UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during an annual memorial service at the UN headquarters in New York, on June 5, 2025. The United Nations (UN) on Thursday paid tribute to 168 of its personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2024. (Mark Garten/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) on Thursday paid tribute to 168 of its personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2024.

"We honor those who gave everything in the pursuit of peace, justice, and human dignity," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the annual memorial service held at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The fallen included military, police, and civilian personnel from 31 countries. Among them were 125 staff members from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), some of whom were killed along with their families.

Speaking to reporters earlier Thursday, Guterres noted that more than one in every 50 UNRWA staff members in Gaza had been killed in the conflict, marking the highest staff death toll in UN history.

"Recent years have been devastating for the UN family. We have suffered unspeakable and unprecedented losses in Gaza," he said at the memorial.

The UN chief renewed his call for "full accountability" for the deaths.

"The women and men we honor today embodied the very essence of our mission. They were driven by the cause of peace, by the need to alleviate human suffering, and to ensure dignity for all," he said. "They were teachers, engineers, doctors, and administrators. They were military, police and civilian personnel. They were humanitarians, peacekeepers, and peacemakers and so much more."

When conflict erupted, they worked for peace. When violence and disasters hit, they provided life-saving assistance. When human rights were trampled, they lifted people up. And when the vulnerable needed help, they worked to ensure no one was left behind, he said.

"Our work is far more than just a job. It is a calling. All our fallen colleagues answered the call to serve humanity. They did so in their own ways -- without fanfare -- and with determination," he said. "They represented humanity in action. At a time when some may question international cooperation or the very notion of multilateralism, we would all do well to remember these lives taken far too soon." ■

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (C, Front) and Philemon Yang (L, Front), president of the UN General Assembly, light a candle during an annual memorial service at the UN headquarters in New York, on June 5, 2025. The United Nations (UN) on Thursday paid tribute to 168 of its personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2024. (Manuel Elias/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)