Egypt, UN commemorate peacekeeping 75th anniversary in Cairo

Ahram Online , Tuesday 18 Jul 2023

Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the UN's Peacekeeping Operations in a joint ceremony at the Tahrir Palace in Cairo on Monday.

Peacekeeping
Egypt s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN in Egypt holds a high-level event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the UN peacekeeping operations in Cairo, 17 July 2023. Egypt s foreign ministry

 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that the high-level event was a tribute to the outstanding efforts and sacrifices of Egyptian peacekeepers in promoting international peace and security.

Ihab Badawi, Egypt’s Assistant Minister for Multilateral Affairs & International Security, and Elena Panova, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt, attended the event.

The ceremony was also attended by Egyptian male and female peacekeepers and their families, as well as numerous members of the Egyptian diplomatic community. 

The event provided an opportunity to recognize the services of Egyptian peacekeepers. 

Celebrations kicked off with the release of the UN Secretary-General's message for Peacekeeping Day 2023, in which he acknowledged the extraordinary contribution of peacekeepers to global peace and security and extended his sympathies and solidarity to family, friends and colleagues. 

"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,” the Secretary-General said.

"Today, on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, we honour their extraordinary contributions to international peace and security."

Egypt is a major supporter of the UN Secretary-General's Action for Peace (A4P) initiative aimed at improving the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations. In November 2018, Egypt hosted a major international rally aimed at improving the performance and effectiveness of UN peacekeeping operations. 

This was the first such meeting since the start of the A4P initiative. The result was the 'Cairo Roadmap for Peacekeeping,' which established a comprehensive plan of action and an equitable implementation framework for collective commitments in support of the Secretary-General's initiative. The African Union ultimately embraced the roadmap in 2020. 

“Egypt has a long-standing belief in the vital role of UN Peacekeeping in upholding international peace and security," Ambassador Badawi said during the celebration.

Badawi said Egypt's contributions have increased over time, making the country one of the largest contributors to the military and police in peacekeeping operations. 

Since 1960, Egypt has deployed more than 30,000 uniformed peacekeepers to 38 UN operations in 24 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, he added. 

"Furthermore, Egypt has been playing a key role and providing valuable contributions when it comes to developing conceptual aspects of peacekeeping and peacebuilding," the ambassador affirmed.

Egypt currently contributes more than 2,800 military and police personnel to UN peacekeeping operations in Abyei, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, South Sudan and Western Sahara, and uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping operations. Egypt is presently the sixth-largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping missions.

The celebration emphasized the need to involve more women in peacekeeping operations, as they are key to a more effective operation of peacekeeping operations in which Egypt has played an active role. This takes into account the role that the Egyptian peacekeeping force plays in its mission. 

The celebration also honoured the dedication and selflessness of the wounded Egyptian peacekeepers and their fallen comrades who made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of peace while serving under the banner of the UN. 

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