22 July 2016
From 30 May to 1 June 2016, WVF President Dan-Viggo Bergtun visited the United Nations offices in Geneva at the invitation of Soldiers of Peace International Association (SPIA), for the International Day of United Nations Peacekeeper.
The International Day of UN Peacekeepers was established to honour the memory of the UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the cause of peace, and pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in UN peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication and courage.
Founded on 19 November 1988, Soldiers of Peace International Association (SPIA) organizes and takes part in International Peacekeeper events around the world with its members, as well as carrying out humanitarian work on an international scale.
In 1988, the Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations Peacekeeping forces. At the time, they said that “The peacekeeping forces of the United Nations have, under extremely difficult conditions, contributed to reducing tensions where an armistice has been negotiated but a peace treaty has yet to be established”.
SPIA decided that the Nobel Peace Prize Medal would be given out on the occasion of UN Peacekeepers Day every year at the UN European Headquarters, to Peacekeepers who served before 10 December 1988. President Bergtun was invited to the 2016 medal ceremony, where veterans from 13 different nations were awarded with the medal.
President Bergtun then held a fruitful meeting with Mr. Michael Møller (on the right in the above picture), Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.