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UN Peacekeeping Missions

UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS | INDIA’S ROLE IN UN PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS OVER THE YEARS | 28TH JULY | INDIAN EXPRESS

/ July, 2022, UPSC Daily Current Affairs

SYLLABUS SECTION: GS II (INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS)

WHY IN NEWS?

Recently, two BSF personnel who were part of the UN Peacekeeping Missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),

They were kill in an eastern town near the border with Uganda.

UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPING

  • Since 1948, UN Peacekeepers have undertaken 71 Field Missions.
  • There are approximately 81,820 personnel serving on 13 peace operations led by UNDPO, in four continents currently.
  • This represents a nine-fold increase since 1999.

INDIA’S CONTRIBUTION TO UN PEACEKEEPING

  • India has a long history of service in UN Peacekeeping, having contributed more personnel than any other country.
  • It is the fifth highest amongst troop-contributing countries.
  • India has also provided, and continues to provide, eminent Force Commanders for UN Missions.
  • India’s contribution to UN Peacekeeping began with its participation in the UN operation in Korea in the 1950s,
  • Where India’s mediatory role in resolving the stalemate over prisoners of war in Korea led to the signing of the armistice that ended the Korean War
  • India chaired the five-member Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission,
  • While the Indian Custodian Force supervised the process of interviews and repatriation that followed.
  • The UN entrusted the Indian armed forces with subsequent peace missions in the Middle East, Cyprus, and the Congo (since 1971, Zaire).
  • India also served as Chair of the three international commissions for supervision and control for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos established by the 1954 Geneva Accords on Indochina.
  • India has been sending women personnel on UN Peacekeeping Missions. In 2007, India became the first country to deploy an all-women contingent to a UN Peacekeeping Mission.
  • India was the first country to contribute to the Trust Fund on sexual exploitation and abuse, which was set up in 2016.
INDIA’S VIEWS ON UN PEACEKEEPING
  • India is of the view that the international community must grasp the rapid changes that are underway in the nature and role of contemporary peacekeeping operations.
  • The Security Council’s mandates to UN Peacekeeping operations need to be rooted in ground realities, and co-related with the resources provided for the peacekeeping operation.

Read more: UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS

SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS