UN pays tribute to fallen peacekeepers

The United Nations marked on Tuesday the International Day of UN Peacekeepers by honoring the more than 100 peacekeepers who died in line of duty last year.

At a wreath-laying ceremony at the UN Headquarters, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon bowed in front of a tattered UN flag which was retrieved from the remains of the world body's Baghdad office after a deadly bombing on August 19, 2003.

After leading a minute of silence at the ceremony which was also attended by dozens of UN uniformed and civilian personnel who have worked on UN missions worldwide, he pointed out that UN operations are a model of burden-sharing among countries "but we must never forget that the brunt of this burden is borne by individuals."

"In 2006, for the fourth year in a row, more than 100 men and women died in the service of United Nations peacekeeping," he noted.

A total of 107 UN peacekeeping personnel lost their lives last year in the service of UN peace operations worldwide, including Du Zhaoyu, a Chinese UN observer who was killed on July 25 during an Israeli air raid on Lebanon.

"Now, with our deployment at a record high, more soldiers, police and civilian staff face danger in places like Sudan, the Middle East and Haiti," he said.

"I cannot accept the risks as the 'cost of doing business,'" Ban said, voicing a determination "to do everything possible to safeguard the security and safety of our UN personnel in the field, from advocating robust mandates to ensuring they have the equipment they need to carry them out."

The fallen peacekeepers will be awarded the Dag Hammarskjold medals posthumously on Wednesday. The Dag Hammarskjold medals, named after the UN's second secretary-general who died in a plane crash in September 1961, pay tribute to people who lost their lives serving in UN peacekeeping operations.

In a separate message marking the occasion, the UN chief called for efforts to "meet the challenges ahead," noting that he has proposed "a bold package to restructure and strengthen our capacity."

The UN General Assembly in mid-March reform proposals put forward by Ban which included the restructuring of the UN's peacekeeping functions.

Ban pledged for his part to keep visiting, as often as possible, the conflict-ravaged countries where the UN is deployed. At the same time, he asked that the Security Council "always give peacekeepers the mandate and tools they need to do their jobs" and that troop-contributing countries "sustain their support."

Meanwhile, the missions of Canada and Nigeria, in cooperation with the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations, are organizing an exhibition at the UN Headquarters dedicated to the cause of UN peacekeeping operations.

The exhibition, titled "Courage for Peace," features a complete list of names of peacekeepers who died last year as well as photos and exhibits depicting the efforts of UN peacekeepers in their field operations worldwide.