International Day Of Un Peacekeepers
The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, May 29, is “a day to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations and to honor the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace
The United Nations says Peacekeepers are not a military branch of the UN. They include civilian, police, and military personnel from 122 UN members. As of April 2014, more than 115,000 peacekeepers serving in 16 UN peacekeeping missions around the world. In 1988, UN Peacekeeping Forces won the Nobel Peace Prize.
History
It was so designated by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 57/129, on December 11, 2002, after an official request of the Ukrainian Peacekeepers Association and the Government of Ukraine to the UN General Assembly and first celebrated in 2003. The date, May 29, marks the anniversary of the creation of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) in 1948 to monitor the ceasefire after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which was the first-ever UN peacekeeping mission.
