The United Nations Peacekeeping Day Celebration has ended with a flag- raising and Wreath-laying ceremony in Accra.
In an address, the Minister for Defence, Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, noted that, the International Day for the United Nations Peacekeepers was cerebrated every year across the world since 1948, in recognition of high of professionalism, dedication and courage demonstrated by serving peacekeepers as well as those who had lost their lives in the cause of international peace and security.
The Defence Minister added that this year’s theme: ‘UN Peacekeeping: Adapting to New Challenges, the Ghanaian Perspective’, could not have been more appropriate, stemming from the fact that, the United Nations, over the century, had been confronted with complex and protracted conflicts which posed serious challenges to the capacity of the organisation to pursue its cardinal objective of promoting and maintaining international peace and security.
He further noted that, the UN Peace Keeping had found itself increasingly overstretched, as peacekeepers were being called upon to deploy to remote and volatile conflict areas to keep the peace and help protect innocent lives and property.
The Minister, however, noted that in addressing the challenges of peacekeeping operations, it was imperative that the occasion was used to emphasise the importance of the values of tolerance, unity and respect for the rule of law in the governance of Ghana. “Our vibrant and stable democracy, underpinned by a prosperous economy, could only be sustained by the maintenance of peace and security that Ghanaians enjoyed over the years.” he said.
Mr Woyongo paid a special tribute to the widows and bereaved families of the fallen heroes who had made it to the parade grounds and for those who, for various reasons, were unable to make it. “Their valour and commitment to humanity should indeed continue to inspire us, as a nation, to strive not only to keep peace but to build and sustain peace in our country”, he emphasized.
In a short statement read on his behalf, the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban ki-Moon, said international peacekeeping was an opportunity to raise awareness about new developments in the field while honouring those who lost their lives over past year serving under the blue flag.
Mr Moon noted that, the UN Peacekeeping was increasingly being called upon to deploy multi-dimensional operations to help the transition of countries from conflict to peace with significant focus on protecting civilians including the most vulnerable among them— women and children.
He called on all to pay solemn tribute to those who had fallen as well as support the 111,000 serving soldiers and police from 116 countries and continue to adapt the UN operation to better help civilians who needed protection and support.
Source: ISD (Tally A. Asiedu & Rejoice Boamah)
