In 2006, Mongolia made its first sizeable contribution to UN peacekeeping when it deployed 250 military personnel to the UN Mission in Liberia, a West African country that was recovering from a violent civil war. Six years later, Mongolia undertook it largest deployment to date when it sent a full battalion of 850 troops to the UN Mission in South Sudan, where they continue to play an important role in protecting civilians.

Throughout its decade-and-a-half history in UN peacekeeping, Mongolian contributions to UN peacekeeping have been notable for their high standards of training and for the high number of women they deploy.

Mongolia has risen to become the 27th largest contributor to UN peacekeeping, with nearly 900 military and police personnel deployed in five operations. But they have not forgotten their first mission--they continue to send a handful of military observers to Western Sahara.

In Kabkabiya in the Darfur region of Sudan, Mongolia has for several years provided a Level Two Hospital to address this need. The unit consists of 68 personnel, 34 men and 34 women, and is responsible for providing UN personnel with health care, emergency resuscitation and stabilization, life and limb-saving surgical interventions, basic dental care and facilitation of casualty evacuation for more severe cases. It also administered vaccinations and other prophylaxis measures. In addition to serving UN staff, the Mongolian hospital unit treated more than 10,000 people from the local communities.

Since 2003, more than 14,000 Mongolian peacekeepers have served in UN missions around the world. Today, Mongolia deploys nearly 900 peacekeepers to five UN peacekeeping operations – in South Sudan, Abyei, Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Western Sahara. The Mongolian contribution consists of troops, police and unarmed military observers.

A key task of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is monitoring the ceasefire observed by the parties since September 1991 – carried out by some 200 military observers.

In May 2017, more than 850 Mongolian peacekeepers were awarded the United Nations Medal for their commitment and service to the UN and the people of South Sudan during a ceremony in Bentiu. (news.un.org)