UNGA adopts resolution introduced by India to honour fallen peacekeepers

The UN General Assembly has adopted a draft resolution introduced by India to establish a memorial wall in the UN Headquarters to honour fallen peacekeepers.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj introduced the draft resolution titled ‘Memorial wall for fallen United Nations peacekeepers’ on Wednesday in the UN General Assembly hall.

The resolution was co-sponsored by nearly 190 UN Member States and was adopted by consensus.

It welcomed the initiative of Member States to “establish at a suitable and prominent place at United Nations Headquarters in New York a memorial wall to honour the memory of fallen peacekeepers, giving due consideration to the modalities involved, including the recording of the names of those who have made the supreme sacrifice." While introducing the resolution, Kamboj said the memorial wall will be a testimony to the importance that the UN bestows on peacekeeping.

She said it will remind people of not only the sacrifices of the fallen but also be a "constant reminder of the cost of our decisions.” The resolution was submitted by 18 countries including Bangladesh, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Nepal, Rwanda and the US.

"Peacekeepers are not born. They are forged through the crucible of sacrifice. Their unwavering commitment and selfless acts pave the way for a world where peace must triumph over conflict,” Kamboj said.

The resolution stipulates that the wall be completed within three years of the text’s adoption.

In 2015, the Permanent Mission of India to the UN launched a virtual memorial wall, dedicated to the Indian troops who made the supreme sacrifice while doing active service as UN peacekeepers.

The initiative was a precursor to the eventual construction of the Peacekeepers Memorial Wall. India had proposed the construction of the memorial wall as an appropriate way to commemorate all the troops from UN member states who had given their lives while on duty under the Blue Flag of the United Nations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to the Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping hosted by then US President Barack Obama at the UN Headquarters in September 2015 during the high-level General Assembly week, paid homage to the peacekeepers who laid down their lives in defending the highest ideals of the United Nations.

“It would be most fitting if the proposed memorial wall to the fallen peacekeepers is created quickly. India stands ready to contribute, including financially, to this objective,” Modi had said.