‘The true cost of peace’: UN honours fallen peacekeepers as dangers mount

The commemoration of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers came hours after another blue helmet serving with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) died from injuries sustained in a mortar attack, as hostilities continue between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres laid a wreath at the Peacekeepers Memorial on the Secretariat grounds in New York before presiding over a solemn ceremony in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) attended by UN officials, the diplomatic community, and bereaved family members and colleagues.

Service and sacrifice

"Unfortunately, as events of this very week remind us, peacekeepers continue to face peril in the cause of peace - and we pay the highest tribute to their service and sacrifice," he said.

The Secretary-General posthumously bestowed the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal on 68 peacekeepers from 33 nations, including 59 who paid the ultimate price last year. Their photos were displayed on a screen and their names read out as country representatives accepted the boxed medals.

"They represent the best of humanity - people prepared to risk everything to keep others safe," he said.

Bravery awards

Two peacekeepers were rewarded for their bravery, receiving the Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage - named after a Senegalese military officer killed in Rwanda in 1994.

Sergeant Matias Reyes of Uruguay saved lives serving under the UN flag in the restive eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in January 2025, while Sergii Prykhodko of Ukraine, a private contractor with a helicopter crew at the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), sacrificed his life during a dangerous mission to evacuate besieged soldiers that March.

"This medal honours his bravery, but it also reminds us of the true cost of peace - the sacrifices made by those who serve far from home for the sake of people they may never meet," his widow Tetiana Prykhodko told the gathering.

Courage amid danger

More than 50,000 peacekeepers are currently deployed across the globe where their mandated tasks include protecting civilians, supporting elections, delivering humanitarian assistance and clearing landmines.

"The courage we recognize this morning is not abstract," said the head of UN Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix. "It is lived every day by peacekeepers serving in some of the world's most dangerous and difficult environments."

The peacekeeper killed in southern Lebanon on Thursday, Sergeant Milovan Jovanović of Serbia, was the seventh UNIFIL blue helmet cut down since hostilities escalated in March.

Mr. Lacroix said this was his first peacekeeping deployment, having arrived in the country in January, and he would have turned 37 on Saturday.

Complex environments, multiple challenges

He highlighted how peacekeepers are working in increasingly complex environments marked by rising geopolitical tensions, fragmented conflicts, disinformation, rapidly evolving technologies and growing pressure on multilateral cooperation.

At the same time, peacekeeping operations face serious financial constraints resulting from delayed and incomplete payment of mandatory contributions.

The consequences include forced reductions in patrols and air operations, delayed infrastructure projects, and limited support to local communities. Meanwhile, expectations continue to grow.

Invest in peace

"And yet, peacekeepers continue to deliver," he said.

Mr. Lacroix stressed the importance of continued investment in peace, including "ensuring that peacekeepers have the political backing, resources, training and capabilities required to carry out the mandates entrusted to them by Member States."

Women, peace and advocacy

During the ceremony, the UN also celebrated two trailblazing women peacekeepers.

Major Abhilasha Barak of India, deployed with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) received the Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award.

Inspector Stephanie Königs of Germany, who served at the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), officially received the 2025 Woman Police Officer of the Year Award.

Friday's events fell under the annual observation of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers on 29 May - the day when the first field mission, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East (UNTSO), was established in 1948.  

Since then, more than two million women and men have served in 71 peacekeeping missions on four continents.