Every year on 29 May, the UN commemorates the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. On this day, we pay tribute to all the women and men who serve and have served as military, police or civilians in UN Peace operations. We commend their professionalism and dedication, and honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.
The focus for Peacekeepers’ Day 2021 is Youth, Peace and Security, under the theme “The road to a lasting peace: Leveraging the power of youth for peace and security.” It highlights, both, the work of our young peacekeepers as well as the collaboration of peace operations with youth to implement mission mandates.
This year, the International Day will be marked on Thursday, 27 May at UNHQ, through virtual events, due to continuing constraints imposed by the pandemic.
We hope you will be able to follow these events online and join us in paying tribute to our fallen peacekeepers.
Schedule at Headquarters on 27 May (all times Eastern)
10:00 a.m. – The Secretary-General will lay a wreath in honour of all fallen peacekeepers. The ceremony will be covered by UN Photo only.
10:30 a.m. – The Dag Hammarskjöld Medal and Military Gender Advocate of the Year award ceremonies will be held virtually and telecast live on UN Webcast: http://webtv.un.org/
The Secretary-General will award the Dag Hammarskjöld medal to 129 military, police and civilian peacekeepers who lost their lives in 2020 and in first month of 2021.
The Secretary-General will also present the Military Gender Advocate of the Year award at this virtual ceremony to Major Steplyne Nyaboga from Kenya.
Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, and Under-Secretary General for Operational Support, Atul Khare, will also deliver remarks.
11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, will be the guest at the noon briefing. It will be webcast live at: http://webtv.un.org/
2:30 p.m. – The UNHQ Medal ceremony will be held virtually. This year, a total of 56 military and police personnel will be awarded medals for serving for more than three months at Headquarters.
#PKDay digital campaign
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