Today, the United Nations celebrates the International Day of Peacekeepers in memory of all the people who, as "blue helmets" of the UN, participated in preserving global peace, but also to pay tribute to those who paid with their lives to make the world a safer place to live.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that sending peacekeepers around the world is a manifestation of the common conviction that peoples who have survived war must not go through a period of insecurity, injustice and fear.
"Only by removing these conditions can we hope that long-term peace will be achieved," said Ban Ki-moon.
The role and tasks of the "blue helmets" were determined in 1948, and the first military observers were sent by the Security Council to the border between Israel and the Arab countries.
Peacekeepers are tasked with peaceful conflict resolution such as negotiation and mediation and authorizing "stronger actions" to achieve that goal.
Participants of peace missions helped build democratic government institutions, monitored respect for human rights and helped the injured and sick.
In addition to soldiers in peacekeeping operations, experts from various professions - lawyers, economists, policemen, humanitarian workers - were engaged.
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