Ghanaian peacekeeper to be honoured posthumously at UN Headquarters ceremony on 5 June

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers will be observed at the UN Headquarters on Friday, 5 June, to pay tribute to all women and men serving in UN peacekeeping, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will lay a wreath to honour the nearly 4,500 peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948 and preside over a ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal will be awarded posthumously to 68 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers, who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty, including 59 who perished last year.

Ghana is the seventh largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping. It currently deploys with more than 1,900 military and police personnel – including 337 women – to the UN operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, the Middle East, South Sudan and Western Sahara.

The General Assembly established the Day back in 2002 and selected May 29 as it was the day in 1948 when the Security Council established the first UN Peacekeeping operation, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East.

He further stated that “in an era of rising tensions, peacekeeping is a proven and cost-effective way to restore stability and hope. But it requires steady political backing – and reliable financial support.”

During a special ceremony, the Secretary-General will also award the “Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage” to Corporal Matias Reyes of Uruguay for his actions in Goma, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo during the height of the crisis in early 2025, and to the late Sergii Prykodko of Ukraine who served as a private contractor in the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and was killed during a mission to extract besieged soldiers in March last year.

The Secretary-General will also present awards to the 2025 Military Gender Advocate of the Year, Major Abhilasha Barak of India, who serves in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and to the UN Woman Police Officer of the Year, Stephanie Königs of Germany, who served in UNMISS.

“At a time of rising conflict and shrinking resources, United Nations peacekeepers continue to protect civilians, prevent violence from escalating, and keep hope alive in some of the world’s most difficult environments. Investing in peacekeeping means investing in stability, prevention and the possibility of peace itself,” said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations.