More than half of the staff who died in action worked in Gaza, the UN chief said at the commemoration

“This tragedy weighs heavily on all of us and should shock the conscience of the whole world,” said Antonio Guterres.

“Let me be clear. UN personnel should not be targeted. Attacks on peacekeepers and humanitarian workers are a violation of international lawincluding international humanitarian law.”

Most recently, a UNIFIL peacekeeper was killed in Lebanon last week – the seventh since conflict last erupted in March between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.

‘Diverse backgrounds, but united in purpose’

At UN Headquarters, the women and men commemorated included 97 civilian personnel and 39 peacekeepers in military and police uniforms, coming from 32 countries, “diverse in background, but united in purpose”, Guterres said.

“We remember these teams through their work,” said the UN Secretary General.

“They are teachers who educate children, medical workers who heal the sick and injured, drivers who deliver aid and many more.”

More than half of the dead came from Gaza

Among those killed, 80 served in the UN agency serving Palestinian refugees, UNRWAin Gaza, he continued, stressing that more UN colleagues have been killed in the region than in any other conflict or disaster in the organization’s history.

“Some died with their families at home or where they had sought refugeGutteres said. “Others were killed while carrying out their duties at work, in shelters, and in the communities they served.”

Also commemorated are those who served in peacekeeping missions around the world, including in the Central African Republic, MINUSCADemocratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCOand South Sudan, DON’T MISS.

‘You make our world a better place’

At a time when multilateralism is under attack and great powers “want to make us believe that the UN – unity itself – is just a pipe dream,” Guterres said, “the people we commemorate today prove otherwise. You made our world a better place.”

In this commemoration, the UN Secretary General together with the president of the General Assembly and Security Council lighting candles symbolizing the eternal flame and a minute’s silence followed by UN officials reading the names of the deceased aloud with a live performance by a violinist in the background.

Since 2011, the Secretary General has institutionalized annual memorial service at UN Headquarters in New York. The service commemorates the 168 UN personnel and peacekeepers who died in the line of duty in 2024 and 188 in 2023.

Watch the entire ceremony here: