Peacekeeper from Kazakhstan to be honoured posthumously at UN Headquarters ceremony

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is observed every year on 29 May, honoring the women and men who serve in UN peacekeeping operations and remembering those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of peace.

This year, on Friday, 5 June 2026, a special ceremony will be held at UN Headquarters in New York, where Secretary-General António Guterres will lay a wreath in tribute to peacekeepers and preside over a ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal will be awarded posthumously to 68 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers, who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty, including 59 who perished in 2025.

Among those peacekeepers to be honoured posthumously with the Dag Hammarskjold medal is one from Kazakhstan:  Lieutenant Colonel Askar Mukhamedryssuly who died in October 2025 while serving with the UN Mission in South Sudan. 

Today, more than 50,000 civilian, military and police peacekeepers serve under the UN flag in some of the world’s most complex environments, where conflicts are increasingly fragmented, protracted, and shaped by emerging threats, including the misuse of digital tools and the spread of harmful information. A total of 118 countries currently contribute uniformed personnel to 11 peacekeeping missions. 

Kazakhstan first contributed to UN Peacekeeping in 2014. Today it is the 51st largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping.  It currently contributes 153 uniformed personnel to the UN peacekeeping operations in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, the Middle East, South Sudan, and Western Sahara. 

In his message, Secretary-General António Guterres said: “On this International Day, we honour peacekeepers past and present and reaffirm our shared responsibility to respect and strengthen their work. We pay tribute to nearly 4,500 peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948, including 59 last year. No one should die serving the cause of peace. Attacks on peacekeepers are grave violations of international humanitarian law, and Member States must uphold their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel at all times. In an era of rising tensions, peacekeeping is a proven and cost-effective way to restore stability and hope. But it requires steady political backing – and reliable financial support.”   

The Secretary-General will also present awards to the 2025 Military Gender Advocate of the Year, Major Abhilasha Barak of India, who serves in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and to the UN Woman Police Officer of the Year, Stephanie Königs of Germany, who served in UNMISS.  

“At a time of rising conflict and shrinking resources, United Nations peacekeepers continue to protect civilians, prevent violence from escalating, and keep hope alive in some of the world’s most difficult environments. Investing in peacekeeping means investing in stability, prevention and the possibility of peace itself,” said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations. 

The General Assembly established the Day back in 2002 and selected May 29 as it was the day in 1948 when the Security Council established the first UN Peacekeeping operation, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East.