Comprehensive News & Analysis

26-11-2020 | 17:22 PM

United Nations Peacekeeping (UNPK) missions

• India, U.S. looking at training Southeast Asian nations in U.N. peacekeeping.
• With China significantly scaling up its troop contribution for United Nations Peacekeeping (UNPK) missions, India and the U.S. are looking to undertake training of military personnel for the missions from Southeast Asian countries on the lines of the ongoing initiative for African countries.

India and the UN Peacekeeping:

• India has consistently been among the top troop contributing nations to the UN and is the fifth largest with 5,424 personnel in eight countries.
• India’s contribution to the regular budget is 0.83% and 0.16% of the peacekeeping budget.
• India has so far participated in 51 of the 71 missions and contributed over 2 lakh personnel.
• It has troop deployment in Lebanon, Golan Heights, Congo and South Sudan in addition to staff officers in other missions.
• India has also set up two field hospitals in South Sudan and one in Congo.
• Since 2018, India has co-opted a contingent from Kazakhstan at the mission in Lebanon.

About United Nations Peacekeeping:

• United Nations Peacekeeping was created in 1948.  
• United Nations Peacekeeping helps countries torn by conflict create conditions for lasting peace.
• Peacekeeping has proven to be one of the most effective tools available to the UN to assist host countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace.
• Peacekeeping has unique strengths, including legitimacy, burden sharing, and an ability to deploy and sustain troops and police from around the globe, integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to advance multidimensional mandates.
• It deploys troops and police from around the world, integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to address a range of mandates set by the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the General Assembly.