Service and Sacrifice: United Nations Peacekeeping by United Nations

Why are some countries unsafe to travel in? 

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An important part of the UN’s work is to encourage world peace. There remain many areas though where violence makes it unsafe to visit. 

  1. View this PDF...
    The Institute for Economics and Peace studies all the countries in the world to produce the Global Peace Index. This looks at statistical factors such as murder rates and military expenditure, as well as crime rates and terrorism events. Its 2017 rankings can be seen on p10 of the above PDF. The most dangerous country is Syria and the most peaceful Iceland (New Zealand is among the top five safest countries)
    The main findings are:

    1. An overall increase in world peace mainly due to lesser levels of murder and terrorism.

    2. The Middle East and North Africa remain the worst regions because of the many inter border conflicts in particular Syria and Yemen.

    3. The global economic impact of violence was US$14.3 trillion in 2016 or US$1,953 per person.

    4. Peacebuilding activities can be highly cost-effective, providing cost savings 16 times the cost of the intervention.

    5. Low Levels of Corruption is the only indicator for peace that is strongly significant across all three levels of peacefulness.


  1. Discuss these findings as a class. If one of the UN’s goals is world peace which is the most important finding for it to take on? This video Service & Sacrifice and UN Peacekeeping website may assist...


  1. Summarise how the UN can work to improve peace in these dangerous regions.


  1. Take action by making a special effort to help a visitor to New Zealand. Make an effort to approach them when with your family/caregiver and ask if you can help them.


  1. Capture and share the results of your approach with the class. Were the visitors shy and/or friendly. Did they appreciate your approach? What was it like doing this? What would you do differently next time?

Educator Notes

To make it more accessible:

  • Can you work out how many of the most dangerous countries are in the African continent?


To make it more challenging:

  • Is it possible that conflict and/or terrorism would develop in New Zealand? If so what can the government do to prevent this? What might we do as citizens do to stop it?

  • Get students to investigate the levels of money wasted due to violence. There are lots of research activities this could spark, for instance: how do different countries compare? The Visual History of Decreasing War and Violence may be useful (or visit: ourworldindata.org), as may peacealliance.org


Useful links