Latest Update - 20 August- News - Results of AFL Game for the Memorial
Australia has been actively and continually involved in peace operations for over fifty years, although our military and police contributions have increased significantly over the last decade. Our involvement has covered the complete spectrum of peace operations and personnel from a number of government agencies have participated in these peace initiatives. In 1947 four Australian ADF officers were the world's first ever peacekeepers when deployed to the Dutch East Indies under the UN Commission in Indonesia (UNCI).
Over the last few years a proposal has been developing that a Peacekeeping Memorial should be built in the national capital Canberra to honour all those who have and will continue to serve on peacekeeping operations. This includes those from the Australian Defence Force, the Federal, State and Territory Police Forces, and Government Agencies who have served and died on peacekeeping operations commanded or authorised by the United Nations or sanctioned by the Government of Australia. Our definition of peacekeeping aligns with that of the Australian War Memorial, and includes some 60 operations over the last 60 years, including not only UN commanded missions but also coalition arrangements such as is occurring in RAMSI, MFO, Bougainville, Timor Leste, Afghanistan and Iraq. This proposal has now developed into the Australian Peacekeeping Memorial Project (APMP), and an APMP committee has been formed to develop the Proposal.
APMP VisionTo create a national memorial that will appropriately honour the sacrifice of Australian Peacekeepers in the service of international peace and security, and recognise the courage and professionalism of Australian Peacekeepers in the face of the particular challenges of their operations. The Memorial will be the focus for recognising the continuing significant contribution by Australians to international peacekeeping. |