Peacekeepers Day: Ban leads UN in paying tribute to fallen heroes

May 30, 2013 : Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon led the United Nations on Wednesday in honouring those who lost their lives over the past year serving under the blue flag, while also raising awareness about new developments in the field of peacekeeping.

On this International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, observed annually on 29 May, the world body honoured 111 peacekeeping personnel who died last year and paid tribute to the some 3,000 others who have fallen in the line of duty since the first peacekeepers deployed 65 years ago.

“We are working hard to improve safety for our personnel around the world. But peacekeeping is inherently dangerous. And the risks are growing,” Mr. Ban said during a wreath-laying ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York.

Last year, UN personnel were killed during attacks on patrols in Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan, and South Sudan, the Secretary-General recalled. In the coming months, members of the UN intervention brigade will arrive in the eastern DRC and the UN will field a new operation in Mali, where terrorism poses a real threat, he added.

“Acts of violence receive the most attention – but they are not the only threat to our personnel. Many of our fallen colleagues die from disease. Others lose their lives in car accidents on dangerous roads in undeveloped areas,” said Mr. Ban. “Whatever the cause of death, we honour all fallen peacekeepers for their sacrifice, courage and selfless service on behalf the United Nations.”

While peacekeeping is fraught with risk, it is also filled with promise, Mr. Ban said afterwards at the Dag Hammarskjöld medal ceremony to honour fallen peacekeepers. “Our blue helmets bring hope to millions of people in some of the most troubled parts of the world.” He said he saw this for himself last week when he travelled to Mozambique, where peace today traces back to a UN peacekeeping mission fielded some two decades ago, as well as in DRC, where UN peacekeepers are working to help bring peace and stability.

“Our aim is to make peacekeeping more effective for the people we serve, and safer for the staff who carry out this life-saving work.” With global peace and security needs changing rapidly, this year’s International Day focuses on how UN peacekeeping is ‘Adapting to new challenges’.

As the Secretary-General noted in his message for the Day, UN peacekeeping is increasingly called on to deploy multi-dimensional operations to help countries transition from conflict to peace, with a significant focus on protecting civilians, including the most vulnerable among them: women and children.

“To meet emerging threats and rise to new challenges, United Nations peacekeeping is adjusting its policies to better fulfil its mandates to bring lasting peace to war-torn countries,” he stated.

In addition to events at UN Headquarters, the International Day is being marked at various peacekeeping missions worldwide. Currently, there are more than 111,000 UN personnel serving in 15 peacekeeping missions.