Nobel Prize

The 1988 Nobel Peace Prize

The 1988 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces. (Speech by Egil Aarvik, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.)
BACKGROUND

On the 10th of December 1988, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1988 to the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces for their devotion and sacrifice in the service of peace since 1956. The award was accepted by the then United Nations Secretary-General Perez De Cuelliar, on behalf of the “Blue Helmets” Peacekeepers.

SIGNIFICANCE

It thus came about that all those Canadians who served on at least one United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission beginning with the Suez Crisis in 1956 with the first UNEF, to the date of the award in 1988, received official recognition as a group, but not as individuals, for their service by the UN. It should in no way be construed that these persons are Nobel Laureates, for they are not. They are known as the “First Generation” of Peacekeepers who served from 1956 to 1989 and may also be referred to as the “Cold War” Peacekeepers. In French, they are more often called “Casques Bleus” (Blue Helmets).

MEDALLION

The Nobel Peace Prize Medallion awarded in 1988 is described on the front page of the August 2007 issue of the CPVA Newsletter, The Blue Beret . It is kept at the United Nations Organization Headquarters in New York City.


RECOGNITION


There is no official recognition for this group of Veterans by the Government of Canada. When the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal (CPSM) was designed in 1999, largely inspired by the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize award, it was recommended by the CPVA, who originated the design, to include a “Nobel” Bar for those who served on a peacekeeping mission from 1956 to 1988 but this seems to have been lost in the approval process. Sadly, there is no official military certificate to recognize this important event either.


Legitimate recognition is available through the CPVA on behalf of the Norwegian Nobel Committee by the award of the Norwegian 1988 Nobel Peace Prize Diploma in Norwegian. Eligible members may apply directly to the CPVA.

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