Blog post | 29-05-2024 | Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The importance of the UN and its peacekeepers

The world has experienced growing unrest and insecurity in recent years. The UN is the only organisation that brings all the world’s countries to the table to resolve conflicts. For this reason the Netherlands values the important work of UN peacekeepers.

International Day of UN Peacekeepers

The first UN peacekeeping operation began on 29 May 1948. Since that time more than two million people have served on 71 UN peace missions: civilian experts, police officers and military personnel (‘blue helmets’). All of them have done their bit for global security and stability.

On the International Day of UN Peacekeepers we particularly remember the over 4,000 peacekeepers who have died since 1948 in the course of their peace missions.

The work they do

Peacekeepers are deployed all over the world. Not to fight, but to keep the peace. After a conflict or war, peace is still often shaky, making the work of peacekeepers is hard and complex. They risk their lives to help countries on a sometimes long road to peace. This is why the Netherlands thanks them for their boundless commitment.

Currently, 11 UN peace missions are deployed in different countries. The Netherlands is one of 125 countries joining forces to supply the right people and resources for the job. These days, Asian and African countries provide the great majority of blue helmets.

Moving forward together

This year the UN chose ‘Fit for the future, building better together’ as the slogan of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, when we honour the valuable contributions of military, police and civilian peacekeepers over the past 76 years. We have them to thank for much of the progress that has been made on the road towards a more equal and sustainable world.

To learn more about this day and about peace missions around the world, see the UN’s page for the International Day of UN Peacekeepers.