Two Indian Peacekeepers to be Honoured Posthumously with Dag Hammarskjöld Medal at UN Ceremony

New York, May 29: The United Nations will posthumously confer the prestigious Dag Hammarskjöld Medal on two Indian peacekeepers — Brigadier Amitabh Jha and Havildar Sanjay Singh — in recognition of their supreme sacrifice in the line of duty while serving global peace efforts under the UN banner.

Brigadier Jha served with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), overseeing fragile ceasefire arrangements in the volatile Golan Heights region. Havildar Singh was deployed with the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), where he contributed to peacebuilding efforts in conflict-affected zones.

The medals will be presented posthumously during a solemn ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters in New York today, as part of the observance of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. The occasion commemorates the service and sacrifice of the more than 4,300 UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives in peacekeeping operations since 1948.

Instituted by the UN Security Council in 1997 through Resolution 1121, the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal is named after the second UN Secretary-General who perished in a 1961 plane crash while on a peace mission. The medal honours military, police, and civilian personnel who pay the ultimate price while serving in UN peacekeeping operations around the world.

India remains one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping missions, having deployed over 200,000 personnel across 49 missions to date. Indian peacekeepers have a long-standing legacy of professionalism, courage, and commitment, and many have been posthumously honoured with the Hammarskjöld Medal in previous years.

The ceremony stands as a solemn reminder of the human cost of peace and India’s enduring role in global peacekeeping efforts.