(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) The United Nations will posthumously award the prestigious Dag Hammarskjold Medal to two Indian peacekeepers - Brigadier Amitabh Jha and Havildar Sanjay Singh - in recognition of their supreme sacrifice in the service of international peace and security.

The medals will be conferred during a solemn ceremony at the UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday, as part of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. The day pays tribute to the more than 4,300 peacekeepers who have laid down their lives since 1948 while serving under the UN flag.

Peacekeeping Duties in Conflict Zones

Brigadier Amitabh Jha served with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), a mission tasked with monitoring the ceasefire between Israel and Syria in the volatile Golan Heights. His role was critical in maintaining stability in one of the world's most sensitive geopolitical hotspots.

Havildar Sanjay Singh was deployed with the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), where he played a key role in efforts to bring peace and stability to conflict-affected regions in the central African nation.

Legacy of Dag Hammarskjold

The Dag Hammarskjold Medal is named after the second UN Secretary-General, who tragically died in a plane crash in 1961 while on a peace mission in Africa. The medal, instituted by UN Security Council Resolution 1121 in 1997, is awarded annually to military, police, and civilian personnel who lose their lives in the line of duty while serving UN peacekeeping operations.

India has long been one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping missions, having deployed more than 200,000 personnel across 49 missions since its inception. Numerous Indian peacekeepers have received the Dag Hammarskjold Medal in past years, underscoring the nation's unwavering commitment to upholding global peace and security.

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