CONTEXT :

• An Indian peacekeeper is among the 119 military, police and civilian personnel who will be honoured with a prestigious UN medal this year for courage and sacrifice in the line of duty.
• Police Officer Jitender Kumar made the supreme sacrifice while serving in the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Central African country of Congo.
• He will be honoured posthumously with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal on Friday as the world organisation observes the International Day of UN Peacekeepers.

BACKGROUND :

• India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin would collect the medal on behalf of the fallen Indian peacekeeper at a solemn ceremony at the UN in New York.
• India is the fourth largest contributor of uniformed personnel to the UN peacekeeping.
• It currently contributes more than 6,400 military and police personnel to the UN peace operations in Abyei, Cyprus, Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, West Asia, South Sudan and Western Sahara.