“Here at the RSCE, peace begins with each of us as we all have a role to play in promoting peace in Africa.” Said Josef Salani, Chief of Financial Services and Compliance Monitoring at the Regional Service Centre Entebbe (RSCE)

“Ours is to ensure that all non-location dependent transactions are executed on time, accurately and without hustle. The work we do here is aimed at giving our colleagues in the field peace of mind to continue to preserve, pursue and nurture peace in Africa.” He added.

Mr. Salani made these remarks during the celebration of the International Day of United Nations peacekeepers held at the RSCE.

The International Day of UN Peacekeepers is celebrated on 29 May every year and it is a day earmarked to pay tribute to over two million civilian and uniformed personnel that have contributed to the effort to preserve and build peace on the globe. The day also pays tribute to the memory of over 4,200 UN personnel that have lost their lives in the pursuit of peace for the last 75 years.

“Today we remember those that have paid the ultimate price to bring peace and security to millions of civilians on the globe including 420 of our colleagues from MONUSCO and MONUC. We will forever remember their selfless contribution and we pledge to continue to support those still in the field to make their access to service as effortless as possible.” Said Ingemar Bjoernfot, Chief Centralized Warehouse, MONUSCO.

This year’s theme Peace Begins With Me, is a call to everyone to join the global movement for peace.

As part of the event, representatives of the uniformed personnel laid a wreath in memory of the fallen peacekeepers. After observing a minute of silence, the RSCE exhibition was officially opened. The exhibition of  photos and videos is set up inside the Regional Training and Conference Centre (RTCC) showing UN Peacekeepers in the field.

RSCE will also host a quiz session based on the Peace Begins With Me theme on Friday, 26 May from 4:00pm.