Published on: 2026-06-08
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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The world does not get better on its own – it is changed by people willing to risk everything for others. This was stated by Secretary-General António Guterres at the annual memorial ceremony dedicated to fallen UN staff.
Last year, 136 UN personnel gave their lives in the name of peace: 97 people from the civilian staff and 39 military and police personnel from the UN peacekeeping forces. They represented 32 countries.
In the Gaza Strip, 80 staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) were killed. “More UN staff have been killed in Gaza than in any other conflict or natural disaster throughout the entire history of the United Nations,” Guterres said.
The UN Secretary-General emphasized the inadmissibility of attacks on humanitarian missions: “UN personnel must never become targets. Attacks on peacekeepers and humanitarian workers constitute violations of international law.”
Despite global problems – the pandemic, economic shocks, climate chaos, and conflicts – it is precisely people who remain the main driving force of the organization, Guterres emphasized. They continue to do their work and extend a helping hand to those caught in the epicenter of disasters, wars, or hunger.
“Colleagues whom we mourn today chose to serve in one of the most difficult and dangerous places on Earth – because they understood that the world will not become better if no one strives to make it better,” said the UN chief.
Today, when the principle of multilateralism has come under attack, and influential forces are attempting to convince the international community that the United Nations is “merely an unattainable dream,” the lives and deaths of these employees prove the opposite, Guterres said. According to him, they were an example of how to resist doubts and fears.
The Secretary-General called to continue the work to which the United Nations staff who died dedicated their lives.
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