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Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix thanked Zimbabwe for its strong support to United Nations Peacekeeping and for the service and sacrifice of its military and police personnel deployed in missions around the world.
Zimbabwe is a longtime contributor of peacekeepers to the United Nations. It currently provides 72 military and police personnel, including 41 women, to six UN peace operations, making it the 68th largest contributor.
Zimbabwe’s largest deployment is with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) where 53 peacekeepers serve. It also provides uniformed personnel to the United Nations in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA); the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS); the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA); and the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).
“Zimbabwean peacekeepers have made a real difference wherever they have served. They demonstrate true professionalism and commitment to the UN and the communities we support. We are deeply grateful for their continued service and will never forget the sacrifice of the 20 Zimbabwean peacekeepers who have given their lives while serving the cause of peace under the UN flag,” said Mr. Lacroix.
Zimbabwe has consistently been among the top providers of women peacekeepers by percentage in recent decades. Today, nearly two-thirds of its police officers, military staff officers and experts on mission are women.
“They provide a greater sense of security to the local population and serve as role models to women and girls. They also help strengthen the effectiveness of peacekeeping, as demonstrated by Zimbabwe’s Annah Chota, who was named UN Woman Police officer of the year in 2017,” said Mr. Lacroix.
Zimbabwe 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.