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75 Years of United Nations Peacekeeping

‘We are not alone in our endeavours’

  • Diplomatic Correspondent
  • 3 May, 2023 12:00 AM
  • Print news
‘We are not alone in our endeavours’
Bangladesh, one of the largest contributors to UN Peacekeeping, deployed women pilots for the first time to serve with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2017, Bangladesh sent two female combat pilots to the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) – Flight Lieutenant Nayma Haque and Flight Lieutenant Tamanna-E-Lutfi. —UN photo

A new photo exhibit on United Nations Peacekeeping opened at Headquarters on Monday, honouring the service and sacrifice of uniformed and civilian peacekeepers as it marks its 75th anniversary.

“For 75 years, UN Peacekeeping has helped to end conflict, protect civilians, advance political solutions, and secure sustainable peace,” said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations.

“Peacekeepers are ordinary people working in difficult and dangerous conditions to achieve extraordinary outcomes for the communities they serve,” he said.

“The results of their efforts to help countries navigate the difficult path from war to peace can be found in countries like Liberia, Namibia, Cambodia, Sierra Leone, and Timor-Leste.”

Part of a year-long global campaign, the exhibit theme “Peace Begins with Me” seeks to demonstrate the powerful impact of UN peacekeeping and its partners on the lives of millions of people caught up in catastrophic conflict.

Featuring a curated collection of peacekeepers in action from the very first deployment of military observers to the Middle East in 1948, through to the current 12 missions in operation, the images document the complex and diverse work performed by peacekeeping personnel in some of the world’s most fragile political and security situations.

From UN protection of civilians’ camps that saved tens of thousands of lives in South Sudan to elections in DR Congo and critical demining efforts in Cyprus, the photos capture the indispensable support that "blue helmets", police, and civilian peacekeepers provide to communities in need.

Peacekeepers working for the United Nations in some of the world’s most dangerous environments are “ordinary people striving to achieve extraordinary outcomes” according to the exhibition marking 75 years of UN peacekeeping operations.

The first so-called blue helmets were deployed as military observers to the Middle East in 1948 and since then more than two million uniformed and civilian personnel have served in 71 peacekeeping operations around the world.

The exhibition shows how, over three quarters of a century, peacekeepers have supported nations in the often-difficult journey from conflict to peace, reconciliation and ultimately development.

The exhibition which is entitled ‘Peace Begins With Me’ also serves as a reminder that keeping the peace is the responsibility of all people, everywhere, says a UN news on May 1.