UNMIL Pakistani Corp gets Medals of Honor

Members of the Pakistani Contigent of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), last Wednesday February 22, 2012, received the UN Peacekeeping medals for their efforts to assist Liberians and their positive contributions to the peace and stibility that have being restored to Liberia and the West African sub-region. The Medals of Honor were confered on the Pakistani Contigent at the Samuel K. Doe Sport complex in Paynesville by Mr. Moustapha Soumare, Acting Special Representative of the Secretary General (ASRSG) to Liberia. According to an UNMIL release, ASRSG Soumare told the Pakistanis that by devoting themselves to improving livelihood of several local communities in the country they have earned the respect and love of the Liberian people. “By devoting yourselves to improving livelihood in the local communities, you have earned the respect and love of the Liberian people, young and old. The UN recognizes and appreciates your devotion. Your actions have fostered understanding and promoted peace and stability in liberian and the region,” Mr. Soumaré highlighted during the ceremony before awarding the UN Peacekeeping medals to members of the UNMIL Pakistani Contingent. Mr. Soumaré said since the deployment of UNMIL troops in 2003, Pakistan has established itself as a strong, reliable and dedicated partner in Liberia’s search for peace, stability and development. “UNMIL has also benefitted from Pakistan’s experience and generosity in the number and expertise of troops it has provided to the Mission, including highly qualified senior military officers, with two Force Commanders and one Deputy Force Commander,” Mr. Soumaré noted. The Acting SRSG described the positive response of the Pakistani Government to the Security Council’s request for UNMIL troops to reinforce the sister Mission in Ivory Coast as another demonstration of Pakistan’s long standing commitment to peace and security in the world. Meanwhile, Mr. Soumare used the occasion to re-echoed the a UN Technical Assessment Mission have come to liberia to assess the situation in Liberia and conduct a thorough review of the progress made towards the implementation of UNMIL’s strategic objective of a steady state of security in the counntry and the Liberian security institutions that are independently operational without the peacekeeping mission. According to the Acting SRSG the TAM, having conducted assessment on the UNMIL and Liberian security institutions, will develop recommendations for the future of the UN Mission in Liberia which could call for a drawdown sooner or later. The Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Moustapha Soumaré highlighted that this was not the first Technical Assessment Mission to come to Liberia. He said the technical assessment is customary a event during the UN mission as a specific phase or benchmark is accomplished. Mr. Soumare said the completion of the peaceful elections in the country was a benchmark in the existance of the mission in the country since 2003 and calls for the assessment that will be carry out by the TAM. “I would like to underline that the United Nations is committed to Liberia, and UNMIL will continue to work on the transition while the entire UN family will remain to ‘Deliver as One’ for the Liberian people.”