New York, 26 October 2022- Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix thanked The Gambia 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.
The Gambia currently provides 98 uniformed personnel, including 31 women, to UN Peacekeeping, making it the 64th largest contributor among all UN Member States. This contribution includes military staff officers, individual police officers and experts on mission.
The Gambia’s largest deployment is with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) where 35 peacekeepers serve.
The Gambia also contributes to the United Nations Integrated Multidimensional Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA); the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO); the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA); the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA); and the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS).
In previous years, The Gambia has provided personnel to numerous UN peace operations, including in Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia & Eritrea, Liberia, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste and Yemen.
“The Gambia has been a consistent contributor of peacekeeping personnel for several decades now. In doing so it has shown solidarity with people living in countries in conflict, especially on the African continent. The UN appreciates the service and sacrifice of Gambian men and women who have served in difficult environments, and we are deeply grateful for their continued service. We will always remember the 13 Gambian peacekeepers who lost their lives while serving under the UN flag,” said Mr. Lacroix.
UN peacekeeping operations are a collective enterprise, an investment in global peace and security, and make a difference every day in the lives of millions of the most vulnerable. UN Peacekeeping saves countless lives and has a track record in helping bring peace and stability to many countries.
The Gambia endorsed the Secretary-General’s ‘Action for Peacekeeping (A4P)’ initiative, which aims to strengthen peacekeeping through more targeted mandates, stronger and safer operations, better equipped and trained forces, and by mobilizing support for political solutions.
Note to editors:
The UN's Department of Global Communications, in collaboration with the Department of Peace Operations, 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. Peacekeeping is a unique force with military and police from over 120 countries serving together, alongside civilian personnel. 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 The Gambia:
Abdoulie Badjie, Office of the Resident Coordinator: abdoulie.badjie@un.org
Media enquiries at UNHQ
Douglas Coffman, Department of Global Communications: coffmand@un.org