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, on 4 September 2015, presided over the medal parade ceremony of 91 peacekeepers from the Ghana Aviation Unit, in the presence of a civlian and military delegation which came from Ghana specially for the event and the Mission's Force Commander, General Didier l'Hôte.



The Special Representative recalled the reasoning behind the "prestigious" ceremony which is to reward peacekeepers for their efforts in contributing to the maintenance and restoration of peace and security throughout the world.



Mrs Mindaoudou thanked Ivorian civilian and military authorities for the presence at the ceremony and for their « perfect collaboration with the peacekeepers and colleagues from UNOCI », adding that she was deeply grateful to Ivorians for their support to the United Nations and UNOCI.



Addressing the UN Medal recipients, UNOCI's Chief praised their devotion in the accomplishment of their task in a multicultural, religious and linguistic environment. « All of this shows you that it is possible to unite and enrich our potentila to serve people, » said the Special Representative.



Ghana Aviation was first deployed in UNOCI in August 2006 and has carried out its functions with dexterity. The Aviation team is composed of 91 members divided into three sections, engineering, transport logistics and medical urgency as well as administration.



For his part, the head of the Ghana delegation, the Defence Attaché, Isaac Osei- Kuffuor outlined the history of his country's contingents' service with the United Nations to accompany Ivorians in the consolidation of peace.



The commander in chief of Ghana Aviation 18, Captain Joshua Lartei Mensah-Larkai, spoke about the role of his contingent which contributes to the implementation of UNOCI's mandate bycarrying out security patrols, air reconnaissance and emergency air evacuation.



The ceremony ended with a military parade.