United Nations thanks Türkiye for its contribution to peacekeeping
New York, 9 November 2022: Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix thanked Türkiye for its strong support to United Nations Peacekeeping and the service and sacrifice of its uniformed personnel deployed around the world under the UN flag.
Türkiye is a longstanding contributor of peacekeepers to the United Nations. It currently provides 179 military and police personnel, including 24 women, to eight UN peace operations. making it the 60th largest contributor.
Türkiye’s largest deployment is with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) where 110 peacekeepers serve mostly as part of UNIFIL’s Maritime Task Force, which supports the Lebanese Navy in monitoring its territorial waters and securing the coastline.
Türkiye also provides uniformed personnel to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS); United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA); UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA); UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK); UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS); the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).
“The UN particularly appreciates Türkiye’s deployment of naval personnel and ships to UNIFIL’s Maritime Task Force, which is integral to maintaining peace,” said Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
“Turkish military and police make a tangible difference wherever they serve. On the ground, they demonstrate a high-level of professionalism and dedication and we are deeply grateful for their continued contribution. We will never forget the sacrifice of the six Turkish peacekeepers who lost their lives over the years while serving under the UN flag,” he said.
Türkiye also endorsed the Secretary-General’s ‘Action for Peacekeeping (A4P)’ initiative, which aims to strengthen peacekeeping through more targeted mandates, stronger and safer operations, better equipped and trained forces, and by mobilizing support for political solutions.
The UN's Department of Global Communications runs the international multi-year communications campaign titled 'UN Peacekeeping -- Service and Sacrifice.' The campaign expresses the world body's gratitude to the countries that contribute their uniformed men and women to serve in the peacekeeping missions.
https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/service-and-sacrifice
Since 1948, more than a million women and men have served as UN peacekeepers. Every day, they make a tangible difference in the lives of millions of the world’s most vulnerable people, and every day they save lives. Peacekeeping is a unique force with military and police personnel from over 120 countries serving together, alongside civilian colleagues. UN peacekeepers come from diverse cultures and speak different languages, but share a common purpose: the protection of vulnerable communities and the provision of support to countries struggling to move from conflict to peace. Tragically some make the ultimate sacrifice - over 3,500 peacekeepers have lost their lives in the cause of peace. https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/what-is-peacekeeping
Action for Peacekeeping: https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/action-for-peacekeeping-a4p
Media enquiries at UNHQ :
Department of Global Communications (New York):
Douglas Coffman
+ 1 917 361 9923
coffmand@un.org
Media enquiries in Türkiye
UN Information Centre, Ankara
Mr. Kadir Ahmet Parla
National Information Officer
+ (90-312) 454-1052