About 30,000 Fijians have participated in peacekeeping operations and 67 have made the ultimate sacrifice in the past 42 years, says President Jioji Konrote.
While speaking at the Reflection on Fijian and Global Peacekeeping Experiences panel in Suva yesterday, he said Fiji had been continuously participating with the United Nations (UN) in peacekeeping operations for more than four decades.
He said some of the operations involved the most volatile and dangerous conflict zones in Africa, Middle East, Balkans, South-East Asia, South Sea and East Timor.
He said since 1978, peacekeeping was made by successive Fijian governments as the country’s contribution to world peace.
“Fiji has sadly lost about 67 of our servicemen over the years as servants of peace worldwide,” Mr Konrote said.
“Peacekeeping, as you know, is essential for the UN to maintain peace and security. Peacekeeping operations has evolved over the last 70 years to effectively adjust to change in the nature of conflicts.”
He highlighted peacekeepers were now being asked to serve in highly complex environments.
“Peacekeepers were now being asked to do more and more.”
The president added that new specialised skill sets and high-end technologies were needed by peacekeeping missions to meet the demands of the mission and to meet the expectations of the international community.
