United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres paid tribute on Friday to three Moroccan peacekeepers who died while serving in UN operations in Africa, awarding them the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal posthumously during the organization’s annual memorial ceremony in New York.
The medals were presented to Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, in recognition of the service and sacrifice of the three members of the Royal Armed Forces.
Two of the peacekeepers served with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), while the third was deployed with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).
Hilale extended condolences to the families of the fallen peacekeepers and praised their commitment to defending the principles of peace and the values of the United Nations.
Morocco remains one of the UN’s leading troop contributing countries, with 1,714 military personnel currently deployed in MONUSCO and MINUSCA, placing the kingdom among the top ten contributors worldwide.
The ceremony commemorated nearly 4,500 peacekeepers who have lost their lives in UN operations since 1948, including 59 military, police and civilian personnel who died in service during the past year.
Addressing the gathering, Guterres said UN peacekeepers continue to represent “the best of humanity,” noting that more than two million women and men have served in 71 peacekeeping missions across four continents since the organization’s first deployment.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.