International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers

Today, we pay tribute to the women and men who serve, or have served, in United Nations peace missions across the globe. We salute their courage and commitment, their dedication and determination to serve fellow human beings in dangerous and difficult circumstances, often far away from their homes and their loved ones.

Today, we pay tribute to the more than 2,300 civilian and military personnel who have died in the line of duty since 1948. We vow to remember them, and we pledge to carry on their efforts, to honour their memory and to ensure that their sacrifice will serve the cause of peace and stability in the world.

Countries and communities torn apart by violent conflict look to the United Nations. We owe it to them to respond to their call for assistance and to honour their expectations. Over 100,000 women and men are now deployed in our 18 peace operations on four continents, representing contributions of 115 countries. With increasingly broad and complex mandates, our peacekeepers are called upon to support often fragile peace agreements and ceasefires, and lay a foundation for longer-term peace and stability by assisting in rebuilding infrastructure, disarming and integrating ex-combatants, and performing a great number of other tasks that make an invaluable contribution to consolidating the peace.

Every day, the blue helmets bring hope and relief to communities ravaged by war, and around the world people place their trust in our peacekeepers. The highest levels of integrity and professionalism are expected of them, and we are committed to the policy of zero-tolerance when faced with incidents of sexual exploitation and abuse and other misconduct.

2006 saw significant achievements in our peace operations, including the successful conclusion of elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the rapid deployment of troops in Lebanon. 2007 brings new and urgent challenges. The Secretary-General has placed Darfur at the top of his agenda, and the effective deployment on the ground of the hybrid United Nations-African Union force in Darfur is a vital element in our efforts to put an end to the human suffering there. On 25 May, the Security Council called for the immediate implementation of the United Nations support packages of assistance to the African Union Mission in Sudan, and for a joint report of the United Nations and the African Union that sets out the mandate and structure of the planned hybrid operation to be considered and taken forward.

As demand for our services continues to grow, the Secretary-General is reforming our support structures to strengthen planning and implementation of peacekeeping operations worldwide. Together with sustained support by troop-contributing countries and robust, clear mandates, these reforms will help enable us to better meet the needs of countries emerging from conflict.

Each and every one of our peacekeepers deserves our deepest respect. Each and every one of them makes a difference between war and peace. Each and every one of them embodies the values, principles and objectives of the United Nations: peace and dignity for all. In their noble mission, they inspire and motivate all of us to redouble our efforts in the service of the world’s most vulnerable.