New York, 12 April 2023- Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, thanked Romania for its longstanding and strong 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 peacekeeping missions, of which 12 are still active today, making a tangible difference to the lives of millions of people caught up in conflict.
Romania first deployed military observers in 1991 to the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM). Since then, it has contributed military and police personnel to 25 UN peacekeeping operations in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
Currently, Romania is the 70th largest contributor to UN Peacekeeping, providing 54 uniformed personnel, including 17 women, to seven missions. Romania’s largest contribution is to the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), where 23 of its women and men serve. Romania also deploys uniformed personnel to the UN peacekeeping missions in Central African Republic, Cyprus, India-Pakistan, Kosovo1, Mali, and South Sudan.
Romania has contributed to building the capacity of multinational uniformed and civilian personnel participating in UN peace operations, including through the delivery of specialized police and close protection training. Moreover, since 2016, Romania has been supporting the work of the Special Coordinator on Improving the UN Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, by contributing a military legal adviser.
“Romania’s deployments around the globe over the years have demonstrated its commitment to help the UN broker lasting peaceful solutions to conflicts. I am also grateful to Romania for promoting the participation of women in peacekeeping operations, including in combat roles, and for delivering critical airlift capabilities to MINUSMA to match the needs on the ground.”
“The UN will never forget the sacrifice of the seven Romanian peacekeepers who have lost their lives while serving under the UN flag,” said Mr. Lacroix.
Romania 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.
1References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).
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