Online Desk :
The International Day of United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers is being observed today (on Saturday) in the country like elsewhere in a befitting manner.
The theme for this year’s observance is “The road to a lasting peace: Leveraging the power of youth for peace and security.”
Different programmes have been chalked out to observe the day, said an Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) release.
The day’s programme will begin on Saturday morning with a commemoration of the peacekeepers. Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen will inaugurate the ‘Peacekeepers Rally-2021’ as the chief guest. Later, relatives of the martyred and injured Bangladeshi peacekeepers will be given a reception at a programme organized at Senakunja in Dhaka Cantonment.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will join the reception programme virtually as the chief guest. The programme will be telecast live on Bangladesh Television and BTV World.
Members of the Cabinet, Chiefs of the three services, MPs, Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) of the Armed Forces, Inspector General of Police, senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, media personnel and other dignitaries will be present at the reception.
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages, marking the occasion.
The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers was established by the General Assembly in 2002, to pay tribute to all men and women serving in peacekeeping, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace. The General Assembly designated May 29 as the International Day of UN Peacekeepers in commemoration of the day in 1948 when the UN’s first peacekeeping mission, the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), began operations in Palestine.
Since then, more than 1 million women and men have served in 72 UN peacekeeping operations, directly impacting millions of people, and saving countless lives. Today, UN Peacekeeping deploys more than 89,000 military, police and civilian personnel in 12 operations.
Bangladesh is the largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping. It currently deploys more than 6,600 military and police personnel to the UN operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Mali, South Sudan, and Western Sahara.
