Sergeant Major Fiston Murwanashyaka and Corporal Eliakim Niyitegeka, both from the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), are set to receive a special award from the United Nations in recognition of their sacrifice and bravery during a peacekeeping mission, where they also lost their lives.
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The awards will be presented on Thursday, May 29, 2025, in a ceremony to be held at the UN Headquarters in New York, United States.
According to the UN’s announcement on Tuesday, the two soldiers will be awarded the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal.
This medal is awarded to peacekeepers who have shown exceptional dedication, particularly those who died in the line of duty while serving in UN missions. Both soldiers lost their lives while serving under MINUSCA, the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic.
Rwanda currently contributes nearly 5,900 military and police personnel to UN missions, ranking second in the world in terms of the number of peacekeepers it provides.
Among them, 660 are women, serving in various locations including Abyei (on the border between Sudan and South Sudan), the Central African Republic, and other areas in South Sudan.
During the award ceremony, UN Secretary-General António Guterres will begin by laying a wreath at the memorial dedicated to more than 4,400 peacekeepers who have died in service since 1948.
This will be followed by the official ceremony in the UN’s main boardroom, where the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal will be awarded to 57 peacekeepers, including soldiers, police officers, and civilians who died while serving in UN missions last year.
Additionally, António Guterres will present special awards to outstanding female peacekeepers.
Among them is Squadron Leader Sharon Mwinsote Syme from Ghana, who will be recognized as the best female military officer promoting gender equality in the armed forces, and Superintendent Zainab Gbla from Sierra Leone, who will receive the award for best-performing female police officer over the past year.
Both serve in the UN peacekeeping mission in Abyei (UNISFA).
