Story

United Nations thanks Serbia for its contribution to peacekeeping

12 July 2021

USG for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix thanked Serbia for for the service and sacrifice of its military and police personnel deployed under the UN flag.

New York, 12 July 2021: Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix thanked Serbia for its strong support to United Nations Peacekeeping and for the service and sacrifice of its military and police personnel deployed under the UN flag.

Serbia currently provides 265 military and police personnel to five UN peacekeeping operations. Serbia’s largest contribution is to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), where 177 of its women and men serve. It also contributes personnel to the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), and the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Mr. Lacroix thanked Serbia for “its generous contribution of a Level 2+ hospital to our mission in the Central African Republic. This has strengthened UN peacekeeping’s capacity to ensure that its personnel are able to receive the best possible medical care – including diagnostics, triage, disease prevention and treatment, as well as surgical interventions.” To date, the Serbian medical unit has provided medical support to thousands of patients, including treating cases of COVID-19. In addition to aiding UN personnel, the unit has also conducted medical outreach to the local community.

Mr. Lacroix also commended the fact that half of the Serbian doctors and nurses deployed to MINUSCA are women.

In addition to the Level+2 hospital in the Central African Republic, Serbia is providing a mechanized infantry company to UNIFIL. “The unit has not only performed its military activities in a highly professional manner, it has also carried out humanitarian efforts to support host communities in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mr. Lacroix.

“The UN appreciates the service and sacrifice of the Serbian men and women who serve in difficult environments, separated from their loved ones back at home.”, he added.

During Serbia’s contribution to UN Peacekeeping, nine of its uniformed personnel lost their lives while serving under the UN flag.

Serbia is also a signatory to the Declaration of Shared Commitments underpinning the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative, which calls on Member States, the Security Council, host countries, troop- and police-contributing countries, regional partners and financial contributors to renew collective engagement with UN peacekeeping and mutually commit to reach for excellence.

# # # # #

Note to editors:

The UN's Department of Global Communications runs the international multi-year communications campaign titled 'UN Peacekeeping -- Service and Sacrifice.' The campaign expresses the world body's gratitude to the countries that contribute their uniformed men and women to serve in the peacekeeping missions. https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/service-and-sacrifice

Since 1948, more than a million women and men have served as UN peacekeepers. Every day, they make a tangible difference in the lives of millions of the world’s most vulnerable people, and every day they save lives. Peacekeeping is a unique force with military and police personnel from over 120 countries serving together, alongside civilian colleagues. UN peacekeepers come from diverse cultures and speak different languages, but share a common purpose: the protection of vulnerable communities and the provision of support to countries struggling to move from conflict to peace. Tragically some make the ultimate sacrifice - over 3,500 peacekeepers have lost their lives in the cause of peace. https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/what-is-peacekeeping

Action for Peacekeeping: https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/action-for-peacekeeping-a4p

Media enquiries in Europe:

UN Information Centre in Vienna (Austria)

Martin Nezirky

Director: + (43-1) 26060-4666

unis.vienna@un.org

+ (43-1) 26060-4666

Media enquiries in UNIFIL and MINUSCA:

Andrea Tenenti

Spokesperson, UNIFIL

Tenenti@un.org

Mobile: +961 70910064

Vladimir Monteiro