The annual United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Medal Awarding Ceremony was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, on May 24 2019, to honour 119 military, police and civilian personnel who had sacrificed their lives whilst performing duties in several UN field Missions during the period from January 1 2018 to February 4 2019. Platoon Commander Maj. H. W. D. Jayawickrama of the Light Infantry Battalion of the Sri Lanka Army and Sgt. S. S. Wijekumara of the Sri Lanka Army, who died in action on 25 January 2019 whilst on duty in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), were awarded the Dag Hammarskjöld medal at this ceremony.
The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in New York, Dr. Rohan Perera represented Sri Lanka at the ceremony and accepted the medals on behalf of the families of the Sri Lanka military personnel.