Eight Pakistanis are among 103 United Nations peacekeepers from around the world would be honoured posthumously on May 25 at a special ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping, UN announced yesterday. The Pakistani peacekeepers include six who were martyred while serving with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) when their helicopter crashed on March 29, 2022. They are: Havildar Muhammad Ismail, Major Faizan Ali, Lt Col Asif Ali Awan, Naib Subedar Sami Ullah Khan, Major Muhammad Saad Nomani, and Lance Havildar Muhammad Jamil Khan. Havildar Babar Siddique lost his life while also serving in MONUSCO and Corporal Rana Muhammad Tahir Islam while serving with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

The formal ceremonies would be held at UN Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres will lay a wreath to honour the more than 4,200 UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948. He will also preside over a ceremony in the General Assembly Hall at which gold Medals will be awarded posthumously to 103 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their lives serving under the UN flag last year. The Secretary-General will also present the 2022 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award to Captain Cecilia Erzuah, a military officer from Ghana who served with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

Created in 2016, the Award recognizes the dedication and effort of an individual peacekeeper in promoting the principles of UN Security Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. In his message for the occasion, the Secretary-General said, United Nations peacekeepers are the beating heart of our commitment to a more peaceful world. For 75 years, they have supported people and communities rocked by conflict and upheaval across the globe.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, said: Peacekeeping is a powerful example of how strong partnerships and collective political will can result in meaningful change. Working together with local communities and other partners, our personnel protect civilians, advance political solutions, and help end conflicts in the pursuit of sustainable peace. “We appreciate the support of all stakeholders to ensure that UN Peacekeeping can continue to work as an effective multilateral tool for global peace and security. The International Day of UN Peacekeepers was established by the UN General Assembly 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.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP