Some 32 soldiers, junior and senior officers, from the 22nd Contingent of the Royal Armed Forces of Morocco based in Duékoué were on Friday, 27 November 2015, decorated with the United Nations Medal by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire and head of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), Mrs Aïchatou Mindaoudou, and the Chief of Staff of the Moroccan Army, General Carlos Aparicio Azcárraga.



After the military honours and a review of the troops, the Special Representative thanked the peacekeepers from the Moroccan Contingent for their professionalism and devotion to duty. The contingent actively participated in the good conduct of the presidential election on 25 October 2015.



Mrs Mindaoudou paid tribute to Moroccan peacekeepers who had lost their lives in the service of the United Nations and a UN Medal was posthumously awarded to the Moroccan Lance Corporal who died in a road accident just a few days before the prestigious ceremony.





We are in this country to protect and serve the people





In addition the head of UNOCI stressed the importance of peacekeepers scrupulously respecting the UN code of conduct , the laws of the host country and the customs and traditions of the people in their respective areas of deployment. « We are in this country to protect and serve the people. I urge you to particularly bear this in mind at all times, » she said. She then thanked the people of Duékoué and all Ivorians for their unending support to UNOCI personnel.



The Moroccan Contingent Commander, Colonel Ahmed Bousserbat welcomed the good collaboration between his men and all UNOCI sections and UN Police, as well as with the people of Duékoué.



UNOCI's 22nd Moroccan Contingent is composed of 705 peacekeepers deployed since July 2015 in Duékoué, Guiglo, Touleupleu, Taï and Danané.



The ceremony was attended by a representative of the Moroccan Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire, the Embassy's defence Attaché, traditional, religious and community leaders, as well as a number of invited guests.