On 10 August, MINURSO marked the Independence Day of Ecuador hoisting the UN flag at the Mission HQ in Laayoune and Team Site Smara, where one Ecuadorian Military Observer serves.

Ecuador has been contributing to UN peacekeeping operations since 1952, mostly deploying Military Observers. In 2004, the country committed to the UN Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System (PCRS), a structure established between UN Headquarters and Member States with the objective of strengthening readiness and timely deployment of quality peacekeeping capabilities.

Already in 2003, the Peacekeeping Operations Unit & School “ECUADOR” (UEMPE) was founded in Quito and, since then, it has been offering a wide range of training courses for police, military and civilian personnel. The UEMPE became also an active member of the Latin American Association of Peacekeeping Operations Training Centers.

Nowadays, Ecuador has Staff Officers and Military Observers in four DPO-led missions in Africa, including two observers in MINURSO. [Photo gallery]

The National Day of Ecuador marks “The day of the first declaration of independence of Quito” (El Dia del Primer Grito de Independencia) in 1809. The victory did not last long, and Ecuador gained the full independence on 24 May 1822. However, 10 August remained the symbol of the country’s independence struggle.