- World
- May 30
What is Dag Hammarskjold Medal of the UN?
• Two Indian peacekeepers, who lost their lives while serving under the UN flag in 2024, were honoured posthumously by the United Nations on International Day of UN Peacekeepers.
• Brigadier General Amitabh Jha, who served with the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), and Havildar Sanjay Singh, who was deployed with the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), were honoured with the Dag Hammarskjold medal at a solemn ceremony at UN headquarters on the occasion of International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on May 30.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres laid a wreath to honour the more than 4,400 UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948.
• He then presided over the solemn ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjold Medals were awarded posthumously to 57 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their lives serving under the UN flag last year.
• India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish received the Dag Hammarskjold Medal on behalf of the families of fallen Indian Peacekeepers from the UN chief.
• Guterres also presented awards to the 2024 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Squadron Leader Sharon Mwinsote Syme from Ghana and the UN Woman Police Officer of the Year award to Superintendent Zainab Gbla of Sierra Leone. Both of them serve with the United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA).
International Day of UN Peacekeepers
• The International Day of UN Peacekeepers is observed on May 29.
• International Day of UN Peacekeepers was established by the UN General Assembly in 2002 to honour the memory of the UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the cause of peace, and to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in UN peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication and courage.
• The theme for this year’s International Day of UN Peacekeepers is the ‘Future of Peacekeeping’, which emphasises that the ‘Pact for the Future’ — adopted by world leaders in September 2024 — includes a commitment to adapt peacekeeping to the changing world.
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.
What is UN peacekeeping?
• UN peacekeeping helps countries torn by conflict create conditions for lasting peace. Peacekeeping has proven to be one of the most effective tools available to the UN to assist host countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace.
• It is a unique global partnership. It brings together the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Secretariat, troop and police contributors and the host governments in a combined effort to maintain international peace and security.
• The first UN peacekeeping mission was established in May 1948, when the UN Security Council authorised the deployment of a small number of UN military observers to the Middle East to form the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) to monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
• In over 70 years, more than one million men and women have served under the UN flag in more than 70 UN peacekeeping operations.
• There are currently 11 peacekeeping operations led by the Department of Peace Operations.
• In the early years, UN Peacekeeping’s goals were primarily limited to maintaining ceasefires and stabilising situations on the ground so that efforts could be made at the political level to resolve the conflict by peaceful means.
• Those missions consisted of military observers and lightly armed troops with monitoring, reporting and confidence-building roles in support of ceasefires and limited peace agreements. Troops and police came from a relatively small number of countries and they were mostly men.
• Over the years, UN Peacekeeping has adapted to meet the demands of different conflicts and a changing political landscape. Today’s multidimensional peacekeeping operations are called upon not only to maintain peace and security but also to facilitate the political processes, protect civilians, disarm combatants, support elections, protect and promote human rights and restore the rule of law.
• Peacekeeping has unique strengths, including legitimacy, burden sharing, and an ability to deploy and sustain troops and police from around the globe, integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to advance multidimensional mandates.
The role of UN Security Council
• The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the United Nations Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. It is for the Security Council to determine when and where a UN peace operation should be deployed.
• The Security Council responds to crises around the world on a case-by-case basis and it has a range of options at its disposal. It takes many different factors into account when considering the establishment of new peace operation.
• The Security Council establishes a peace operation by adopting a Security Council resolution. The resolution sets out that mission’s mandate and size.
• The Security Council can vote to extend, amend or end mission mandates as it deems appropriate.
What are the duties of peacekeepers?
• UN peacekeepers (often referred to as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets) provide security and the political and peacebuilding support to help countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace.
• While most peacekeepers are serving in the military or police, 14 per cent are civilians who perform a wide range of functions, from serving as the civilian leadership of the mission to working in the areas of political and civil affairs, human rights, elections, strategic communications, IT, logistics, transport and administration and more.
• Women peacekeepers today play an increasingly prominent role and are crucial towards improving the performance of the missions. They serve as police officers, troops, pilots, military observers, and other uniformed and civilian posts, including in command positions.
• With its expanded role and operations in some of the world’s most challenging environments, peacekeepers face considerable risks.
India’s role in UN peacekeeping
• Since the 1950s, India has contributed over 290,000 peacekeepers across more than 50 missions.
• Currently, over 5,000 Indian peacekeepers are deployed in nine active missions, working in challenging conditions to promote international peace.
• Medical care is among the many services Indian peacekeepers provide to the communities in which they serve on behalf of the UN. They also perform specialised tasks such as veterinary support and engineering services.
• India has also provided 15 Force Commanders to various missions, and was the first country to contribute to the Trust Fund on sexual exploitation and abuse, which was set up in 2016.
• Over 180 Indian peacekeepers have lost their lives while serving with the UN.
• Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria was martyred in December 1961 during the UN Mission in Congo. He was posthumously honoured with the Param Vir Chakra for his courage. He became the first and the only recipient of this coveted award given to a soldier in an UN operation.
• India has been at the forefront of deploying women in peacekeeping roles, both military and police.
• The first chapter of this journey began in the 1960s, when Indian women, as medical officers, were deployed in Congo.
• In 2007, India was the first to deploy an all-women Formed Police Unit in Liberia — a pioneering initiative that had an indelible impact on both the host community and the broader UN framework.
• Over the years, this initiative empowered Liberian women, increasing their participation in security sectors.
• Today, over 150 Indian women peacekeepers are deployed across six critical missions, including those in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Lebanon, Golan Heights, Western Sahara, and Abyei.
• The participation of women in peace operations makes it more diverse and inclusive. Women peacekeepers often have unique access to local communities, acting as role models for women in conflict zones.
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