Fallen Fijians will Be Honoured at UN
They were among 117 military, Police and civilian personnel who died during peacekeeping operations in 2016.
Two fallen Fijian peacekeepers will be among 117 honoured at the United Nations headquarters in New York tomorrow.
The military, Police and civilian personnel lost their lives during peacekeeping duties in 2016. They will posthumously receive the Dag Hammarskjold medal.
Major Jovilisi Cagilaba Sovita served with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) and Police Assistant Superintendent Mosese Tokailagi served with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
The medal ceremony is part of the UN Headquarters’ observance of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will lay a wreath to honour all fallen peacekeepers and will preside over the ceremony . In a video message to mark the Day, he said: “Every day, peacekeepers help bring peace and stability to war-torn societies around the world. On the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, we pay tribute to the more than 3500 peacekeepers who have given their lives in the service of peace since 1948.”
He further said: “Their sacrifice only strengthens our commitment to ensuring that United Nations peacekeepers continue protecting civilians in harm’s way, promoting human rights and the rule of law, removing landmines, advancing negotiations and securing a better future in the places they are deployed. Now, more than ever, it is essential that we continue investing in peace around the world.”
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, said: “We pay our greatest respects to the committed and courageous peacekeepers who are no longer with us today. I offer my deepest and most sincere condolences to the families of those we honour and to the bereaved.
“It’s critical that we continue to invest in peace and make every effort to carry forward their noble work, and that we continue to pursue reform efforts to make United Nations peacekeeping more efficient and effective. That is the best way we can honour the memories and sacrifices of our fallen peacekeepers.”
Today, more than 96,000 uniformed personnel from 124 troop-and-police-contributing countries serve under the blue flag, alongside more than 15,000 international and national civilian staff and nearly 1600 United Nations Volunteers.
Fiji is the 38th largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping. It currently deploys more than 650 military and police personnel to UN peace operations in Iraq, Lebanon, the Middle East, South Sudan and Sudan.
The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers was established by the General Assembly in 2002, to pay tribute to all men and women serving in peacekeeping, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace. The Assembly designated May 29 as the Day because it was the date in 1948 when the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO), the world body’s first peacekeeping mission, began operations in Palestine.
While the day will be marked in New York on the May 24, UN Peacekeeping operations and UN offices around the world will commemorate the day on or around May 29. Article published by the Department of Public Information, UN Headquarters, New York.