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India’s Role in UN Peacekeeping Operations

The basic role of the armed forces is to defend the country against external aggression and to protect it from internal threat when its ‘national security’ is jeopardised. Apart from carrying out these functions, in the seven decades of independence, the Indian Armed Forces have been actively participating in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations.

India and UN Peacekeeping in Africa: An Assessment

Over the last seven decades, United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKOs) have helped several countries across the world to move away from the path of conflict. Africa has been a significant region for deployment of the United Nations (UN) peacekeepers, often known as ‘the blue helmets’. Out of the 12 ongoing UNPKOs, six are located in Africa.1 They include Western Sahara (MINURSO), Mali (MINUSMA), Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Central African Republic (MINUSCA), South Sudan (UNMISS) and Abyei (UNISFA), a disputed border area between Sudan and South Sudan.

Nation-building: A Case for Armed Forces in Post-conflict Peacebuilding

Indian peacekeeping forces have served the cause of international peacekeeping for over 70 years and have logged not just an enviable record doing so, but have garnered a huge bank of institutional knowledge on post-conflict transitions. With the country on the cusp of becoming a power centre in the international comity of nations, it is imperative to recognise and utilise this knowledge for the armed forces to contribute to nation-building. The author argues for an enhanced role for the armed forces in post-intervention and fragile transition governance operations.

India–US Peacekeeping Cooperation

Both India and the United States (US) have a long history of supporting the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UN PKOs). Over the last two decades, the two countries have significantly expanded cooperation in peacekeeping operations to advance the purposes and principles of UN peacekeeping. In this regard, India and US established a Joint Working Group (JWG) on PKOs to deepen cooperation on peacekeeping issues. They have partnered with African countries to build and enhance the capacity of African troops to help them effectively participate in the UN PKOs.