UN Headquarters will observe the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on Thursday, 30 May 2024.
In 1948, the historic decision was made to deploy military observers to the Middle East to supervise the implementation of Israel-Arab Armistice Agreements, in what became the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization.
Since that time, more than two million peacekeepers from 125 countries have since served in 71 operations around the world. Today, some 76,000 women and men are serving in 11 conflict zones across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Today, Rwanda is the 4th largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping. It currently deploys nearly 6,000 to the UN peace operations in Abyei, Central African Republic, Haiti, and South Sudan.
During formal ceremonies at UN Headquarters, Secretary-General, António Guterres, will lay a wreath to honour all UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948. He will also preside over a ceremony in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, at which Dag Hammarskjöld Medals will be awarded posthumously to 64 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their lives serving under the UN flag, including 61 who perished last year.
Among those to be honoured posthumously with the Dag Hammarskjold medal are two peacekeepers from Rwanda: SGT Eustache Tabaro who served with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA); and SGT MAJ Ngoga François who was deployed with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
The Secretary-General will also present the 2023 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award to Major Radhika Sen, a military officer from India, who served with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Created in 2016, the Award “recognizes the dedication and effort of an individual peacekeeper in promoting the principles of UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security”.
In his message, the Secretary-General said: “Today we pay tribute to the more than 76,000 United Nations peacekeepers who embody humanity’s highest ideal: peace. Day in and day out, at great personal risk, these women and men bravely work in some of the most dangerous and unstable places on earth to protect civilians, uphold human rights, support elections and strengthen institutions. More than 4,300 peacekeepers have paid the ultimate price while serving under the UN flag. We will never forget them.”
The theme for 2024 International Day of UN Peacekeepers is “Fit for the future, building better together.” The theme denotes that while UN Peacekeeping has proven to be part of the solution for over 75 years — assisting host countries in navigating the difficult path from conflict to peace — the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace policy brief sets out a path for multilateral peace and security operations to remain viable tools to address future crises and conflict.
“UN Peacekeeping remains a unique global partnership, with peacekeepers from over 120 countries making a meaningful difference every day to millions of people in some of the world’s most difficult places,” said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations. “As we respond to tomorrow’s challenges, UN Peacekeeping continues to evolve, leveraging partnerships to be nimble, responsive and fit-for-purpose, promote stability, protect the vulnerable and help to build a durable peace.”
The UN General Assembly established the International Day of UN Peacekeepers in 2002, to pay tribute to all men and women serving in peacekeeping, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.