The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is observed on  29 May. The day offers to pay tribute to the uniformed and civilian personnel’s invaluable contribution to the work of the UN  Organization . At about  more than 4,000 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving under the UN flag since 1948.

The theme for this year’s Day is "The road to a lasting peace: Leveraging the power of youth for peace and security."

Tens of thousands of young peacekeepers (between the ages of 18 and 29 years) are deployed around the world . They play a major role in helping the missions implement their mandated activities including the protection of civilians.

The first UN peacekeeping mission was established on 29 May 1948. The Security Council authorized 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 neighbors.

Since then, more than 1 million women and men have served in 72 UN peacekeeping operations. They directly impacting the lives of millions of people and saving countless lives. Today, UN Peacekeeping deploys more than 89,000 military, police and civilian personnel.