The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Rwanda has commended Rwandan peacekeepers for braving life-threatening situations and for introducing community development activities such as Umuganda and medical outreaches in the countries where they are deployed.

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Ozonnia Ojielo said this as the world marked the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, on Wednesday, May 29.

"They are taking these experiences to the rest of the world so that, like Rwanda, [other countries] can also be at peace and work on their national development,” he said.

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Ojielo commended Rwanda’s contribution to UN peacekeeping missions and paid tribute to two Rwandan soldiers who lost their lives while on duty on UN missions.

The fallen soldiers, Sergeant Major Francis Ngoga who served under the UN mission in South Sudan and Sergeant Eustache Tabaro, who served under the UN mission in the Central African Republic (CAR), were among 61 Blue Helmets who lost their lives in line of duty in 2023.

All the fallen peacekeepers posthumously received the Dag Hammarskjold Medal, named after the former UN Secretary-General.

"Their legacies shall live on to inspire those of us who continue to serve the United Nations system,” said Ojielo, adding the thousands of Rwandan military and police personnel deployed in different UN missions "are serving selflessly contributing to securing [a peaceful] future.”

Ojielo said: "Their courage and dedication inspire us all and encourage our youth to step up their efforts to make the world a better place.”

In South Sudan, Rwandan peacekeepers joined other contingents, UN staff and South Sudanese government officials in commemorating the UN Peacekeepers Day and paid tribute to Sergeant Major Ngoga, among the other fallen Blue Helmets.

Rwandan peacekeepers in CAR also joined their colleagues in the UN mission, UN country team and the country’s Prime Minister as they reflected on the role of peacekeepers and honoured the memory of the Blue Helmets who died in line of duty.

As of March 2024, Rwanda had up to 5,894 peacekeepers in South Sudan and CAR, making it the fourth largest troop-contributor to UN peacekeeping missions, after Nepal, India and Bangladesh.

Since 2004, Rwanda has deployed more than 73,000 troops in peacekeeping missions in different countries.