By PRO IUNVA
On 29 May 2024, the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, paid tribute to all serving peacekeepers and to those who lost their lives in the service of the UN. The ceremony commenced with a wreath lay at the Peacekeepers Memorial Site at UN HQ New York in honour of the more than 4,300 military, police and civilians who lost their lives over the Organization’s nearly 80-year history.
In 2023, sixty one 61 peacekeepers from 33 countries died in service. Their families have received Dag Hammarskjöld medals, named after the second UN Secretary-General, who died in a plane crash on 18 Sep 1961 in what was then Northern Rhodesia. Today, more than 87,000 peacekeepers from 125 countries serve in twelve UN operations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
