Rifleman Manish Malik

Rifleman Manish Malik was a soldier in the Indian Army and belonged to 5 Rajputana Rifles. He was a peacekeeper for the United Nations and was serving in the U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republican of the Congo (MONUSCO). He lost his life during his mission in August 2015.

MONUSCO:

The devastating Second Congo War, also known as the Great African War, was one of the deadliest conflicts in the world, directly involving nine African countries. The war began in August 1998 and witnessed a huge death toll and brutal violence. After a four year long conflict, a peace agreement was finally signed in 2002. The war officially ended in July 2003 when the Transactional Govt. of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power.

The MONUSCO is a UN peacekeeping operation that was established by the UNSC by the resolutions 1279 and 1291, to ensure the enforcement of the peace agreements following the Second Congo War. Although much of the work carried out subsequently in the mission revolved around the Ituri conflict as well as the Kivu conflict and the Dongo conflict.

Rifleman Manish Malik was serving in this noble mission of the UN. He lost his life in the line of duty during a peacekeeping operation. To commemorate his ultimate sacrifice, he was awarded the famed Dag Hammarskjold, which he was awarded posthumously on 29^th May 2016.

• U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commemorated the event by laying a wreath to honour all fallen peacekeepers. Later, he presided over a ceremony at which the medals were awarded posthumously to fallen peacekeepers. Permanent Representatives and Ambassadors to the U.N. collected the medals on behalf of the fallen peacekeepers from their countries.

• Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Atul Khare had said the sacrifices of the brave men and women of peacekeeping “inspire us to serve with courage and dignity and to pursue continuous improvement and innovation in our work.”
• “We owe this not just to our departed colleagues, but also to the millions of civilians that we have been entrusted to protect. We must continue to work together to enable complex operations to succeed with rapid, effective, efficient and responsible support,” he said.

He was awarded the prestigious Dag Hammarskjold Medal by the United Nations. The medal is awarded posthumously to members of peacekeeping operations who lost their lives during service with a peacekeeping operation under the control and authority of the UN.