2013 THEME: "UN PEACEKEEPING: ADAPTING TO NEW CHALLENGES"
United Nations peacekeeping has adapted its policies, revised its structures and developed new practices and training to better perform its life-saving work.
Since its beginning in 1948, United Nations peacekeeping has evolved into one of the main tools used by the international community to manage complex crises that threaten international peace and security.
The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, which is commemorated each year on the 29th of May, is an occasion to salute the more than 111,000 peacekeepers serving in 15 missions in some of the world's most volatile and dangerous environments. This Day is also a time to mourn fallen peacekeepers. During its history, more than 3,100 "Blue Helmets" have died devoting their lives to peace, including 111 men and women in 2012.
This year, the United Nations is marking the Day by highlighting that international peace and security needs are changing rapidly, and UN Peacekeeping is adapting to meet these new challenges to help people and countries coming through some of the world’s most destructive conflicts.
UN Peacekeeping continues to develop innovative ways to rapidly deploy and support operations to ensure that we get the job done in the most challenging conditions and that we do this in an efficient and cost-effective way.
More than ever, UN Peacekeeping is a flexible tool. UN Peacekeeping works. Currently, UN Peacekeeping operations receive contributions of military and police personnel from 116 Member States. This impressive number reflects strong global confidence in the value of United Nations Peacekeeping as a tool for collective security.
To mark the Day at UN Headquarters, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at 10:00 a.m. At 10:30 a.m., the Secretary-General will preside over a ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal will be awarded posthumously to the military, police and civilian personnel who lost their lives while serving in peacekeeping operations in 2011. The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Herve Ladsous, will hold a press conference at 12:00.
For more information:
- International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers at UN Peacekeeping
- Meet a few of the UN Peacekeepers deployed around the world
MESSAGES AND REMARKS
- Secretary-General's Message for the 2013 Observance
- Secretary-General's Remarks at the Wreath-laying Ceremony
- Under-Secretary-General's Remarks at the Wreath-laying Ceremony
- Secretary-General's Remarks at the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal Ceremony to Honour Fallen Peacekeepers
- Under-Secretary-General's Remarks at the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal Ceremony to Honour Fallen Peacekeepers
- Under-Secretary-General's Remarks at United Nations Headquarters Medal Parade
EVENTS
Special events on the occasion of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers (A/RES/57/129) Organized by the Office of Military Affairs, Department of Peacekeeping Operations
- Wreath-laying ceremony
Wednesday, 29 May 2013, from 10.00 a.m., in the Visitors’ Lobby, General Assembly Building. - Dag Hammarskjöld medal ceremony
Wednesday, 29 May 2013, from 10.30 a.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium. - Medal parade
Tuesday, 29 May 2013, from 2 p.m - Spokeperson's noon briefing
Guests are Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Herve Ladsous and the Under-Secretary-General for Field Support Ameerah Haq.