The United Nations observed the 75th anniversary of its peacekeeping missions last Thursday. During a ceremony to pay tribute to the more than 4,000 peacekeepers who have died on duty, Secretary-General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, requested hundreds of military officers and diplomats in uniform to observe a moment of silence in their honour. He then awarded medals to ambassadors from the 39 home countries of the 103 peacekeepers who lost their lives in 2022. 

The first military observers were sent by the UN Security Council to oversee the Israeli-Arab Armistice Agreement in May 1948. Indian troops and experts have played a significant role in the UN’s peacekeeping missions. Data show that since the inception of UN peacekeeping missions, most of the lives lost during peacekeeping missions due to malicious acts were of Indian troops. By VIGNESH RADHAKRISHNAN, TH