The United Nations honoured 64 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers from 33 countries, including Pakistan, who paid the ultimate price for the cause of peace last year, at an impressive ceremony Thursday that marked the annual International Day of UN Peacekeepers.
Among the posthumous recipients of Dag Hammarskjold medals was Muhammad Zafar Abbas, a Pakistani, who worked in a civilian capacity for the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen.
UN Secretary-General Antonio, who presided over the ceremony in the Trusteeship Council Chamber at UN Headquarters in New York, gave away the awards for the fallen peacekeeper which were received by ambassadors of the countries they hailed from. The awards for the civilians, who lost their lives in line of their duty, were received on behalf of their families by UN Assistant Secretary-General for the Department of Operational Support, Lisa Buttenheim.
Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram attended the ceremony along with other heads of missions, senior UN officials and heads of peacekeeping missions from around the world. Earlier, the UN chief laid a wreath to honour the more than 4,300 UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948.
