United Nations thanks Slovakia for its contribution to peacekeeping

NEW YORK, 21 June (UN Information Service) – Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix expressed gratitude to Slovakia for its strong support to United Nations Peacekeeping and for the service and sacrifice of its military and police personnel deployed around the world under the UN flag.

Slovakia is the 49^th largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping with 246 military and police personnel currently serving in two UN peace operations, including 27 women. Slovakia’s largest contribution is to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), and it also provides experts on mission to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) in the Middle East.

“Over two decades, more than 3,800 Slovakian peacekeepers have served in Cyprus. This sustained commitment to Cyprus and to UN Peacekeeping is truly appreciated by the United Nations,” said Mr. Lacroix when reflecting on 20 years of Slovak contributions to UNFICYP.

“The UN appreciates the service and sacrifice of the Slovakian men and women who serve far away from their loved ones back at home. Slovakian troops have demonstrated a high-level of professionalism and dedication and we are deeply grateful for their service”, Mr. Lacroix added.

During Slovakia’s decades’ long contribution to UN Peacekeeping, six of its contributed personnel lost their lives while serving under the UN flag,

Slovakia is also a part of the Secretary-General’s ‘Action for Peacekeeping (A4P)’ initiative, which calls on Member States, the Security Council, host countries, troop- and police-contributing countries, regional partners and financial contributors to renew our collective engagement with UN peacekeeping and mutually commit to reach for excellence.

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Note to editors:

The UN's Department of Global Communications runs the international multi-year communications campaign titled 'UN Peacekeeping -- Service and Sacrifice.' The campaign expresses the world body's gratitude to the countries that contribute their uniformed men and women to serve in the peacekeeping missions. https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/service-and-sacrifice

Since 1948, more than a million women and men have served as UN peacekeepers. Every day, they make a tangible difference in the lives of millions of the world’s most vulnerable people, and every day they save lives. Peacekeeping is a unique force with military and police personnel from over 120 countries serving together, alongside civilian colleagues. UN peacekeepers come from diverse cultures and speak different languages, but share a common purpose: the protection of vulnerable communities and the provision of support to countries struggling to move from conflict to peace. Tragically some make the ultimate sacrifice - over 3,500 peacekeepers have lost their lives in the cause of peace. https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/what-is-peacekeeping

Action for Peacekeeping: https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/action-for-peacekeeping-a4p

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