At the end of their six months mission, fifty-six Officers, including six women of the medical Battalion of Bangladesh (BANMED 12) deployed within the United Nations Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI) received the medal of the United Nations, on 16 August 2016 in Daloa.

UNOCI civilian and military personnel, as well as local commanders of Defense and security forces of Côte d’Ivoire’s took part in that ceremony whose aim was to celebrate the remarkable work completed by BANMED in Daloa.

The Deputy Special representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations and Humanitarian Coordinator, M’Baye Babacar Cissé, accompanied by the acting Commander of UNOCI forces, General Bemba Keita, presided-over the official ceremony. It was in the presence of the Secretary General of the prefecture, Dao Kadidia Sanogo, representing the Prefect of the Haut-Sassandra Region.

On this occasion, Mr. Cissé showed his appreciation of BANMED 12’s excellent work. He highlighted “the consistency, professionalism and especially the courage of the BANMED 12 members in the course of their duty.”

“The Bangladesh Medical battalion will be remembered not only for the extensive medical care provided to the local communities, but also for the fact that it was commanded by Colonel Nazma Begum, the first woman to ever lead a medical battalion in United Nations history”, the Deputy Special Representative said. Mr. Cissé congratulated Colonel Nazma for her exemplary leadership as well as the Government of Bangladesh for taking into account the question of gender in its army.

The Deputy Special representative also praised the exemplary behavior of the Blue Helmets of BANMED 12. “During the period of your mission, we did not record any case of sexual abuse by the members of the BANMED12”, he said.

Colonel Nazma, for her part, saluted the perfect collaboration between her battalion and other components of UNOCI; the Ivoirian authorities and the local population. She therefore expressed her gratitude to all of them for the support they provided to her during her mission in Daloa.

The ceremony ended with a performance showcasing cultural diversity of both Bangladesh and Côte d’Ivoire.

Bangladesh is one of the largest contributors of troops in UN peace missions with nearly 8000 soldiers and police officers deployed in 18 peacekeeping missions around the world.