New York, 22 March 2023 - Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, thanked Norway for its enduring support to United Nations Peacekeeping and for the service and sacrifice of its military and police personnel deployed around the world under the UN flag.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping. Since 1948, more than two million men and women have served in 71 UN peacekeeping missions, of which 12 are still active today, making a tangible difference to the lives of millions of people caught up in conflict.
Norway first deployed troops in 1956 to the UN Truce Supervision Organizations (UNTSO) – the first-ever peacekeeping mission – in the Middle East. Since then, it has contributed military and police personnel to more than 40 UN peace operations.
Today, Norway is the 73rd largest contributor, providing 43 uniformed personnel, including 21 women, to six UN peace operations. Norway’s largest contribution is to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) where 21 of its women and men serve. Norway also contributes personnel to UN peace operations in Colombia, Cyprus, the Middle East, Mali, and Sudan.
“Norway remains a steady and trusted partner to UN peacekeeping, providing specialized expertise and targeted capacity-building assistance across many mission settings, helping to support countries transition from conflict to peace. Norway is a strong supporter of the UN Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy, heeding our call to deploy more women at all levels and making a difference through their participation in operations, decisions and strategies that impact peacekeeping.”
“The UN will never forget the sacrifice of the 43 Norwegian peacekeepers who have lost their lives while serving under the UN flag,” said Mr. Lacroix. Norway has been an advocate of improving the safety and security of peacekeepers. “We are grateful to Norway for its efforts to ensure that peacekeepers are prepared to deploy in complex and challenging environments, while also supporting national authorities in their fight against impunity.”
Norway also 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 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
Action for Peacekeeping: https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/action-for-peacekeeping-a4p
Media enquiries in Norway:
Arni Snaevarr, UN Regional Information Center in Brussels (UNRIC): snaevarr@un.org
Media enquiries at UN Headquarters:
Douglas Coffman, Department of Global Communications (New York): coffmand@un.org