New York, 3 May 2023- Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, thanked Bolivia for its support to United Nations Peacekeeping and for the service and sacrifice of its military personnel deployed around the world under the UN flag.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping. Since 1948, more than two million men and women have served in 71 UN peacekeeping missions, of which 12 are still active today, making a tangible difference to the lives of millions of people caught up in conflict.
Bolivia first deployed troops in 1999 to the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA). Since then, it has contributed peacekeepers to more than 20 UN peace operations.
Currently, Bolivia contributes 28 uniformed personnel, including seven women, to five UN peace operations. Bolivia’s largest contribution is to the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia (UNVMC) where 11 of its women and men serve. Bolivia also contributes personnel to the UN peacekeeping missions in Abyei, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan.
“Bolivia is a consistent contributor to UN Peacekeeping, deploying personnel in Africa, the Americas, and Asia to help address the root causes of conflict and advance peace. The UN is particularly grateful for Bolivia’s decade-long contribution to the former UN mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), where more than 3,000 of its peacekeepers served between 2004 and 2015.”
“The UN appreciates the service and sacrifice of Bolivian women and men. The UN will never forget the sacrifice of the four Bolivian peacekeepers who have lost their lives while serving under the UN flag,” said Mr. Lacroix.
Bolivia 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.
Note to editors:
The UN's Department of Global Communications runs the international multi-year communications campaign titled 'UN Peacekeeping -- Service and Sacrifice.' The campaign expresses the world body's gratitude to the countries that contribute their uniformed men and women to serve in the peacekeeping missions. https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/service-and-sacrifice
Action for Peacekeeping: https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/action-for-peacekeeping-a4p
Media enquiries in Bolivia:
Ms. Marisol Murillo Velasquez, UN Information Center in La Paz: Marisol.murillovelasquez@un.org
Media enquiries at UNHQ:
Douglas Coffman, Department of Global Communications: coffmand@un.org