Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Context: Naik Dhananjay Kumar Singh, an Indian peacekeeper who served with the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), will be posthumously honoured with the prestigious Dag Hammarskjold medal.
Source: Th
Dag Hammarskjold Medal:
- Purpose: The Dag Hammarskjöld Medal is a posthumous award given to members of peacekeeping operations who have lost their lives in service under the UN flag.
- Inception: The first medal was presented in 1998 to the family of Dag Hammarskjöld.
- Namesake: Dag Hammarskjöld served as the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1953 until his death in 1961.
India, the second-largest contributor to UN Peacekeeping, has deployed over 6,000 personnel across various missions and has seen nearly 180 peacekeepers make the ultimate sacrifice.
International Day of UN Peacekeepers
- Established: By the UN General Assembly in 2002
- Purpose: To honour all peacekeepers and those who have lost their lives in the line of duty
- 2024 Theme: ‘Fit for the future, building better together’ focuses on the adaptability of UN Peacekeeping for future conflicts
About MONUSCO
- Establishment: By the UN Security Council.
- Transition: It took over in 2010, from an earlier UN peacekeeping operation that is the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
- Scale: Employs approximately 16,300 individuals, making it one of the largest UN peacekeeping efforts.
- Primary Role: Protects civilians from violence, especially in conflict-prone areas like North Kivu.
- Innovation: First UN mission to use UAVs for monitoring.
- Intervention Brigade: Authorized in 2013 for targeted offensive operations against armed groups.
