..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date: 28 May 2008
Media Advisory No. N/23/08

Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of UN Peacekeeping and
the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, 30 May 2008

BANGKOK (United Nations Information Services)- The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), on behalf of the UN family in the region, will organize a commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of United Nations Peacekeeping and the International Day of UN Peacekeepers on Friday, 30 May 2008, at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, from 0945 to 1200 hrs.

On 29 May 1948, the Security Council established the first UN peacekeeping operation. The General Assembly later designated the day as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in peacekeeping operations, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

The commemoration is being organized in close collaboration with the Peace Operations Centre of the Royal Thai Armed Forces and the Peace, Security and Disarmament Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Thai Government.

General Boonsrang Niumpradit, the Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces and a former commander of UN peacekeeping force, will deliver a keynote address.

The commemoration will start with a wreath-laying ceremony, followed by the opening of a photo exhibition chronicling 60 years of UN peacekeeping. A video message from UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and a documentary film on UN peacekeeping will be screened. (programme)

The event will conclude with a panel discussion on the topic of 60 Years of UN Peacekeeping - Lessons Learnt and Challenges Ahead. The panel comprises Colonel Ruampon Meechoo-Arrth, Military Assistant to Chief of Joint-Staff, Royal Thai Armed Forces and former UN peacekeeper, Dr. Thitinan Ponsudhirak, Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies, Chulalongkorn University; Mr. Paul Risley, Communication Officer, World Food Programme and former UN civilian peacekeeper; and Mr. Ari Gaitanis, Public Information Officer, UN Information Services, ESCAP, and former UN civilian peacekeeper.

Note to Journalists:

You are cordially invited to attend the commemoration at United Nations Conference Centre, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok.

The middle section of Rajdamnern Nok Avenue in front of the UN complex is closed due to protests, vehicles can enter the UN either through the main gate, if traveling northward, or through the North gate on Krung Kasem Road (next to UNHCR office). Please see attached map for direction and allow for extra travel time.

Please confirm your participation for security reason at:

United Nations Information Services, ESCAP
Tel: (+66) 02 288 1861-9, Fax: (66-2) 288 1052
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org