Top UN officials voice support for India's initiative to establish memorial wall honouring fallen peacekeepers

United Nations, May 26

Top United Nations officials voiced support for India’s initiative to establish a memorial wall honouring fallen UN peacekeepers as they lauded the country’s role and contribution to the global organisation’s peacekeeping missions across the world.

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers was commemorated here on Thursday with solemn ceremonies, including a wreath laid by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the Peacekeepers Memorial to honour the women and men who sacrificed their lives while serving under the UN flag.

Guterres also presided over a ceremony in the General Assembly Hall at which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medals were awarded posthumously to 103 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers, who were killed in the line of duty last year, including three Indian personnel.

Border Security Force personnel Head Constables Shishupal Singh and Sanwala Ram Vishnoi, who both served with the Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), and Shaber Taher Ali who served in a civilian capacity with the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) were honoured with the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal at the solemn ceremony.

India’s Permanent Representative at the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj received the medal from the Secretary-General.