May
29
International Day of UN Peacekeepers
Responding
to Haiti tragedy, UN peacekeepers exemplified dedication and
professionalism
More than
124,000 peacekeepers are now deployed in 15 operations worldwide,
clear evidence of global respect for, dependence on and confidence
in United Nations peacekeeping operations.
The international
community counts on its Blue Helmets to protect the vulnerable
in some of the world's most dangerous places, but their service
comes at a high cost--throughout UN peacekeeping’s more than
60-year history, violence, accidents and disease have cost the
lives of more than 2,700 individuals working in hot spots around
the world, from the Middle East to the Balkans, Africa and beyond.
The United
Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) was working
with the Haitian authorities to support political stability,
promote human rights and bolster security when a massive earthquake
struck the country on 12 January. More than 230,000 Haitians
lost their lives in one of that nation's darkest days. Additionally,
101 UN personnel, including 96 peacekeepers, were killed. It
was the deadliest natural disaster to ever strike Haiti and
the biggest single loss of life in the history of UN peacekeeping.
For the peacekeepers, the tragedy was colossal. The collapse
of MINUSTAH’s Headquarters took the lives of the mission’s chief,
Hédi Annabi and his deputy, Luiz Carlos da Costa, as well as
its police commissioner Douglas Coates, who were attending a
meeting with a visiting Chinese delegation. Nearly one hundred
more UN military, police and civilian personnel from around
the world and Haiti itself also perished at the Headquarters
and other UN facilities in the capital. A total of 29 UN Member
States lost uniformed or civilian personnel in the disaster.
Brazil, which has played a strong leading role in the peacekeeping
mission since its inception in 2004, lost 20 of its nationals,
more than any other troop or police contributing country.
Despite
these tremendous losses, the UN peacekeepers knew that their
vital work to restore stability was even more urgent amid the
chaos. The mission adjusted and recalibrated. The peacekeepers
immediately started the somber work of looking for survivors
and recovering the remains of those who perished, while at the
same time reconstructing the mission and planning and implementing
a strategic response to the disaster.
Since the
quake, MINUSTAH has continued to work hard to help stabilize
Haiti and the professionalism, dedication and courage shown
by the ‘blue helmets’ in Haiti since then is just one of many
examples of UN peacekeeping helping countries overcome conflict
and tragedy. The peacekeepers in Haiti, and their colleagues
serving worldwide, are the personification of one of the most
important functions of the United Nations – maintaining international
peace and security. On a more human level, their works gives
people from conflict-torn countries hope for a better, safer
and more secure future. For this, they rightly deserve the recognition
they receive today -- the eighth annual International Day of
UN Peacekeepers
About
International Day of UN PEACEKEEPERS
By resolution 57/129 of 11 December 2002, the General
Assembly designated 29 May as the International Day of United
Nations Peacekeepers, to pay tribute to all the men and women
who have served and continue to serve in United Nations peacekeeping
operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication
and courage, and to honour the memory of those who have lost
their lives in the cause of peace.
The Assembly
invited all Member States, organizations of the United Nations
system, non-governmental organizations and individuals to observe
the Day in an appropriate manner.
Events
363 – Roman
Emperor Julian defeats the Sassanid army in the Battle of Ctesiphon,
under the walls of the Sassanid capital, but is unable to take
the city.
1167 – Battle of Monte Porzio – A Roman army supporting Pope
Alexander III is defeated by Christian of Buch and Rainald of
Dassel
1176 – Battle of Legnano: The Lombard League defeats Emperor
Frederick I.
1328 – Philip VI is crowned King of France.
1414 – Council of Constance.
1453 – Fall of Constantinople: Ottoman armies under Sultan Mehmed
II Fatih captures Constantinople after a 53-day siege, ending
the Byzantine Empire.
1660 – English Restoration: Charles II is restored to the throne
of Great Britain.
1677 – Treaty of Middle Plantation establishes peace between
the Virginia colonists and the local Natives.
1727 – Peter II becomes Tsar of Russia.
1733 – The right of Canadians to keep Indian slaves is upheld
at Quebec City.
1780 – American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Waxhaws,
the British continue fighting after the Continentals lay down
their arms, killing 113 and critically wounding all but 53 that
remained.
1790 – Rhode Island becomes the last of the original United
States' colonies to ratify the Constitution and is admitted
as the 13th U.S. state.
1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Between 300 and 500 United
Irishmen are massacred by the British Army in County Kildare,
Ireland.
1848 – Wisconsin is admitted as the 30th U.S. state.
1852 – Jenny Lind left New York after her wildly successful
two-year American tour.
1861 – The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce was founded,
in Hong Kong.
1864 – Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico arrives in Mexico for
the first time.
1867 – The Ausgleich ("the Compromise") is born through
Act 12, which establishes the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
1868 – The assassination of Michael Obrenovich III, Prince of
Serbia, in Belgrade.
1886 – Chemist John Pemberton places his first advertisement
for Coca-Cola, the ad appearing in the Atlanta Journal.
1900 – N'Djamena is founded as Fort-Lamy by French commander
Émile Gentil
1903 – May coup d'etat[disambiguation needed ]: Alexander Obrenovich,
King of Serbia, and Queen Draga, are assassinated in Belgrade
by the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) organization.
1913 – Igor Stravinsky's ballet score The Rite of Spring receives
its premiere performance in Paris, provoking a riot.
1914 – Ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sinks in the Gulf
of St. Lawrence with the loss of 1,024 lives.
1918 – Armenia defeats the Ottoman Army in the Battle of Sardarapat.
1919 – Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity is tested
(later confirmed) by Arthur Eddington and Andrew Crommelin.
1919 – The Republic of Prekmurje founded
1924 – AEK Athens FC is established on the anniversary of the
siege of Constantinople by the Turks.
1932 – World War I Veterans begin to assemble in Washington,
D.C. in the Bonus Army to request cash bonuses promised to them
to be paid in 1945.
1939 – Albanian fascist leader Tefik Mborja is appointed as
member of the Italian Chamber of Fasces and Corporations.
1940 – The first flight of the F4U Corsair.
1942 – Bing Crosby, the Ken Darby Singers and the John Scott
Trotter Orchestra record Irving Berlin's "White Christmas",
the best-selling Christmas single in history.
1945 – First combat mission of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator
heavy bomber.
1948 – Creation of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force the
United Nations Truce Supervision Organization
1950 – The St. Roch, the first ship to circumnavigate North
America, arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
1953 – Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first
people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on Tenzing Norgay's
(adopted) 39th birthday.
1954 – First of the annual Bilderberg conferences.
1964 – The Arab League meets in East Jerusalem to discuss the
Palestinian question, leading to the formation of the Palestinian
Liberation Organization.
1969 – General strike in Córdoba, Argentina, leading to the
Cordobazo civil unrest.
1973 – Tom Bradley is elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles,
California.
1982 – Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit
Canterbury Cathedral.
1985 – Heysel Stadium disaster: 39 association football fans
die and hundreds are injured when a dilapidated retaining wall
collapses.
1985 – Amputee Steve Fonyo completes cross-Canada marathon at
Victoria, British Columbia, after 14 months.
1988 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to
the Soviet Union when he arrives in Moscow for a superpower
summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
1989 – Signing of an agreement Egypt - U.S. manufacturing parts
of the fighter F-16 in Egypt.
1990 – The Russian parliament elects Boris Yeltsin president
of the Russian SFSR.
1999 – Olusegun Obasanjo takes office as President of Nigeria,
the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after
16 years of military rule.
1999 – Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with
the International Space Station.
2001 – U.S. Supreme Court rules that disabled golfer Casey Martin
can use a cart to ride in tournaments.
2004 – The World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington,
D.C.
Holidays
and observances
Ascension
of Bahá'u'lláh (Bahá'í Faith)
Christian Feast Day:
Bona of Pisa
Maximin of Trier
Pope Alexander of Alexandria (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Theodosia of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox Church)
May 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Democracy Day (Nigeria)
Earliest day on which Feast of the Sacred Heart can fall, while
July 2 is the latest; celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. (Roman
Catholic Church)
International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers (International)
Oak Apple Day (England)
Statehood Day (Rhode Island and Wisconsin)
Pashto Day
For details, contact Datacentre
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