Indian Army gets highest honor in South Sudan, UN honors 565 soldiers including 53 women soldiers
United Nations. Over 550 Indian peacekeepers serving in the United Nations Mission to protect civilians and support peacebuilding efforts in conflict-hit South Sudan have been recognized for their dedication and commitment. These also include 53 women. The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Monday said that 565 peacekeepers from India and 464 from Rwanda were awarded the UN Medal of Honor at a ceremony held in Malakal town in South Sudan.
The mission said that among these 565 Indian ‘Blue Helmets’, 53 were women. ‘Blue Helmets’ refers to military personnel, police officers and civilian experts serving under the operational command of United Nations peacekeeping forces.
Indian Army got respect
The UN body said the peacekeepers were honored for their efforts to “protect civilians through patrols, community outreach, veterinary camps, self-defense training for women, combating gender-based violence and improving access to humanitarian assistance.” Major General Junhui Wu, force commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, said each medal “honors the courage and tenacity of our brave peacekeepers who demonstrate the highest standards of discipline, operational effectiveness and team spirit in a challenging environment.”
India congratulated the Indian team
Responding to the honour, the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations congratulated the Indian team. “The Indian ‘Blue Helmets’ have consistently maintained the highest standards of professional conduct in all their areas of operations,” the mission said in a post on social media. India is the second largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping operations after Nepal.
India is currently contributing over 4,200 military and police personnel, including 155 women, to the ongoing UN operations in Abyei, Central African Republic, Cyprus, Congo, Lebanon, West Asia, Somalia, South Sudan and Western Sahara. The number of Indian peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the line of duty is around 180, the highest among troop contributing countries.
These Indian soldiers have received respect
Last week, on the occasion of International Day of UN Peacekeepers, Lance Havildar Harbhajan Singh, who served in the United Nations Organization for Stabilization Mission (MONUSCO) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Naib Subedar Sujit Kumar Pradhan, who served in the UN Mission in South Sudan, were posthumously awarded the ‘Dag Hammarskjöld Medal’ for the supreme sacrifice made in the line of duty. This medal is the highest official honor given by the United Nations. Apart from this, Major Abhilasha Barak of India was selected for the Military Gender Equality Advocate Award for 2025.
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