UN commitment to war-free world reaffirmed

"Let us pay tribute to men and women from countries across the world who serve selflessly, tirelessly and fearlessly in UN peacekeeping operations. Let us remember the heroes who have laid down their lives in lands far from their own in the service of peace," he said in a message on the eve of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.

According to the message, the UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed states back to life, often after decades of conflict.

The blue helmets and their civilian colleagues work together to organise elections, enact police and judicial reform, promote and protect human rights, conduct mine-clearance, advance gender equality, achieve the voluntary disarmament of former combatants, and support the return of refugees and displaced people to their homes," said Annan.

He said this invaluable work does not come without risk. More peacekeepers died in the service of the United Nations in 2005 than in any other year in the past decade, with 124 peacekeepers from 46 countries losing their lives to violence, disease and accidents.

A further 32 have fallen in the line of duty so far in 2006, including eight Guatemalan soldiers who died while striving to bring peace to the troubled eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Moreover, he said, the number of peacekeepers exposed to risk has increased exponentially, and continues to grow, more than 72,000 uniformed personnel and 15,000 civilians know serve in 18 peace operations administered by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, making the United Nations the largest multilateral contributor to post-conflict stabilisation worldwide.