Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Moments ago, I laid a wreath at the Peacekeepers Memorial to pay homage to the more than 4,200 peacekeepers who sacrificed their lives while serving under the UN flag.
Please join me in a moment of silence in their memory.
Thank you.
This year’s Dag Hammarskjöld medal ceremony honours the 117 women and men who lost their lives in 2021 serving as peacekeepers.
Our fallen colleagues came from 42 different countries and diverse backgrounds.
Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
Dear Colleagues,
Family of peacekeeping and friends of peacekeeping,
I am both humbled and greatly honoured to accept the Dag Hammarskjöld medal on behalf of the civilian peacekeepers who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of peace.
Today, I receive this medal on behalf of the families of 60 civilian personnel from 19 Member States.
Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
Military and police advisors,
Respectés membres de la famille du capitaine Hamit,
Major Zharare,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank you all for joining today’s ceremony, in this room or virtually.
United Nations Headquarters will observe the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on Thursday, 26 May. Secretary-General António Guterres will lay a wreath to honour the nearly 4,200 United Nations peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948 and will preside over a ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal will be awarded posthumously to 117 military, police and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their lives serving under the United Nations flag last year.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
As we continue to confront the COVID-19 pandemic your participation in the 2021 Peacekeeping Ministerial in Seoul is a reminder that peacekeeping is a truly global enterprise that requires the cooperation and contributions of all of us.
For those of you who have pledged to send your troops and police to our missions, we are truly grateful for all the effort, investment, and trust you have placed in us.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honored to moderate this session on Partnership, Training, and Capacity Building. I thank the Republic of Korea for hosting the Peacekeeping Ministerial despite COVID-19 challenges.
Training & Capacity Building
The quality of training and capacity building plays a crucial role in the performance and effectiveness of UN peacekeeping.
It is also essential to making progress across all areas of Action for Peacekeeping plus.
