When emergencies strike, the difference between arriving and being operational can determine the effectiveness of the entire response. Thanks to the support of the Government of Canada, the UNDSS Emergency Response Team (ERT) now deploys with the tools it needs to operate immediately, from the moment teams arrive on the ground.
In 2025, Canada’s contribution made it possible to equip every ERT and Roving Field Support Unit (RFSU) responder with a standardized UNDSS emergency deployment kit. Each kit includes laptops, secure and reliable communications equipment, and clear UNDSS emergency branding—ensuring responders are connected, identifiable, and operational without delay.
This support has fundamentally changed how the ERT integrates into crisis environments. Teams no longer lose critical time sourcing equipment, establishing connectivity, or clarifying their role on arrival. Instead, ERT responders step off the plane fully plugged into UN systems, immediately recognizable to partners, and ready to reinforce coordination, analysis, and leadership at the most critical moments of an emergency. This readiness strengthens operational credibility, accelerates response timelines, and reassures colleagues in high-risk environments that UNDSS support is present and effective.
Beyond equipment, Canada’s support has also strengthened system-wide preparedness. In 2025, the ERT reached hundreds of UN security personnel through global Info Cafés, leadership briefings, and field workshops—building shared understanding of UNDSS emergency response modalities and strengthening trust across the UN Security Management System. The enhanced visibility and professionalism enabled by this support has further facilitated closer collaboration with emergency counterparts across the system, including OCHA, UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC), Department of Operational Support (DOS), UN Medical Response Team (UNMERT), and multiple UN agencies and partners.
Canada’s contribution has helped the ERT deploy faster, operate more effectively, and engage more confidently with partners—directly enabling safer operations, stronger coordination, and more effective delivery of UN mandates in complex and volatile contexts. Most importantly, it has strengthened our collective ability to protect the people who protect communities in crisis.
Thank you, Canada, for your steadfast partnership and for making every UNDSS emergency response stronger, faster, and safer.
