File Photo: Egyptian peacekeepers during one of the missions of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) (Photo courtesy of MINUSCA)
Among the fallen peacekeepers to be honoured Thursday during the United Nation’s ceremony on the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, are five Egyptians.
The five Egyptians are: Sgt Ahmed Mohsen, Cpl Islam Mahmoud Ismail, Pvt Mohammed Elamir, Sgt Ahmed Mahmoud Rizk who served with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), and Police WO Abdelwanis Rahoma who was with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
Egypt, which is 7th largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping, currently deploys nearly 3,100 military and police personnel to the UN peace operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Sudan, South Sudan and the Western Sahara.
The International Day of UN Peacekeepers – 29 May – was established by the General Assembly in 2002. Its purpose is 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, according to a statement put out by the intergovernmental organisation on Tuesday.
The date was initially chosen to commemorate the day in 1948 when the UN’s first peacekeeping mission, the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), began operations in Palestine.
The statement also said that Secretary-General António Guterres will lay a wreath to honour the more than 4,000 UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948. He will also preside over a ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal will be awarded posthumously to 129 military, police and civilian peacekeepers who lost their life serving under the UN flag last year and in the first month of this year.
In commemoration of the event, Guterres said of the fallen peacekeepers: “Their service and sacrifices will never be forgotten. 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 to build peace.”
In spite of the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, as well as the risk of infection, the Secretary-General said that those men and women had pursued their mission while also supporting local authorities in the fight against COVID-19, offering sincere condolences to the families of peacekeepers who had fallen victim to the terrible disease.
“We salute the dedication and bravery of our peacekeepers, who serve and perform admirably in challenging environments only compounded by the ongoing pandemic,” Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, said.
Referring to the theme for the 2021’s observance – “The road to a lasting peace: Leveraging the power of youth for peace and security” – Lacroix also honoured young peacekeepers for bringing energy and innovation, and serving as role models to youth populations working tirelessly to ensure meaningful representation and participation in political processes.
UN Peacekeeping, which has deployed more than 1 million peacekeepers since 1984, currently has around 89,000 military, police and civilian personnel serving in 12 operations.
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