Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Eleven Egyptian police officers serving in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSATAH) were awarded the United Nations peacekeeping medal at a ceremony in Port-au-Prince on Feb. 19. "This team of professionals has contributed enormously to the success and progress that we see on the security situation in Haiti today, said Peters Schmitz, who awarded the medals on behalf of the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Haiti, Hédi Annabi. The medal recipients, who are at the end of their mission in Haiti, have served in the Caribbean country since Feb. 24, 2007. "The Egyptian contingent of MINUSTAH, made up of 35 police, is characterized by "their capacity to simultaneously coordinate a number of activities and to resolve problems said Peter Schmitz, the Special Representative's Chief of Cabinet. The Egyptian blue helmets "participated in the police vetting process for the Haitian police and leant their competence to administrative service of MINUSTAH's police component, explained the Egyptian Contingent Commander, Fayssal Assem. Schmitz congratulated them for "the quality of their analysis, their wise council and their planning skills. For his part, the Commissioner of the UN Police in Haiti, Mamadou Mountaga Diallo, told them: "you should be proud of what you have achieved here. For the ceremony the 11 officers wore their dress white uniforms, insignia indicating their rank and a UN blue scarf. The Egyptian police officers were joined at the ceremony by their peacekeeping comrades from Canada, El Salvador, France, Jordan, Mali, Peru, Rwanda, the United States and Uruguay. About 9,000 troops and civilian police officers from more than a dozen nations serve in the UN mission in Haiti. The UN Security Council established the peacekeeping mission in Haiti to help restore order following the 2004 revolt that ousted former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In addition to Haiti, Egypt contributes military or police personnel to the United Nations peace operations in Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Georgia, Liberia, Nepal, Sudan, Timor-Leste, and the Western Sahara. - UNIC
