By Hina Haroon
The world is celebrating International Day of Peace 2021 today (September 21, 2021) with a theme of “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world”.
Today we discuss the progress of achieving an equitable world and there will be different seminars and discussions all over the world in this regard. Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.
In line with the Secretary-General’s appeal for a global ceasefire last March, in February 2021 the Security Council unanimously passed a resolution calling for the Member States to support a “sustained humanitarian pause” to local conflicts. The global ceasefire must continue to be honoured, to ensure people caught in conflict have access to lifesaving vaccinations and treatments. Pakistan is a leading player in protecting and maintaining Global peace and Pakistan’s commitment to peace as the world’s 6th largest troop contributor to the UN is a reality although it went through the gravest phases of sustainability in the last two decades when India launched a hybrid war and Pakistan lost 80,000 civilian and military men to achieve peace and sustainability within its borders.
Pakistan’s peacekeepers have always distinguished themselves in every mission where they have participated. Pakistan’s 157 bravest peacekeepers have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty for the cause of international peace and security.
Pakistan has also led the way in deputing female peacekeepers in record time. In 2019, Pakistan met the 15 percent benchmark set by the UN Secretariat in the staff/officers category. It said that a team of officers is presently serving as the first all-female group from Pakistan in a UN Peacekeeping Mission, deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, providing a range of resources to the region including psychologists, stress counsellors, vocational training officers, gender advisors, doctors, nurses, operations officers, information officers, and logistics officers. Pakistan’s contribution to peacekeeping on the ground has been complemented by its active engagement at the level of policy formulation in various UN bodies. It said that Pakistan brings a unique perspective to peacekeeping, not only as a leading troop-contributing Country but also as the host to one of the oldest Peacekeeping Missions in the world – the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).
Pakistan Army’s commitment to ensuring global peace remains an effective mechanism for maintaining security and stability in the world.
Pakistan had been part of global Peacekeeping UN-led campaigns in Congo (August 1960 to May 1964), West New Guinea (October 1962 – April 1963), Namibia (April 1989 to March 1990, Kuwait (December 1991 to October 1993), Haiti (1993 to 1996), Cambodia (March 1992 to November 1993), Bosnia (March 1992 to February 1996), Somalia (March 1992 to February 1996), Rwanda (October 1993 – March 1996), Angola (February 1995 to June 1997), Eastern Slavonia (May 1996 – August 1997) and Sierra Leone (October 1999 to December 2005).
The 2021 theme for the International Day of Peace is “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world” indicates that the UN invites all of us to join the efforts of the United Nations and to celebrate peace by standing up against acts of hate online and offline, and by spreading compassion, kindness, and hope in the face of the pandemic, and as we recover.
We remember the International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.
As a Pakistani, I am proud of my armed forces for their sacrifices to ensure peace in the world and my desire is simply that our sacrifices must be recognized by the world community.
We must remember that peace is not God’s gift to His creatures; peace is our gift to each other. People always make war when they say “No” dialogue, conversation, and negotiations.
We all can make this world a better place by adopting the imperative of a “peaceful coexistence”.
Note: Writer Hina Haroon is a student in the Faculty of Media and Communication Studies (FMCS) at the University of Central Punjab and is interested in a proactive role of media to promote Coexistence.
