In January 2026, Indian Army(IA) officer Major Swathi Shantha Kumar from Bengaluru(Karnataka) received the the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General’s Award 2025 in the Gender Category for her project “Equal Partners, Lasting Peace” while serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
- Major Swathi’s project was shortlisted from global nominations across UN peacekeeping missions and agencies and emerged as the winner in the Gender category, securing the highest number of votes.
Exam Hints:
- What? Won UN Secretary-General’s Award 2025
- Who? Major Swathi Shantha Kumar
- Category: Gender
- Organisation: United Nations
- Mission: UNMISS (South Sudan)
- Project: Equal Partners, Lasting Peace
- Significance: Promotes gender parity and inclusive peacekeeping
About UN Secretary-General’s Award:
Award Citation: Announced by Antonio Guterres,Secretary General of UN. The award recognises her leadership in advancing gender parity through effective deployment of the Indian Engagement Team, enhancing patrols, community outreach, and trust-building in conflict zones.
Recognition: The UN Secretary-General’s Awards are annual honours instituted by the United Nations to recognise outstanding contributions by UN personnel, peacekeepers, and teams demonstrating exceptional leadership, innovation, and commitment to UN values.
Purpose: The awards promote a culture of excellence and accountability, recognise initiatives with measurable impact on peace and development, and support core UN priorities such as gender equality, inclusion, sustainability, and innovation.
2025 Awards Categories: The 2025 awards covered categories including Innovation, Collegiality, Gender, Diversity & Inclusion, Multilingualism, and Leadership/Service Excellence.
About Swathi Shanthakumar: She is an Indian Army officer from Bengaluru, Karnataka, serving in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) with the rank of Major.
About Project Equal Partners, Lasting Peace:
Overview: It is a comprehensive initiative to deploy and integrate engagement teams that strengthened grassroots connections with women in conflict-affected areas and improved gender-responsiveness in UNMISS.
Community Engagement: The project is focused on promoting gender equality, active participation in peacebuilding, grassroots community engagement enhancement, and enabling over 5,000 women to participate in local activities.
Deployment: Under the project, gender-inclusive teams conducted foot, riverine, and air patrols, promoted women’s participation in peace dialogues and decision-making, and helped create a safer, more inclusive environment for local women.
About the United Nations (UN):
Secretary General – Antonio Guterres
Headquarters – New York, United States of America (USA)
Established – 1945
