Indian Peacekeepers To Receive UN's Dag Hammarskjöld Medal Posthumously

The UN General Assembly designated the International Day of UN Peacekeepers to recognise all military personnels and commemorate the ones who have lost their lives in service.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres will honour Indian peacekeepers Brigadier Amitabh Jha and Havildar Sanjay Singh posthumously with the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal.

The United Nations, in its commemoration of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers this week, will be honouring two Indian peacekeepers posthumously during the Solemn Ceremony on May 29. The day is observed to pay tribute to the over 4,300 peacekeepers who have died in service under the UN flag since 1948. 

India ranks as the fourth largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping missions, with over 5,300 military and police personnel currently serving in operations across Abyei, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Somalia, South Sudan, and Western Sahara.

Brigadier Amitabh Jha and Havildar Sanjay Singh, the two UN peacekeepers who lost their lives in service, will be awarded the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal in recognition of their supreme sacrifice in the service of global peace.

Brigadier Amitabh Jha was associated with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), who served extensively in handling sensitive ceasefire arrangements in the Golan Heights, while Havildar Sanjay Singh worked with the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), where he was involved in stabilising the conflict-affected regions. 

What Is International Day of UN Peacekeepers?

The UN General Assembly designated the International Day of UN Peacekeepers to recognise all military personnel and commemorate those who have lost their lives in service. The origins of UN peacekeeping can be traced back to 1948 when it was established to send military observers to the Middle East to oversee the enforcement of the Israel-Arab Armistice Agreements, leading to the creation of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization.

Since then, over two million peacekeepers have participated in 71 different missions across the globe. At present, around 68,000 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers are deployed in 11 active missions across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, with 119 nations contributing personnel to these operations.

As part of the Peacekeepers' Day observances at the United Nations headquarters, Secretary General Antonio Guterres will lay a wreath in tribute to the more than 4,400 UN peacekeepers who have died in service since 1948.

A ceremony where the Dag Hammarskjöld Medals will be awarded posthumously to 57 military, police, and civilian personnel who lost their lives while serving in UN peacekeeping missions during the past year, is also set to take place with Secretary General Antonio Guterres presiding over it.