Page Text: About Us
Who and What is UNOPAA?
The United Nations and Overseas Policing Association of Australia (UNOPAA) is a social organisation based in Australia. Its members are serving or former police officers of police forces throughout Australia who have or are currently serving with United Nations Peacekeeping Forces or on other overseas police missions or operations. UNOPAA organises social events and promotes the welfare and care of its members.
UNOPAA was previously the United Nations Police Association of Australia (UNPAA). The Association formally changed its name to UNOPAA at the 2012 Annual General Meeting. Download a copy of the UNOPAA Constitution (314 kB) updated as at October 2020.
A bit of history
Australia has a proud history of involvement in overseas peacekeeping and capacity building operations. This commenced in 1947, when Australians were deployed as UN military observers in Indonesia and played a key role in diffusing tensions as Indonesia won independence from the Dutch.
These early days also saw Australia involved in UN operations in Korea (the Korean War) and in the Kashmir.
Australian Police were first involved in 1964, when conflict between the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus saw the establishment of UNFICYP (the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus). Australia sent 40 police, drawn from all Australian police jurisdictions.
This Australian police involvement in Cyprus continued until June 2017, a period of 53 years. A formal flag lowering ceremony was conducted in Nicosia on 16 June 2017, attended by the Australian Federal Police Commissioner and many Australian police veterans who served there.
Since 1964, Australia has deployed police officers to UN missions and to capacity building operations across the world.
The role of police in these situations has been to restore and promote public safety and the rule of law, generally through patrolling the affected communities; liaising with relevant authorities; advising, mentoring and training local police; reporting incidents; and assisting in the achievement of the mission’s goals.
As at 31 January 2020, there were 8,854 police (and over 80,000 military) involved in UN peacekeeping operations, mainly in Africa and the Middle East. Sadly, with the withdrawal of the last Cyprus contingent, there are no Australian Police currently deployed on UN missons at the present time.
Six Australian Police have died while serving overseas – 3 in Cyprus, 1 in East Timor and 2 in the Solomon Islands.