On 7 September, MINURSO celebrated the Independence Day of Brazil by raising the country’s national flag at the Mission HQ in Laayoune .

Since the first Brazilian peacekeepers have been deployed to the United Nations Emergency Force (Suez Canal) in 1956, Brazil has sent nearly 58,000 personnel to roughly 50 UN-led missions. The country’s engagement gained however a new dimension starting in 2004 when the country deployed its first large contingent of blue helmets to the UN Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), and assumed the lead of the military component.

Nowadays, Brazil provides the Force Commander to the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), and participates in eight UN-led peace operations. In MINURSO, nine Brazilian military observers, including one woman, serve at the Mission HQ and Laayoune, and at the Team Sites east and west of the berm.

On 12 July 2022, upon the initiative of the Brazilian Presidency as non-permanent member, the UN Security Council devoted its first high-level debate to the critical role of strategic communications in peacekeeping operations. [Link to SG' speech]

The National Day of Brazil, also known as “Sete de Setembro”, marks the independence declaration of 1822 by Prince Pedro - the Portuguese heir and Prince of Brazil. On the Brazil’s flag the green color represents the rainforest, yellow the gold, blue the sky and the stars symbolize the 26 states and the federal district.

In Brazil, UNESCO inscribed 23 natural and cultural World Heritage Sites.