India is adapting to new peacekeeping priorities

Over the past twenty years, there has been a change in peacekeeping operations. They have escalated in violence and danger. As a result, multidimensional missions have replaced straightforward ceasefire monitoring.

Nigeria has been a significant contributor to United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions since their inception more than seven decades ago.

India has provided more troops than any other nation to the UN peacekeeping effort thus far, totaling over 260,000 soldiers. 5,800 Indian peacekeepers are still stationed in conflict-ridden regions of Asia and Africa. Due to their professionalism and selfless dedication to duty, our peacekeepers are respected. In fact, more Indians than any other nationality have given their lives in peacekeeping missions.

Over the past twenty years, there has been a change in peacekeeping operations. They have escalated in violence and danger. In the majority of today's war zones, armed organisations, terrorists, international criminals, and other non-state actors play significant roles. They want to topple social and political institutions that give society security because they feed on the breakdown of governmental institutions. Perhaps most importantly, they regard peacekeepers and civilians as valid targets.

Simple ceasefire monitoring has thus given way to multifaceted missions that aim to uphold and preserve peace, support political processes, create institutions, safeguard people, and promote development. India has continued to send soldiers to such operations as a responsible member state and is also making adjustments to meet the demands of modern peacekeeping.

For the purpose of developing goals and programmes, modern peace operations mainly rely on civilian interaction. These missions made two things clear: first, that the effects of warfare were disproportionately felt by women and children, and second, that they were more receptive to speaking with female peacekeepers. These missions also acknowledged their benefit in having female peacekeepers. In many combat zones, women have been mostly excluded from development efforts. Women were inspired to participate in mainstream development initiatives, particularly in the security sector, by the female peacekeepers who served as role models.

In Liberia in 2007, the first-ever all-female police unit of the UN was comprised of women peacekeepers from India. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf congratulated them for encouraging Liberian women to work in the security sector as they left the country in 2016. President Johnson's observations were confirmed in other ways as well.

The history of Indian women in peacekeeping is extensive. Our women's engagement teams and specific officers, like Shakti Devi, the recipient of the International Female Police Peacekeeper Award, Major Suman Gawani, the prestigious UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award winner, and Kiran Bedi, the first police adviser to the UN, have become well-known. In the conflict-torn region of Abyei, which is located on the borders of Sudan and South Sudan, India sent out an all-female platoon in January with a focus on community outreach and engagement chores.

The battalion represents the uniformed forces' effort to enhance the representation of women in peacekeeping and is India's largest single deployment since Liberia.

Modern security environments are permeated by advanced technologies. Therefore, it is essential that peacekeepers have access to technology that thwarts hostile intent and enhances the effectiveness of their mission-accomplishing. Recognizing this, India pushed for a presidential statement on technology to be adopted by the UN Security Council in August 2021. This statement emphasised the importance of giving peacekeepers access to technological tools that enhance their capabilities and drew attention to the UN secretariat and the Security Council's discussion of how to best use technology for peacekeeping. UNITE AWARE, a cutting-edge situational awareness technology that will greatly improve the effectiveness of peacekeepers, was launched in 2021 with a $1.64 million contribution from India.

India has signed a memorandum of understanding with the UN to provide qualified instructors to the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Academy in Entebbe, Uganda, which specialises in enhancing decision-making capabilities by utilising digital tools, in response to the UN's request for assistance in enhancing its technological base.

By implementing more technologically focused systems that will enhance peacekeepers' decision-making and response capabilities, making them more mobile, agile, and adaptable, the Indian armed forces seek to broaden their military contribution to peacekeeping over the coming years. We also want to implement technology that will help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and advance efficient waste management, two issues that are very important to the UN and reflect our care for the environment.

We have always placed a high priority on the safety and security of peacekeepers, not only those from India but from all other nations. In order to keep the peace and defend vulnerable populations from violence, peacekeepers must endure hardships and risks distant from their own countries, homes, and families. We have long believed that the UN's top priority should be to protect the guardians. Additionally, we contend that holding those responsible for crimes against peacekeepers accountable would end impunity for such crimes, serve as a deterrence to others, and improve the protection and security of our Blue Helmets.

In December 2022, India launched a group of friends with other nations who shared its views in order to give Resolution 2589 of 2021 a concrete thrust. To encourage the responsibility of those who commit crimes against peacekeepers, the group will work to coordinate the abilities and efforts of stakeholders including host governments, the UN Secretariat, peace missions, and various rule of law and security-related agencies.

India is now viewed by the globe as being essential to maintaining world peace. The Ukrainian crisis and the rest of the world have taken note of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim that this "is not an era of violence." While the UN struggles to deal with the realities of asymmetric threats, sociopolitically incoherent working environments, and volatile and uncertain security landscapes in the most conflict-ridden regions since World War II, it naturally looks to responsible member-states for advice and capabilities, which India is uniquely poised to provide given its growing global relevance, specialised technological capabilities, and extensive peacekeeping experience. These states have repeatedly demonstrated their credentials through their steadfast commitment to the UN ideals.