4 August 2023
What appeared to be a normal meeting day at an ongoing “Youth for Human Rights International” conference, on July 7th, 2023, suddenly took a scary turn for a near-death situation when a delegate attending the event started choking on candy and began to fight for his life.
Security Officer Davies Stokipa Sambai, who was posted at the chamber’s North entrance door, recalled spotting the delegate from his standing position, using hand gestures in agitation. After seeing people around the delegate, trying effortlessly to help him, but without luck, the Officer ran to the location and swung into action by taking over the First Aid process. At this time, people around the scene were very anxious as the delegate began to lose strength. Officer Sambai went ahead to deploy the Heimlich maneuver (abdominal thrust), and after multiple attempts, the delegate ejected the candy from his throat and regained consciousness.
Accounts from bystanders and other meeting participants revealed that the conference room erupted in a massive round of applause when the Officer succeeded in ejecting the candy and averted what would have been a devasting turn of events.
The situational awareness and exemplary act of Officer Sambai further showcases the significance of the job that the Security and Safety Services in various United Nations locations around the world carry out in the daily performance of their duties, and their commitment to keeping everyone around safe and secure.