Major Swathi Shantha Kumar Wins UN Secretary-General’s Award 2025In 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).
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.
About the United Nations (UN):
Secretary General – Antonio Guterres
Headquarters – New York, United States of America (USA)
Established – 1945