About Dag Hammarskjöld Medal:
- It is the highest honour awarded to UN peacekeepers.
- It was established in 1997 as a posthumous award given to members of peacekeeping operations who lost their lives during service with a peacekeeping operation under the operational control and authority of the United Nations.
- Each year on Peacekeeper's Day (May 29), this medal is awarded to any member state that has lost one or more military or police peacekeepers at a ceremony at United Nations headquarters.
- It is named after the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjold.
- On 6 October 1998, the first Medal was presented to the family of Dag Hammarskjöld.
- Dag Hammarskjold was Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 10, 1953, until September 18, 1961, when he died in a plane crash while on a peace mission in the Congo.
- The second medal honoured Commandant René de Labarrière, Military Observer in the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, who was the first peacekeeper to lose his life in a United Nations peacekeeping operation, in 1948.
Other UN Awards:
- Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage: It is awarded to those military, police, civilian United Nations personnel and associated personnel who demonstrate exceptional courage in the face of extreme danger while fulfilling the mandate of their missions or their functions in the service of humanity and the United Nations.
- UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award: It was started in 2016 to recognise the dedication and effort of an individual peacekeeper in promoting the principles within the UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
India and UN Peacekeeping:
- Since the 1950s, India has sent over 290,000 peacekeepers to more than 50 missions worldwide, making it the largest contributor to UN peacekeeping efforts.
- Today, over 5,000 Indian troops serve in nine of the eleven active missions, often in dangerous and hostile regions, dedicated to upholding global peace and security.
- Beyond deployments, India actively strengthens UN missions through training, capacity building, and technological support.
