UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations Tuesday saluted the military, police and civilian personnel who serve in some of the world’s most dangerous places, and paid tribute to the memory of 112 colleagues, including eight Pakistanis, who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving as UN peacekeepers.“Today we honour the 112 fallen heroes who died while serving under the UN flag in 2011,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at a wreath-laying ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York.“They may be soldiers, police or national staff. But there are no differences among them in terms of the risks they faced, the contributions they made, and the pride they took in their service to the United Nations,” he stated. “The difference between an ordinary person and a hero is that the hero voluntarily braves danger to save others.”Pakistan’s acting Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Raza Bashir Tarar received the Dag Hammarskold Medals on behalf of the families of the awardees from the UN chief at the ceremony held at UN Headquarters in New York.The fallen Pakistani soldiers are:MILITARY: Sepoy Alam HUSSAIN (Democratic Republic of Congo-MONUSCO 18 May 2011); Sepoy Sajid HUSSAIN (Liberia–UNMIL 19 April 2011); Sepoy Muhammad JURIAL (Liberia-UNMIL 19 April 2011); Naik Itbar KHAN (Sudan – UNSMISS 9 January 2011); Havildar Muhammad RIAZ (Liberia–UNMIL 8 October 2011), and Naik Muhammad FAROOQ KHAN (Liberia–UNMIL 8 Nov 2011)POLICE: Sub-Inspepctor Zafar IQBAL (Liberia – UNMIL 13 January 2011) and Niak (Med) KAMRAN (Timor-Leste – UNMIT 1 September 2011).“I share your sorrow for these colleagues and friends – and your determination to carry on their work for peace,” the UN chief said, addressing a number of peacekeepers present at the ceremony. “Today we remember 112 lives cut short. They remind us of the risks of peacekeeping. But today I also want to remember the rewards.”Pakistan is one the largest contributor to UN peacekeeping missions around the world, with some 10,000 troops. The UN General Assembly established the International Day in 2002 to pay tribute to all men and women serving in UN peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication and courage.
, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.The theme for this year’s observance is ‘Peacekeeping is a Global Partnership,’ highlighting the global partnerships that help sustain UN peacekeeping. These partnerships include those with the Security Council, which provides UN peacekeeping with legal and political authority; with the Member States, which provide personnel and financial contributions; and, with the host countries where peacekeeping missions are located.The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Herve Ladsous, told the ceremony that it is ‘completely unacceptable’ whenever UN peacekeepers are targeted. “I call on everyone to respect the mandated role of our blue helmets to keep the peace in some of the world’s most troubled places.”Peacekeepers help to protect millions of vulnerable civilian from violence, he said. “This is not easy work. We go in order to give hope to people who have been through the horror of war, and who yearn for a chance to rebuild their lives in peace.”Touching on this year’s theme for the Day, Ladsous said the UN’s partnership with Member States who support and resource peacekeeping is “the critical foundation for our joint efforts.”“The best way we can honour our fallen colleagues is by re-committing ourselves to the work of keeping the peace, the work for which they sacrificed their lives,” he stated at the Dag Hammarskjöld medal ceremony to honour fallen peacekeepers, also held at UN Headquarters.Currently, UN peacekeeping operations receive contributions of military and police personnel from 116 Member States. In addition to the partnerships with individual nations, UN peacekeeping works closely with UN agencies, funds and programmes working on the ground, as well as with regional organizations, such as the African Union.