• The UN observes the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on May 29.

• On the occasion, 64 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers were honoured posthumously with the  Dag Hammarskjold Medals for their supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

• United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres paid tribute to all peacekeepers serving under the UN flag and those who have died in the line of duty. 

• Guterres began the day by laying a wreath at the Peacekeepers Memorial Site on the grounds of UN Headquarters in New York in honour of the more than 4,300 “Blue Helmets” who lost their lives over the Organisation’s nearly 80-year history.

• Last year, 61 peacekeepers from 33 countries died in service. 

• Naik Dhananjay Kumar Singh, who served with the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) and lost his life serving under the UN flag, was honoured with the medal. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN ambassador, Ruchira Kamboj, received the medal from UN Secretary-General Guterres.

• More than 76,000 women and men from 121 countries are currently deployed in 11 operations worldwide. 

• India is the second largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping.

• It currently deploys more than 6,000 military and police personnel to the UN operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, the Middle East, Somalia, South Sudan, and Western Sahara.

• Nearly 180 Indian peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, the highest number from any troop-contributing country.

Dag Hammarskjold Medal

• On July 22, 1997, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of peacekeeping, the Security Council held a meeting to honour the over 750,000 men and women who served in United Nations peacekeeping operations. More than 1,500 of them lost their lives. 

• At the meeting, by resolution, the Security Council established the United Nations Dag Hammarskjold Medal as a posthumous award to members of peacekeeping operations.

• It is the highest honour awarded to UN peacekeepers. 

• It is named after the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjold. 

• Dag Hammarskjold was Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 10, 1953 until September 18, 1961 when he died in a plane crash while on a peace mission in the Congo. 

• The medal is awarded to peacekeepers who have distinguished themselves by exceptional courage, devotion to duty, and sacrifice in the cause of peace.

• On October 6, 1998, the first Medal was presented to the family of Dag Hammarskjold. 

• The second medal honoured Commandant Rene de Labarriere, military observer in the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation, who was the first peacekeeper to lose his life in a United Nations peacekeeping operation in 1948. 

• The third Medal was received by the family of Count Folke Bernadotte, United Nations mediator in Palestine, who was assassinated on September 17, 1948 in Jerusalem.

• Every year on Peacekeeper’s Day, this medal is awarded to any Member State who has lost one or more military or police peacekeepers at a ceremony at UN headquarters.

Additional read:

Indian peacekeeper receives UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award

Guterres presented the 2023 UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award to Major Radhika Sen, an Indian peacekeeper who served in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Major Radhika Sen was deployed in eastern DRC with the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, as the Commander of the Indian contingent’s engagement platoon.

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