Today is the International Day for UN Peacekeepers.

In areas of conflict around the world civilian lives are at risk. In countries and regions that are in the grips of war people are forced to abandon their homes and live on the streets. In some places prisoners escape, adding to the on-going conflict. Instead of being ruled by law, “societies are plunged into lawlessness.”

The help of United Nations peacekeeping forces can transform chaos into calm. But for real peace and security to take place peacekeepers must do much more than disarm local combat troops. They must “strengthen the institutions responsible for security and justice – the police, the courts and the correctional institutions – with full respect 
for the rule of law and human rights.” 

The purpose of the International Day for UN Peacekeepers is to honour the memory of those UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the cause of peace and to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in UN Peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication and courage.

Events that often take place on this day are memorial services, presentations and photo exhibitions on the work of UN Peacekeeping officers, and peacekeeping medal awards for military and police officers.

 

Also in May:

World No-Tobacco Day – May 31st

Africa Day – May 25th

The Day of Cyrillic Alphabet – May 24th

International Day for Biological Diversity – May 22nd

Cultural Diversity Day – May 21st

Cultural Diversity Day: A Special ‘Hello!’

World Day Against Homophobia – May 17th

World Telecommunications and Information Society Day – May 17th

Mastering the Art of Cheek Kissing

International Day of Families – May 15th

World Fair Trade Day – May 12th

Red Cross Crescent Day – May 8th

Europe Day – May 9th

Wesak – May 5th

World Press Freedom Day – May 3rd

May Day – May 1st

 

Tags: Conflict, peace, Peacekeepers, United Nations

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 at 9:00 am and is filed under days of significance, General . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.