation Solitude since 22 March 2003. * United Nations Advance Mission to Sudan (UNAMIS) as part of Operation Safari from July 2004 to 23 March 2005. *

United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) was formed on 14 August 2003 by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1500 at the request of the Iraqi government to support national development efforts. UNAMI's mandate includes ...

, 2 October 2004 to present * United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs Accelerated De-Mining Programme (MADP) in Mozambique 1995 to 2005 * United Nations Demining Programme National Institute for the Removal of Obstacles and Explosive Ordnance (INAROE) in Angola 1997-2000 *Programme for the Assistance to the Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Programme (UXOL) from 1997 to 2003 * United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) in Iraq from 2002 to 2003 *

(UNAMA) from 2004 to the present * United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) from 2005 to the present * United Nations Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL) in

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-w ...

from 2005 to 2006 * United Nations Mine Action Coordination Centre in Southern Lebanon (UNMACC-SL) from 2007 to 2008

Appearance

The UN Special Service Medal is a circular bronze medal 35 mm in diameter. The

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...

depicts the official emblem of the United Nations, a world map oriented from the north pole. Above the emblem are the letters UN. The reverse is plain except for the words "In the Service of Peace" in relief. This design is common to the all

s starting with the

UNTSO The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) is an organization founded on 29 May 1948 for peacekeeping in the Middle East. Established amidst the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, its primary task was initially to provide the military com ...

Medal and the

UNMOGIP The United Nations has played an advisory role in maintaining peace and order in the Kashmir region soon after the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, when a dispute erupted between the two States on the question of Jammu and Kashmir. Ind ...

Medal and follows the current convention of a common medal design with a varying ribbon. The ribbon of the UN Special Service Medal is wide stripe of light blue, often referred to as UN Blue, with white edges. Claps or

medal bar A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It most commonly indicates the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on ...

s are worn on the ribbon of the medal to denote areas of service with the country name where the service took place, or the name of the UN organization involved. Examples are a "Timor Leste" clasp for service with UNOTIL in East Timor, "Afghanistan" for service with UNAMA in Afghanistan, or "UNSCOM" for service in Iraq.

References

{{Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Nations Medals of the United Nations

Eligibility

Appearance

See also

References