‘PEACEKEEPING BY ITSELF CANNOT END WAR, BUT IT CAN HELP PREVENT A RECURRENCE
OF FIGHTING’, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS IN PEACEKEEPERS’ DAY MESSAGE
Following is the message by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, 29 May:
This first Day of International Peacekeepers commemorates the sacrifice and selfless commitment of peacekeepers serving throughout the world.� It celebrates what United Nations peacekeepers have done, in so many countries, to relieve suffering and reconcile warring parties.
Fifty-five years ago, soldiers were sent onto the battlefield under a new flag and with a new mission:� a mission of peace.� That mission was without precedent in human history.� It was an attempt to confront and defeat the worst in man with the best in man; to counter violence with tolerance, might with moderation, and war with peace.�
Peacekeeping missions today are much more complex than they were then.� The duties and responsibilities of peacekeepers have grown.
Of course, we still undertake the critically important task of building confidence through monitoring ceasefires and demilitarized zones.�
But today’s peacekeepers are also engaged in policing and training; serving as judges and prosecutors; administering health and education; ensuring that human rights and gender equality are observed.� They have built administrations in Kosovo and East Timor.� And in Afghanistan, they are helping the new authorities establish the rule of law.
Today, there are nearly 37,000 United Nations peacekeepers deployed in 14 missions on three continents.� They come from 89 countries.� No figures, however, can do justice to the ultimate sacrifice that more than 1,800 peacekeepers have made over this half-century.� On this day, we pay tribute to each one of them.
The mission of United Nations peacekeeping will continue.� Peacekeeping by itself cannot end war.� But it can help prevent a recurrence of fighting.� Above all, it gives time and space for conflict resolution.� It gives peace a chance.�
I am proud to salute the peacekeepers serving today, and to pay tribute to those who served in the past.� Their sacrifice has made the world a safer place.
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