India very important to UN peacekeeping, including its women peacekeepers

India is a very important supporter of peacekeeping, including its support for various efforts such as its lead on efforts to ensure accountability for crimes against peacekeepers, the UN’s top peacekeeping official has said.

Undersecretary-general for peace operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix's comments came during a press briefing on Thursday, 29 May, on the occasion of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.

Two Indian peacekeepers, who lost their lives while serving under the UN flag last year, were also honoured posthumously by the United Nations on International Day of UN Peacekeepers.

Brigadier General Amitabh Jha, who served with the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), and Havildar Sanjay Singh, who was deployed with the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), were honoured with the Dag Hammarskjold medal at a solemn ceremony on Thursday, 29 May, on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish received the Dag Hammarskjold Medal on behalf of the families of fallen Indian Peacekeepers from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the solemn ceremony in the UN headquarters.

“The departed peacekeepers remind us of the sacrifices made for the greater and collective good of humanity. Blue Helmets continue to be the face of the United Nations in crises all over the world, bringing peace and reassurance to those most critically affected. UN Peacekeeping is true multilateralism in action,” the Permanent Mission of India to the UN said in a post on X.

India also remembered the late Col (Retd.) Waibhav Anil Kale “whom we lost last year”.

India is the 4th largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping. It currently deploys more than 5,300 military and police personnel to the UN peace operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Somalia, South Sudan, and Western Sahara.

Guterres laid a wreath to honour the more than 4,400 UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948. He then presided over the ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medals were awarded posthumously to 57 military, police and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their lives serving under the UN flag last year.

Last year, Major Radhika Sen, who served with the United Nations Organization Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), received the prestigious ‘2023 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award’ from Guterres.

The theme for this year’s International Day of UN Peacekeepers is the ‘Future of Peacekeeping’, which emphasises that the ‘Pact for the Future’ — adopted by world leaders in September 2024 — includes a commitment to adapt peacekeeping to the changing world, the release added.

In his message for the Day, Guterres said that “today, peacekeepers face increasingly complex situations in an increasingly complex world... Now more than ever, the world needs the United Nations — and the United Nations needs peacekeeping that is fully equipped for today’s realities and tomorrow’s challenges.”

Honouring the service of the peacekeepers, Guterres said, “We draw inspiration from their resilience, dedication and courage. And we remember all the brave women and men who made the ultimate sacrifice for peace. We will never forget them — and we will carry their work forward.”

Undersecretary-general Lacroix said in his message, “The sacrifices made by our peacekeepers call for more than remembrance; they demand action.”

Lacroix had also visited New Delhi to attend the first-ever Conference for Women Peacekeepers organised by India earlier this year on 24–25 February.

“First of all, India is a very important troop and police contributing country. It's also a very important supporter of peacekeeping, beyond the important contribution of men and women from India, but also in terms of supporting various efforts,” Lacroix said.

In December 2022, India — during its presidency of the UN Security Council at the time — launched the ‘Group of Friends’ to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers. India had also announced the launch of a new database designed to record crimes against Peacekeepers and monitor progress in holding perpetrators accountable.

The Delhi conference Lacroix attended, with the theme of ‘Women in Peacekeeping: A Global South Perspective’, was organised by the ministry of external affairs in collaboration with the ministry of defence and the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK).

It brought together women peacekeepers from 35 troop-contributing countries (TCCs) from the Global South, to discuss the evolving challenges in peacekeeping and the critical role women play in advancing peace and security.

Lacroix added that the issue of women in peacekeeping has two dimensions.

“It's more women in peacekeeping, which guarantees a more effective peacekeeping, and it's more empowerment of women through peacekeeping, in terms of the role of women in political processes, their empowerment, making sure that they are part and parcel of all these peacebuilding and peacekeeping efforts,” he said.

Noting that “there is nothing ideological in this”, the UN peacekeeping chief said it is “just plain realism that women need to be fully involved and participating in all these efforts, and that's why we are continuing our effort to have more women in peacekeeping.”

Accompanied by acting military adviser of the UN Major General Cheryl Pearce at the briefing, Lacroix noted that the world organisation is “doing good in terms of the numbers of women peacekeepers “although we still have more to do".

“But yes, we would want to have more senior female generals applying for positions of force commander and deputy force commander. It’s a work in progress,” he added.

India was the first country to deploy an all-women formed police unit to Liberia in 2007. In January 2023, India also deployed an all-women's platoon of peacekeepers as part of its battalion to the UN Mission in Abyei, the single largest deployment of women peacekeepers in recent years.

The International Day of UN Peacekeepers was established by the UN General Assembly in 2002 to pay tribute to all men and women serving in peacekeeping, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

In 1948, the decision was made to deploy military observers to the Middle East to supervise the implementation of Israel-Arab Armistice Agreements, in what became the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation.

Since then, more than 2 million peacekeepers have served in 71 operations globally.

Today, about 68,000 women and men serve as military, police and civilian personnel in 11 conflict zones across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East and 119 countries currently contribute uniformed personnel.

PTI inputs edited for clarity and brevity