Naik Dhananjay Kumar Singh, who served with the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was posthumously honored with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal.
An Indian peacekeeper who lost his life while serving under the UN flag was among over 60 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers honored posthumously on Thursday with a prestigious medal for their service and supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.
Naik Dhananjay Kumar Singh, who served with the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), was posthumously honored with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal. The solemn ceremony took place during the UN's commemoration of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
Naik Dhananjay Kumar Singh, who served with the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), was posthumously honored with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal. The solemn ceremony occurred during the UN's commemoration of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
India is the second-largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping.
Currently, it deploys over 6,000 military and police personnel to UN operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, the Middle East, Somalia, South Sudan, and Western Sahara.
Nearly 180 Indian peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, the highest number from any troop-contributing country.
During formal ceremonies at the United Nations Headquarters on May 30, Secretary-General António Guterres laid a wreath at the Peacekeepers Memorial Site on the North Lawn to honor all UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948.
He presided over a ceremony in which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medals were awarded posthumously to 64 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers who lost their lives serving under the UN flag, including 61 who died last year.
In his message to mark Peacekeepers’ Day, Secretary-General António Guterres paid tribute to the more than 76,000 United Nations peacekeepers who embody humanity’s highest ideal: peace.
“Day in and day out, at great personal risk, these women and men bravely work in some of the most dangerous and unstable places on earth to protect civilians, uphold human rights, support elections, and strengthen institutions,” he said. Guterres noted that over 4,300 peacekeepers have paid the ultimate price while serving under the UN flag. “We will never forget them.”
In 1948, the historic decision was made to deploy military observers to the Middle East to supervise the implementation of Israel-Arab Armistice Agreements, which became the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation.
