🇺🇳 - Today, 78 years ago, the first United Nations peacekeeping mission began, tasked with monitoring the fragile ceasefire agreements following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. To this day, UN peacekeepers operating under UNIFIL risk their lives trying to maintain the same peace, unable to complete their mandate because of Israel's continued presence inside Lebanon's borders.

Since 1948, over 2 million Peacekeepers from 125 countries have risked their lives across dozens of countries to help maintain global peace, security, and stability. 4,502 of those Peacekeepers were less fortunate, having given their lives in the sacrifice of their mission, including 59 just last year. With today being marked as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers to pay tribute to their ultimate sacrifice.

Today, more than 51,000 civilians, military, and police personnel serve as UN Peacekeepers across the world despite these risks, in Lebanon, the Golan Heights, Cyprus, Kosovo, Kashmir, Abyei, South Sudan, Western Sahara, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Image 1: 1950, Australians, Americans, British, and the Philippines deployed in South Korea under a UN collective security operation.
Image 2: 1956, Norwegians preparing to deploy to Egypt.
Image 3: 1974, PFC Guiliani Raimund of the Austrian Battalion with pet dog “Speedy” in Egypt.
Image 4: 1974, Canadians deployed in Cyprus.
Image 5: 1990, Finnish troops in Lebanon talking to a local riding a donkey carrying a goat.
Image 6: 1994, Australians pictured in Rwanda.
Image 7: 2017, Salvadorian QRF Armed Helicopter Unit patrolling in Mali.
Image 8: 2018, Canadians serving in Mali.
Image 9: 2019, Italians patrolling in Lebanon.