UN Secretariat building in New York. The Dag Hammarskjöld medal ceremony was held at the UN headquarters Peace and Security
During an official ceremony at UN Headquarters on Thursday, the Secretary-General laid a wreath in memory of UN peacekeepers who have died since 1948. António Guterres also presided over the ceremony, which posthumously awarded Dag Hammarskjöld medals to the 61 military, police and civilian peacekeepers who died under the Organization’s flag last year.
The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers in UN agencies is celebrated on May 29. On this day in 1948, a military observer mission was sent to the Middle East to monitor the implementation of the Israeli-Arab armistice agreements. Since then, more than two million peacekeepers from 125 countries have taken part in 71 operations around the world.
International Day of UN Peacekeepers was established by the General Assembly in 2002 to pay tribute to the men and women serving in peacekeeping forces and to honor those who have given their lives in the name of peace. Today, about 76 thousand UN peacekeepers serve in 11 conflict zones in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
The Secretary-General also presented the Gender Champion Award to Major Radhika Sen, an Indian officer serving in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Established in 2016, the award recognizes “the efforts of an individual peacekeeper in advancing the principles of UN Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.”
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“Today we pay tribute to the 76,000 United Nations peacekeepers who embody humanity’s highest ideal of peace,” the Secretary-General said at the ceremony. “Day in and day out, at great personal risk, these women and men serve bravely in some of the most dangerous and volatile places on earth to protect civilians, advance human rights, secure elections, and strengthen democratic institutions. More than 4,300 people have died while serving under the UN flag. We will never forget them.”
The theme of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers in 2024 is “We are ready to meet current and future challenges. Together we will build the future we want.” UN peacekeeping has been promoting solutions to global problems for more than 75 years, helping host countries navigate the difficult journey from conflict to peace. The Secretary-General’s Policy Brief, A New Agenda for Peace, sets out the way in which multilateral peace and security operations must remain viable tools for resolving future crises and conflicts.
“UN peacekeeping remains a unique global partnership, with peacekeepers from more than 120 countries providing meaningful assistance to millions of people every day in some of the most dangerous places on the planet,” said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations. “As we meet the challenges of tomorrow, UN peacekeeping continues to evolve, leveraging partnerships to be flexible, responsive and fit for purpose, promoting stability, protecting vulnerable people and helping build lasting peace.”