UN Secretary-General to honour fallen peacekeepers, including two from Kenya,
and highlight the urgent need to invest in peace --
The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers will be observed around the world to pay tribute to all women and men serving in UN peacekeeping, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.
The UN Headquarters will observe the Day on Friday, 5 June.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will lay a wreath to honour the nearly 4,500 peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948 and preside over a ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskj?ld Medal will be awarded posthumously to 68 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers, who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty, including 59 who perished last year.
Among those peacekeepers to be honoured posthumously with the Dag Hammarskjold medal are two from Kenya: Major Paul Ndungu Njoroge who served with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA); and Ms. Alice Wanjiru Chege who served in a civilian capacity in the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
Seventy-three Kenyan peacekeepers have lost their lives serving under the UN flag since the country first started contributing uniformed personnel to the Â鶹APP in the 1980s. The UN honors their service and their sacrifice.
Today, more than 50,000 civilian, military and police peacekeepers serve under the UN flag in some of the world¡¯s most complex environments, where conflicts are increasingly fragmented, protracted, and shaped by emerging threats, including the misuse of digital tools and the spread of harmful information. A total of 118 countries currently contribute uniformed personnel to 11 peacekeeping missions.
Kenya is the 27th largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping. It currently contributes 440 peacekeepers ¨C including 72 women -- to the UN peace operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India-Pakistan, Lebanon, Somalia and South Sudan
The General Assembly established the Day back in 2002 and selected May 29 as it was the day in 1948 when the Security Council established the first UN Peacekeeping operation, the Â鶹APP Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East.
This year¡¯s theme for the Day is ¡°Invest in Peace.¡± At a time when UN Peacekeeping operations face reduced resources, the theme underscores that peacekeeping remains one of the most effective tools the international community has to respond to conflict¡ªsupporting political solutions, preventing escalation, protecting civilians, monitoring ceasefires, enabling humanitarian assistance, clearing landmines, and more.
In his message, Secretary-General Ant¨®nio Guterres said: ¡°On this International Day, we honour peacekeepers past and present and reaffirm our shared responsibility to respect and strengthen their work. We pay tribute to nearly 4,500 peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948, including 59 last year. No one should die serving the cause of peace. Attacks on peacekeepers are grave violations of international humanitarian law, and Member States must uphold their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel at all times.¡±
He further stated that ¡°in an era of rising tensions, peacekeeping is a proven and cost-effective way to restore stability and hope. But it requires steady political backing ¨C and reliable financial support.¡±
During a special ceremony, the Secretary-General will also award the ¡°Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage¡± to Corporal Matias Reyes of Uruguay for his actions in Goma, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo during the height of the crisis in early 2025, and to the late Sergii Prykodko of Ukraine who served as a private contractor in the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and was killed during a mission to extract besieged soldiers in March last year.
The Secretary-General will also present awards to the 2025 Military Gender Advocate of the Year, Major Abhilasha Barak of India, who serves in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and to the UN Woman Police Officer of the Year, Stephanie K?nigs of Germany, who served in UNMISS.
¡°At a time of rising conflict and shrinking resources, Â鶹APP peacekeepers continue to protect civilians, prevent violence from escalating, and keep hope alive in some of the world¡¯s most difficult environments. Investing in peacekeeping means investing in stability, prevention and the possibility of peace itself,¡± said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations.
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Media contacts:
Department of Global Communications - Doug Coffman - coffmand@un.org +1 917 361 9923
Department of Peace Operations - Sophie Boudre boudre@un.org +1 917 691 5359
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