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On Peacekeepers’ Day, UN honours those serving and fallen heroes
an article by UN News Centre (abbreviated)
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations family today
(May 27) paid tribute to the more than 120,000 military, police and
civilian personnel serving in peacekeeping missions across the world and
honoured those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace. “Their
deployment is a manifestation of our collective conviction that people
who have survived a war should not have to suffer again through a period
of insecurity, injustice and fear – and that only by removing these
conditions can we engender lasting peace,” Mr. Ban said in his message
on the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, observed on 29 May every
year.
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro (centre) lays wreath for fallen peacekeepers
In
a separate statement, Mr. Ban condemned the attack that occurred today
on a convoy carrying Italian peacekeepers serving with the UN Interim
Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) that resulted in several injuries. The
marking of the Day this year was already a particularly sombre occasion.
In early April, seven personnel were murdered in an attack on a UN
compound in Afghanistan, and a few days later, 32 lives, many of them UN
staff, were lost in the crash of a plane serving the UN peacekeeping
operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Those incidents followed others involving fatalities around the
world, including last year’s loss of a total of 173 peacekeepers to
natural disasters, violence, accidents and disease, including the more
than 100 who died in a single catastrophic event – the January 2010
earthquake in Haiti.
“The victims came from all over the United Nations system. They
were military, civilian and police – UN volunteers and national staff,”
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said in her remarks at a
wreath-laying ceremony at UN Headquarters for fallen peacekeepers.
“They had different responsibilities, nationalities and interests. But
they shared an abiding belief in the principles of the United Nations
Charter. They put their lives on the line, so that others could have a
safer and brighter future.”
In his message, Mr. Ban noted that on the International Day, the
world body not only remembers the heavy sacrifices of its staff, but it
also hails their accomplishments. “From supporting the Southern Sudan
referendum to helping resolve the post-electoral crisis in Côte
d’Ivoire, from supporting training, capacity-building and institutional
development of police in Timor-Leste to patrolling the hills of southern
Lebanon, United Nations blue helmets have represented the Organization
at its best – restoring stability; fostering reconciliation; and
nurturing hope for a better future,” he said.
Almost 60,000 UN personnel are today actively engaged with
national counterparts to help rebuild, renovate and strengthen the
foundations on which criminal justice systems are built, according to
Dmitry Titov, the Assistant Secretary-General for the Office of Rule of
Law and Security Institutions. There are nearly 85,000 military
personnel, more than 14,000 police officers, 5,700 international
civilian and 13,700 national staff serving in 15 operations on four
continents, according to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations
(DPKO).
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DISCUSSION
Question(s) related to this article:
Could Armed Forces personnel be assigned to Culture of Peace projects?
Thematic forum(s) in which this article is being discussed:
MILITARY PEACEKEEPING - OPERATIONS MAINTIEN DE LA PAIX
Latest reader comment:
It makes
prefect sense to change military warriors into peace warriors.
Peace-keeping can involve protecting civilian populations while
reconstruction of nations occurs. It could also involve building
schools and water plants and restoring forests. Additionally
military skills and equipment are useful during hurricanes and
earthquakes and other natural disasters. The dual role of soldiers
as protectors and peacemakers makes sense in the transition from a
Culture of War to a Culture of Peace.
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This report was posted on July 14, 2011.
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