19 Mar 2018

UNIFIL marks 40 years of serving for peace

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) today marked its establishment day exactly 40-years ago with a ceremony in the Mission Headquarters in Naqoura and the opening of a photo exhibition in the coastal town of Tyre, south Lebanon.

It was an occasion to pay tribute to the tens of thousands of UN peacekeepers and the local communities who have served together for peace in south Lebanon over the past four decades, and reflect on the human cost of conflict and the value of furthering stability and peace.

Lebanon’s Minister of State for Administrative Reforms, Inaya Ezzeddine, senior UNIFIL officials and peacekeepers, senior officials with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), representatives of UN agencies, local and religious leaders, Ambassadors and high-level officials of troop contributing countries, including the Minister with responsibility for Defence of Ireland, Paul Kehoe, were in attendance to mark the 40th year since the United Nations Security Council established UNIFIL on 19 March 1978.

At the main ceremony in Naqoura, UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Michael Beary, spoke of some of the more painful days in the span of UNIFIL’s history while highlighting the now nearly 12 years of overall stability in south Lebanon – a hard won feat achieved jointly with the LAF, the commitment of the parties and the communities.

“We have a collective responsibility to learn from our shared history and to remain on a path to peace. UNIFIL works tirelessly to pre-empt a return to conflict; a return to turmoil and loss of life; a return to some of the dark days of the past,” said Major General Beary. “On this day of reflection we recognize that UNIFIL’s peacekeeping operations have provided the space for the parties to the conflict to begin a move toward a permanent ceasefire”.

One of the main highlights of the ceremony was an emotional tribute to the fallen peacekeepers by John O’Mahony, a veteran Irish Peacekeeper who lost two of his colleagues during an attack on their convoy in At Tiri on 18 April 1980. O’Mahony himself was injured with multiple gunshots.

The sacrifices have not been in vain, he noted.

“I was pleased to see new shops and businesses having opened up, children going to school, farmers in their field – normal life,” he said, reflecting on his return to At Tiri the day before. “It was a reminder that the resilience of the communities here and the sacrifices that UN Peacekeepers have made throughout the years have helped further stability and prosperity.”

Together with the LAF representative, Brigadier General Khalil El Gemayel, and the Head of UNIFIL, Mr. O’Mahony laid a wreath at the UNIFIL cenotaph to pay tribute to the 312 UN peacekeepers from around the world who lost their lives serving in south Lebanon.

During the ceremony, UNIFIL leadership and LAF representative awarded 69 military staff officers with the UN Medal for their contribution to fulfilling the Mission’s mandate.

Later in the afternoon, Major General Beary opened a photo exhibition in Tyre dedicated to all of those committed to further peace in south Lebanon. On display were also colourful drawings of children from some 25 schools in south Lebanon.

The exhibition is open to the public and will run through 23 March – the day the first UNIFIL peacekeepers arrived in south Lebanon in 1978.

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Article: Tilak Pokharel

Video camera: Suzane Badereddine, Mohamad Hamze, Aoibheann O’Sullivan & UN archive

Video edit: Aoibheann O’Sullivan & Suzane Badereddine

Radio: Rania Bdeir

Music: Dexter Britain

Stills: Pascual Gorriz

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UNIFIL Force Commander Major-General Michael Beary speech