In his speech to the UN General Assembly in 1974, Bangabandhu reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to maintaining world peace. Bangladesh has validated Bangabandhu’s statement of upholding world peace by sending its peacekeepers in discrete UN missions for three decades.
The role Bangladesh played in UN peacekeeping is one of honour and accomplishment. Nearly all the world’s difficult regions can now be found where Bangladeshi peacekeepers have left their footprints.
The mission of United Nations peacekeepers, who come from many cultural backgrounds and speak various tongues, is to safeguard marginalized populations and help nations that are struggling to transition from war to peace.
Bangladesh’s accomplishments in UN peacekeeping missions have put it on the map internationally. It is a tale of commitment, sacrifice, and glory for the country — and such glory was truly hard-earned.
There have been many such sacrifices made by Bangladeshi forces in the UN Peacekeeping missions. In the last three decades in the service of global peace, 130 Bangladeshi peacekeepers have lost their lives and 200 were severely injured.
Recently, three Bangladeshi United Nations (UN) peacekeepers were killed and one was badly hurt on October 4 after an IED exploded outside of their vehicle in the Central African Republic.
– Saume Saptaparna Nath is a Research Associate at the KRF Center for Bangladesh and Global Affairs (CBGA). Previously, she worked as an Intern at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh.
Published in Dhaka Tribune [Link]
