At exactly noon local time, MINURSO paused all operations as SRSG Alexander Ivanko and Force Commander Major General Zia Ur Rehman presided over a solemn ceremony held in Laayoune and watched online by the entire mission. After remarks by mission leadership, Ghana’s national anthem and “Last Post” were played and a guard of honour composed of women peacekeepers from Egypt, Pakistan, Ghana, Hungary, Brazil and Malawi [VINCENT PLS CHECK TO SEE IF I MISSED ANY NATIONALITIES IN THE GUARD] oversaw a minute of silence and the laying of a memorial wreath in the memory of Brigadier General Constance Emefa Edjeani-Afenu, MINURSO’s first female Deputy Force Commander.
Earlier in the week, the UN Secretary-General paid tribute [USE HYPERLINK] to the former DFC, calling her “ a true pioneer” and highlighting “her tireless work to promote inclusiveness and increase the number of women in the peacekeeping operations where she served.”
All of MINURSO joins the Secretary-General in offering our heartfelt condolences to her family and to the people and the Government of Ghana.
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Photo gallery internal: However you want to do it, just a place for people to post and for us to post our stuff as well; Videos: need to be sent via photo transfer to Mita Hosali, Douglas Coffman, Aditya Mehta, Sara Qamar and Sophie Boudre, Robert Skinner, and Ben Malor.