MINURSO observed the National Day of the Republic of Honduras raising its flag at the Mission HQ in Laayoune next to the UN flag.
Honduras has been a contributing country to MINURSO since the Mission’s inception in 1991. The recent appointment of the first female UNMO to Command Team Site Mahbas was widely covered in Honduras in the Honduran press. On this day, Honduras celebrates its independence from Spain mainly through educational events in schools and traditional dances in public places. Honduras national flag consists of three stripes; two turquoise blue stripes that represent the two Atlantic and Pacific oceans and a white stripe in the middle that represents peace. It has also five stars in the center that represent the five sister republics of Central America.
On 15 September, MINURSO also marked the National Day of the Republic of El Salvador by raising its flag at the Mission HQ in Laayoune.
As a country with armed conflict in its own past—and that has hosted a UN peace operation--El Salvador values the importance of international peacekeeping and presently deploys almost 250of ints personnel to UN-led peace operations, including MINURSO.
Each 15 September El Salvador celebrates its independence from the Spanish empire alongside other Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica following the Act of Independence of Central America signed in Guatemala City in 1821. The stars in El Salvador flag symbolize the provinces of the Republic. This "Star-Striped" banner was considered to be inspired by the flag of the United States. The blue stripes symbolize the ocean and sky And the white refers to Peace.
Felicidades, Honduras y El Salvador!