UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations has honoured at a solemn ceremony 128military, police and civilian personnel from 38 countries, including sevenPakistanis, who lost their lives while serving in peacekeeping operationsduring 2017.

Friday’s ceremony marked the annual International Day of Peacekeepersduring which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal was awarded posthumously to thepeacekeepers who have given their lives for the cause of peace, during thepreceding year.

This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of UNPeacekeeping, the world body’s flagship enterprise described bySecretary-General Antonio Guterres as “a proven investment in global peace,security and prosperity.”

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, AmbassadorMaleeha Lodhi, accepted the awards on behalf of the families of the sevenfallen Pakistani peacekeepers.

They are: Sepoy Hazrat Bilal, Naik Abdul Ghafoor and Naik Muhammad Ali whowere deployed with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Missionin the Central African Republic (MINUSCA); Sepoy Muhammad Ishtiaq Abbasi,Sepoy Tariq Javed, and Naik Atta ur Rehman who served with the UNOrganization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo(MONUSCO); and Sepoy Yassir Abbas from the African Union, United NationsMission in Darfur (UNAMID).

“We salute our shaheed for their courage and commitment to serveinternational peace,” Ambassador Lodhi said in an interview with APP afterthe ceremony. “Pakistan will continue to be on the frontlines ofPeacekeeping as we remain among the world’s top troops contributingcountries to UN blue helmets.”

Pakistan is one of the largest contributors of uniformed personnel to UNPeacekeeping. It currently contributes nearly 6,000 military and policepersonnel to the UN peacekeeping operations in the Central AfricanRepublic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Mali, Somalia,Sudan, South Sudan and Western Sahara.

In his remarks, the secretary-general, who led a moment of silence toremember the fallen peacekeepers, expressed his “deepest condolences andappreciation” to the family members and friends of those who died, as wellas his “deepest sorrow and greatest appreciation” to the countries thatcontributed the troops and police officers.

“We express our gratitude to the more than one million men and women whohave served under the UN flag, saving countless lives,” Guterres said. “Wehonour the more than 3,700 blue helmets who have paid the ultimate priceover the past seven decades. And we pay tribute to the 14 peacekeepingmissions working around the clock to protect people and advance the causeof peace.”

At a time of increasingly complex conflicts and rising peacekeeperfatalities, the UN chief said: “As we recognize a legacy of service andsacrifice around the world, I am also committed to taking action to makeour operations more effective and safer in today’s challengingenvironments.”

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations,said that UN peacekeepers “ civilian, police, men and women, militarypersonnel“ save lives every day.“Today, we honour those who have sacrificedtheir lives in service to peace. Their service and sacrifice inspires us towork harder to support a sustainable peace in some of the world’s mostcomplex and challenging places,” he added

“We owe a debt of gratitude to the brave men and women who risk their livesevery day in service to others, and we grieve with the families and nationsof our fallen colleagues,” Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, AtulKhare, said.

“But beyond gratitude, we owe our peacekeepers all the support we canmuster to ensure they are well-equipped, well-trained and well-prepared tocomplete their missions successfully.”

The General Assembly established the International Day of United NationsPeacekeepers in 2002 to pay tribute to all men and women serving inpeacekeeping, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their livesin the cause of peace.

The Assembly designated 29 May as the Day because it was the date in 1948when the first UN peacekeeping mission – the United Nations TruceSupervision Organization began operations in the Middle East.” – APP