UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (1st, L) lays a wreath to pay homage to the UN peacekeepers who lost their lives since 1948 at the UN headquarters in New York, on May 29, 2025. (Manuel Elias/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Thursday held events at its headquarters in New York to honor the memory of the UN peacekeepers who lost their lives since 1948.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres laid a wreath to pay homage to the 4,400 UN peacekeepers who lost their lives since 1948. He later presided over a ceremony at which Dag Hammarskjold Medals were awarded posthumously to 57 peacekeepers from more than 30 countries who died last year serving under the UN flag, as well as one French soldier who died in 1973.

Over the decades, more than 2 million women and men have served in 71 missions on four continents, said Guterres at the Dag Hammarskjold Medal ceremony. "In the communities and countries in which they serve, UN peacekeepers are an important symbol of the United Nations at its best. And together, they have helped improve millions of lives."

UN peacekeeping missions face complex situations in a complex world: terrorism, crime that knows no borders, and misinformation making them vulnerable to attacks, said Guterres, stressing the need to adapt peacekeeping to new realities in these strained and difficult times.

Guterres presented the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for 2024 to Squadron Leader Sharon Mwinsote Syme of Ghana. He also presented Chief Superintendent Zainab Gbla of Sierra Leone with the Woman Police Officer of the Year Award. Both women served in the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei.

Thursday's events formed the annual observance of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, which falls on May 29. ■

Participants salute at a ceremony to honor the memory of the UN peacekeepers who lost their lives since 1948 at the UN headquarters in New York, on May 29, 2025. (Manuel Elias/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)