The annual International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on 29 May, offers a chance to pay tribute to the uniformed and civilians personnel’s invaluable contribution to the work of the organization and to honour more than the 3,800 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving under the UN flag since 1948, including 98 last year.
The theme of the 2019 International Day of UN Peacekeepers is “Protecting Civilians, Protecting Peace.”
Today, in 14 peacekeeping operations on four continents, more than 88,000 military and police personnel — from 124 Member States — nearly 13,000 civilian personnel, and 1,300 UN Volunteers are deployed. Despite the size and breadth of its operations, peacekeeping’s budget is less than one half of one percent of global military spending. Peacekeeping has clearly proven to be a solid investment in global peace, security and prosperity.
On this International Day of UN Peacekeepers, we pray for peace in the world – may it begin with us and our efforts to bring about justice for all