Ready for the future, building better together
For 76 years, United Nations peacekeepers have worked to save and change the lives of people in the world’s most fragile political and security situations. Since 1948, more than two million military personnel and civilians have helped countries move from war to peace. Today, more than 70,000 peacekeepers serve in 11 missions deployed in sensitive areas around the world.
Celebrated under the theme “Future Ready, Building Better Together”, this year’s International Day reflects on the invaluable contributions that military, police and civilian peacekeeping operations have made over the past seven years. recent decades. It embodies the spirit of progress and collective action to create a more equal, just and sustainable world.
Over the years, peacekeeping operations have evolved to adapt to the changing political landscape and the nature of conflicts, which have become more complex and interconnected. With the support of UN Member States, they continue to move in the direction envisaged by the UN Secretary-General’s report Our Common Programcalling for a more robust, holistic and collective response to the security threats of today and tomorrow.
Despite the many challenges, United Nations peacekeepers persevere, alongside many partners, in the collective quest for peace. The International Day honors their service and sacrifice, as well as the resilience of the communities they serve. In particular, it pays tribute to the more than 4,000 peacekeepers who lost their lives in the service of peace.
This campaign also calls on all of us to join the global movement for peace. Alone, we can never succeed. But together we can be a powerful force for change.
Peace begins with meJoin the global peace movement. Show your support for peacekeepers, community leaders, activists and many others committed to making the world safer, who encourage us all to take action for peace. Visit the campaign website for more information. Multimedia content | Five tools to keep the peaceWhen we think of peacekeeping operations, we often think of mediation, treaties and international laws. However, peacekeepers use a wide range of tools to establish and maintain peace in some of the world’s most fragile places. As we celebrate the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, we review five tools non-traditional weapons that peacekeepers use to protect the communities they serve. Learn more |
Events
To mark the International Day, the United Nations Secretary-General laid a wreath at the Peacekeepers Memorial at UN Headquarters, in honor of the fallen Peacekeepers, on Thursday, May 30, 2024.
He then presided over an in-person ceremony where the Dag Hammarskjold Medal was posthumously awarded to fallen peacekeepers. He also presented the Defense of Gender Equality prize, an award given to the person among the military who has best distinguished himself in the defense of gender equality during the year. Watch the ceremony.
The Deputy Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, was the guest of the information meeting on May 30. All events are available on demand on UN Web TV.
