Ribbon United Nations Truce Supervision Organization medal

According to the United Nations, "the military observers are unarmed and they carry out their jobs by observing and reporting violations of the agreements of ceasefire, disengagement etc. that are relevant to their area of operations. All military observers are seasoned officers of the rank of captain or major coming from all branches of service in their respective countries armed forces. The military observers work in multi-national teams, so that any observations will always be confirmed by at least two observers from different nations, as a measure to ensure impartiality".

UNTSO currently provides military observers to three different UN missions in the area: Observer Group Lebanon (OGL), supporting UNIFIL in Southern Lebanon; Observer Group Golan (OGG), supporting UNDOF in the Golan Heights; and Observer Group Egypt (OGE) in the Sinai Peninsula.