West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers said that India has made valuable contribution to UN peacekeeping forces.

Mamata Banerje in a tweet said, ” Today is International Day of UN Peacekeepers. The United Nations Peacekeeping Forces have provided invaluable service during the 70 years of their existence. India has also provided valuable contribution to UN peacekeeping forces. May they continue to serve with distinction”.

Today is International Day of UN Peacekeepers. The United Nations Peacekeeping Forces have provided invaluable service during the 70 years of their existence. India has also provided valuable contribution to UN peacekeeping forces. May they continue to serve with distinction

Advertisement

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 29, 2018

International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is an occasion to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in peacekeeping operations and to honor the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

According to United Nations, the theme for the 2018 International Day of UN Peacekeepers is “70 Years of Service and Sacrifice”

The Day, 29 May, offers a chance to pay tribute to the contributions of uniformed and civilian personnel to the work of the Organization and to honour more than 3,700 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving under the UN flag since 1948, including 129 who died last year.

This year, the United Nations celebrates the 70th anniversary of UN peacekeeping, a unique and dynamic instrument developed to help countries torn by conflict create the conditions for lasting peace.

Protecting civilians & supporting local communities is an essential part of most @UNPeacekeeping operations: https://t.co/hJL1ZTeLpJ #PK70 pic.twitter.com/4g86z9P7VX

— United Nations (@UN) May 28, 2018

The first UN peacekeeping mission was established on 29 May 1948, when the Security Council authorised the deployment of a small number of UN military observers to the Middle East to form the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) to monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours.

Since then, 71 peacekeeping operations have been deployed by the UN, 57 of them since 1988. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of military personnel, as well as tens of thousands of UN police and other civilians from more than 120 countries have participated in UN peacekeeping operations.

More than 3,326 UN peacekeepers from some 120 countries have died while serving under the UN flag.

Today, a little more than 110,000 military, police and civilian staff currently serve in 15 peacekeeping missions, representing a decrease in both personnel and peacekeeping missions, as a result of peaceful transitions and the rebuilding of functioning states.