Morocco is the 11th largest contributor to Blue Helmets peacekeeping

Morocco is the 11th largest contributor to UN peacekeeping with more than 1,700 military and police serving in Abyei, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, according to the UN.

The UN celebrates International Day of UN Peacekeepers on Thursday, May 25, 2023, and commemorates the 75th anniversary of UN peacekeeping operations.

On this occasion, the United Nations Information Center in Rabat held an online media briefing with Moroccan peacekeepers of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

During the briefing with journalists, UN officials said the Kingdom of Morocco has been contributing to UN peacekeeping efforts since 1960, noting that it is among the top 11 contributing countries with more than 1,700 military and police serving in Abyei, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.

They also said the briefing, which links Moroccan journalists with Moroccan peacekeepers, is the first of its kind. It aims to allow the media to better understand the missions and to have a more detailed and in-depth idea of the efforts made by these soldiers to keep the peace in countries under tension.

Secretary-General António Guterres will lay a wreath at an official ceremony at U.N. headquarters that day to honor the more than 4,200 U.N. peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948.

He will also preside over a ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medals were awarded posthumously to 103 military, police and civilian peacekeepers who lost their lives while serving under the UN flag last year.

Among the peacekeepers honored posthumously with the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal are seven Moroccan peacekeepers, including Master Corporal Abderrahman El Gannou, 2nd Class Imad Izri and Corporal Ossama Alioui who served with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

Also added: 1st Class Abdelaziz El Maskyni, Master Corporal Azzouz Znaidi, 2nd Class Mohammed Rami and 1st Class Hassan Bounouif who served with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).

The Secretary-General will present the 2022 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award to Captain Cecilia Erzuah, a military officer from Ghana who served with the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

In his message, Guterres said, “UN peacekeepers are the beating heart of our commitment to a more peaceful world. For 75 years, they have supported people and communities shaken by conflict and upheaval around the world.

He continued: “Today, on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, we pay tribute to their extraordinary contributions to international peace and security.”

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers was established by the UN General Assembly in 2002 to pay tribute to all men and women serving in peacekeeping and to honor the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

It was in 1948 that the historic decision was made to allow the deployment of military observers to the Middle East to oversee the implementation of the Arab-Israeli armistice agreements, in what became the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization.

Since then, more than two million peacekeepers from 125 countries have served in 71 operations around the world. Today, 87,000 women and men serve in 12 conflict zones in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, said, “Peacekeeping is a powerful example of how strong partnerships and collective political will can bring about meaningful change.”