Fallen Kenyan Peacekeepers: UN Honors 117 Heroes In New York

Fallen Kenyan Peacekeepers: Three Kenyans were among the fallen United Nations peacekeepers honored on Wednesday in a ceremony at the world body’s headquarters in New York.

During the ceremony, the UN honored 117 peacekeepers who lost their lives while serving in peacekeeping operations in 2016.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres paid tribute to 117 uniformed persoel and civilians who lost their lives last year while serving under the UN flag. The fallen Kenyan peacekeepers include Corporals Joseph Kandie and Albert Nziu Muthui, both of whom served with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss), and Charles Nyawara Sidede, a civilian staff member of the UN operation in Cote d’Ivoire.

See Also: Newly Elected Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Visits Kenya

Mr. Guterres said:

“Those we honor today died while protecting the world’s most vulnerable people and supporting countries in making the difficult transition from conflict to peace.”

“They are the best of all of us, and we must always pay tribute to their sacrifice that is a demonstration of the courage and generosity that the United Nations needs to present in today’s world.”

According to the United Nations Secretary-General, so far they have recorded a total of 62 fallen Kenyan peacekeepers who lost their lives in UN peacekeeping roles since independence. More than 3,500 peacekeepers in all “have given their lives to rescue other lives” in the years since the UN’s founding in 1948.

Kenya currently contributes 259 of its citizens to seven UN peacekeeping missions around the world. Most of the Kenyan troops, police officials and military experts are assigned either to Unmiss or to the mission in Sudan’s Darfur region.

The UN today deploys a total of nearly 96,000 uniformed persoel in 16 peacekeeping missions in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

“There are risks when deploying peacekeepers to a crisis area, but inaction may carry even greater risks,” Mr. Guterres remarked during a wreath-laying ceremony that included a moment of silence. “We are still learning hard lessons from the Rwanda genocide,” the secretary-general said.

Read Also: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres Accuses The South Sudan Government Of Ignoring The Famine

Among the 117 heroes honored, there was a total of 12 from Africa; three Kenyans, 2 from Nigeria, 2 from Ghana, 3 from Rwanda and 2 from South Africa.

The International day for United Nations peacekeepers is celebrated every all over the World. The day was established by the UN General Assembly in 2002, to honor men and women who have devoted their lives serving in the United Nations peacekeeping missions and to also honor those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

The Assembly set aside May 29 as the day for the celebration because it was on this day in 1948 that the United Nations Truce Supervision Operation began their operation in Palestine.