The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, 29 May, offers an opportunity for the global community to pay tribute to the uniformed and civilian peacekeeping personnel and their invaluable contribution to the work of the United Nations, and to honor the thousands of peacekeepers, both personnel in blue berets and civilians, who have lost their lives serving under the UN flag.
This year, the challenges and threats faced by the UN peacekeepers are even greater than ever as they, like people around the world, are having to cope not only with the COVID-19 pandemic but also the continued requirement to support and protect the people in the countries in which they are based.
In this year’s message on International Day of UN Peacekeepers, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterras stated: “I express my deep gratitude to the 85,000 civilian, police and military personnel currently deployed in some of the world’s most challenging hotspots to protect the vulnerable and help nurture peace in some of the world’s most dangerous places.
“Despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, as well as the risk of infection, these men and women have pursued their mission while also supporting local authorities in the fight against COVID-19. I offer sincere condolences to the families of peacekeepers who have fallen victim to this terrible disease.”
The theme for this year’s International Day of UN Peacekeepers is ‘The road to a lasting peace: Leveraging the power of youth for peace and security’. Highlighting the theme in his message, the UN Chief said, “This year’s observance focuses on the central question of youth, peace and security. In every country where our peacekeepers work, peace can only be achieved with the active participation of young people. The world needs to do far more to address their needs, amplify their voices and ensure their presence at decision-making tables.
“One of our greatest strengths is our own young peacekeepers, in particular young women peacekeepers who contribute every day to debunking deeply entrenched gendered stereotypes and inspire young women and girls to seek non-traditional paths and opportunities.
“United Nations peacekeeping helps nurture peace in some of the world’s most dangerous places. Today and every day, we salute the dedication and bravery of our peacekeepers in helping societies turn away from war and towards a safer, more stable future.”
Tens of thousands of young peacekeepers (between the ages of 18 and 29 years) are deployed around the world and play a major role in helping UN missions implement their mandated activities, including the protection of civilians. And UN peace operations — in line with a series of Security Council resolutions (2250, 2419 and 2535) — are increasing their collaboration with youth and youth groups to help build sustainable peace and implement their mandates on the ground.
The theme for this year’s Day gains added significance when considering that young people are key agents of change in building just and peaceful societies around the world. Figures show that around 87 percent of youth live in developing countries, and that over 30 percent live in fragile and conflict-affected places that yearn for a peaceful resolution. With young people of 15-24 years of age expected to grow to over 1.3 billion by 2030, they form the crucial cohort that could ensure a more peaceful world in future.
On this International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, let us pay tribute to UN peacekeepers and their efforts and contribution to maintaining and sustaining global peace. Let us also use this day to honor the more than 4,000 peacekeepers who lost their lives serving under the UN flag since 1948, including over 130 lives lost last year.
To officially honor the peacekeepers who paid the ultimate price with their lives while engaged in ensuring global peace over the past seven decades, the UN Secretary-General will lay a wreath at UN Headquarters in New York on 27 May. A virtual ceremony will also be held at which the Dag Hammarskjold medal, named after the first UN Secretary-General, will be awarded posthumously to peacekeepers who lost their lives in 2020 and in January 2021. The Military Gender Advocate of the Year award will also be presented on this occasion.
A look-back on the history of UN peacekeeping shows that the first UN peacekeeping mission was established on 29 May 1948. The mission came into existence following authorization from the UN Security Council to deploy a small contingent of UN military observers to the Middle East. The mission, named the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) was mandated to monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Though more than seven decades have passed since their first deployment to the region, UNTSO military observers still remain in the Middle East. The observers monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating and assist other UN peacekeeping operations in the region to fulfil their respective mandates.
Since the formation of the first contingent of UN peacekeeping forces, more than one million women and men have served in 72 UN peacekeeping operations around the world. These operations have directly impacted the lives of millions of people and saved countless lives worldwide. Today, UN Peacekeeping deploys more than 89,000 military, police and civilian personnel from 122 countries, including over 5,700 women, in 12 operations mainly in Africa and the Middle East.
Data available from the United Nations show that the top-five countries contributing uniformed personnel for UN peacekeeping operations around the world are Bangladesh, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Nepal and India. The top-ten countries together account for more than half (57%) of all UN peacekeepers. The number of countries contributing personnel from Africa (35) constitute more than a quarter of the 122 countries contributing forces, while Africa also accounts for a significant number of uniformed men and women involved in the peacekeeping process.
In contrast, despite many of the world’s most intractable conflicts continuing unabated in the Middle-East, the region’s presence in peacekeeping operations is glaringly absent. With the exception of Turkey which deploys 137 personnel, the only other two countries from the region contributing personnel for peacekeeping operations are Iran, which deploys two personnel and Qatar which provides a lone representative to peacekeeping.
Even more noteworthy is the contribution by the five permanent member countries of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Under the UN Charter, the primary responsibility mandated to the UNSC is to ensure international peace and security. The five permanent members determine when and where a UN peace operation should be deployed, as they have the final say in this matter by virtue of the veto power they wield over such decisions.
Despite the immense responsibility and the power they have in determining deployment of peacekeepers, the five permanent members — the United States, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, France and China— together contribute a total of 3,784 personnel to peacekeeping worldwide.
A breakup of the number of peacekeepers deployed by each permanent member of the Security Council shows that China deploys 2,469 personnel, France 672, the UK 553, the Russian Federation 61 and the United States deploys 29 uniformed men and women in blue berets.
It is quite telling that the United States and Russian Federation that are often at loggerheads in the Security Council over the deployment of UN peacekeepers to troubled spots, together account for less than the number of women serving as peacekeepers from the African nation of Burkina Faso.
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