The United Nations on Thursday honoured two Nigerian police officers and 101 other military, police and civilian peacekeepers who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2022.

The Nigerians are Sergeant Nasiru Bawa and Inspector Saratu Haruna, who served with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

The permanent representative of Nigeria to the United Nations, Tijjani Muhammad Bande, received the awards on behalf of the fallen heroes.

The fallen heroes were posthumously awarded the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal during an award ceremony to mark the 2023 International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers at UN headquarters in New York.

The International Day of UN Peacekeepers was established by the UN General Assembly in 2002 to pay tribute to all men and women serving in peacekeeping and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

“United Nations peacekeepers are the beating heart of our commitment to a more peaceful world. For 75 years, they have supported people and communities rocked by conflicts and upheavals across the globe,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres. “Today, on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, we honour their extraordinary contributions to international peace and security.”

Created in 2016, the Award “recognises the dedication and effort of an individual peacekeeper in promoting the principles of UN Security Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.”

Nigeria is currently the 43rd largest contributor to UN peace operations, with more than 300 military and police personnel serving in Abyei, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Mali, South Sudan and Western Sahara.

(NAN)