UNIS/SGSM/1406
27 May 2024
Today we pay tribute to the more than 76,000 United Nations peacekeepers who embody humanity’s highest ideal: peace.
Hailing from over 120 countries, our Blue Helmets serve in 11 peace operations in conflict-affected areas in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Day in and day out, at great personal risk, these women and men bravely work in some of the most dangerous and unstable places on earth to protect civilians, uphold human rights, support elections and strengthen institutions.
They are part of a long tradition. For over 75 years, United Nations peacekeepers have supported communities rocked by conflict and upheaval across 71 missions.
More than 4,300 have paid the ultimate price while serving under the UN flag. We will never forget them.
In order for our peacekeepers to respond to the challenges of today and tomorrow, they need the world’s support.
September’s Summit of the Future will be a moment for countries to carry ideas forward through a New Agenda for Peace, which links peacekeeping with all efforts to prevent and end conflict.
Achieving peace takes hard work.
On this important day, and every day, let’s re-commit to supporting those who work for peace: The UN peacekeepers.
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"The transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans was a crime against humanity that resonates through history and continues to scar societies." — António Guterres
"United Nations personnel serve some of the world's most vulnerable people while aspiring to our highest ideals: peace, dignity, equality and justice." — António Guterres
The retreat of glaciers in the Upper Danube River Basin is one of the most alarming consequences of climate change, says the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) as it joins the global community in commemorating World Water Day 2025.
"The theme of this year's World Meteorological Day – Closing the Early Warning Gap Together – reminds us that, in this new climate reality, early warning systems are not luxuries." — António Guterres
