UN honours peacekeepers killed in the line of duty

The United Nations has honoured the nationals of 37 countries who had lost their lives while serving with UN peacekeeping missions.

Representatives of those countries were presented with the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal on behalf of the soldiers killed in the line of duty during a ceremony held Monday at UN Headquarters in New York.

Yesterday’s ceremony was the second to honour those who have died while in the service of peace. In March, the UN presented medals to 20 Member States for 315 peacekeepers, and another observance is planned for June.

From 1948 to the end of 2001, a total of 1,738 peacekeepers lost their lives in the cause of UN peacekeeping.

The medal is an egg-shaped decoration made of clear lead crystal and engraved with the name and date of death of the recipient and the UN logo. The inscription, in English and French, reads: "The Dag Hammarskjöld Medal. In the Service of Peace."