The United Nations honoured staff serving at its field missions through several events to mark theInternational Day of UN Peacekeeperson Thursday.

More than 130 countries and international partners threw their weight behind UN peacekeeping at a high-level ministerial summit in Berlin on Wednesday, pledging military, tech and political support.

The first UN peacekeeping operation was established in 1948 and today more than 68,000 civilian, military, and police personnel are posted at 11 missions in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East as well as at Headquarters in New York.

TheDaypays tribute to their unwavering service and sacrifice while honouring the more than 4,400 blue helmets who have died in the line of duty over the decades -57 in 2024 alone.

This years theme focuses on the future of peacekeeping andSecretary-General Antnio Guterresnotedthat peacekeepers face increasingly complex situations in an increasingly complex world.

Deadly misinformation

He highlighted growing polarization and division across the globe, threats such as terrorism and deadly misinformation targeting peacekeepers, as well as challenges that transcend borders ranging from climate change to transnational crime.

Now more than ever, the world needs the United Nations and the United Nations needs peacekeeping that is fully equipped for todays realities and tomorrows challenges, he said.

The Secretary-General stressed thatit is essential that peacekeepers have what they need to do their jobsand this is the shared responsibility of the United Nations and Member States.

The commemoration at Headquarters included a wreath-laying ceremony as well as the presentation of awards to two outstanding women peacekeepers whose work helps to advance gender equality in the field.

A very rewarding job

Meanwhile, peacekeepers have been sharing what it means to serve under the UN flag.

"It's a very rewarding job because you really do have a lot of contact with the civilian population and their concerns, their culture, their needs," said Lieutenant Colonel Agustn Garca from Spain, deployed at the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The mission was established in 1978 to confirm Israels withdrawal from Lebanon and the mandate was most recently defined ina 2006 Security Councilresolutionwhich called for a full cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel following their 34-day war on Lebanese territory that year.

Despite conflict between the sides last year, UNIFIL remains on the ground, supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in its efforts to restore government authority in the south and providing vital assistance to local communities including security, humanitarian aid and reconstruction of schools and hospitals.

Making a difference

Peacekeepers have served in challenging conditions ever since military observers were first dispatched nearly 80 years ago to monitor the armistice agreement between Israel and neighbouring countries.

Most of our missions have deteriorated political and security environments, the head of UN Peacekeeping Jean-Pierre Lacroix told journalists in New York.

He listed UNIFIL, the stabilization mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,MONUSCO, and the observer force in the Golan (UNDOF) as examples.

Peacekeepers everywhere aremaking a critical difference on the ground in spite of all these challenges, he said.

I want to insist that by preserving ceasefires, by preventing the resumption of violence in those environments, by protecting every single day hundreds of thousands of civilians, our peacekeepers are really making a huge difference in the field.

A vital partnership

For Mr. Lacroix, the annual commemoration on 29 May is also a reminder of how peacekeeping isa very vital international partnershipand this was on full display during a recent high-level summit held in Berlin, Germany.

More than 130 delegations attended theUN Peacekeeping Ministerialwhich ended with many pledges of support including in areas such as personnel, specialized training and investments in emerging technologies.

The main takeaway from the Berlin meeting was that peacekeeping remains very strongly supported by Member States, he said.

We take it as an encouragement for all the efforts that we're making, and that we continue to make, to make sure that we remain fit for the future and nimble and adaptable, and also cost-effective.

Remembering the fallen

At the wreath-ceremony, peacekeepers gathered in the lobby of UN Headquarters alongside Secretary-General Guterres to remember their fallen colleagues.

Dressed in national uniforms, topped by blue UN berets, they stood in silence and saluted as Taps rang out.

The 57 peacekeepers who paid the ultimate price last year, as well as another who lost his life in 1973, were posthumously awarded theDag Hammarskjld Medalduring another ceremony in theEconomic and Social Council(ECOSOC) Chamber.

The award is named after the UNs first Secretary-General who died in 1961 in a plane crash in what is now Zambia.

We hold them all in our hearts and we grieve with their families and loved ones. Their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten,saidMr. Guterres.

The mood shifted from solemn to celebratory as two women peacekeepers serving in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan were presented top UN military and police awards.

Squadron Leader Sharon Mwinsote Syme of Ghana received the 2024 UN Military Gender Advocate Award while Chief Superintendent Zainab Mbalu Gbla of Sierra Leone was named the Woman Police Officer of the Year.

Learn more about the laureateshere.