United Nations Peacekeeping

Israel and the United Nations have been trading accusations over the peacekeepers in south Lebanon

Facing a swirl of conflicts and crises across a fragmented world, leaders attending this week's annual UN gathering are being challenged: Work together not only on front-burner issues but on modernising the international institutions born after World War II so they can tackle the threats and problems of the future. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued the challenge a year ago after sounding a global alarm about the survival of humanity and the planet: Come to a Summit of the Future and make a new commitment to multilateralism the foundation of the United Nations and many other global bodies and start fixing the aging global architecture to meet the rapidly changing world. The UN chief told reporters last week that the summit was born out of a cold, hard fact: international challenges are moving faster than our ability to solve them. He pointed to out-of-control geopolitical divisions and runaway conflicts, climate change, inequalities, debt and new technologies like ...

In his meeting with Quad leaders both in multilateral and bilateral settings, Prime Minister Narendra Modi put forward India's views and commitments for global growth, development, peace and security. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri made these remarks at a special briefing in New York on Sunday. Modi on Saturday had three separate bilateral meetings with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden along with the Quad Leadership Summit in Wilmington, Delaware. All of these engagements today have given the opportunity to Prime Minister to put forward India's views and commitments for global growth, development, and peace and security, Misri told reporters in New York. Prime Minister Modi reached New York on Sunday after wrapping up the Quad Leaders' meeting in Wilmington, hosted by President Biden. In a rare gesture, Biden hosted Modi for a bilateral meeting in his home, and the Quad summit was held at the Archmere Acad

The heads of six UN agencies and three international humanitarian organisations issued a joint appeal Thursday to Yemen's Houthi rebels for the immediate release of 17 members of their staff who were recently detained along with many others also being held by the Iranian-backed group. Their appeal was echoed by a statement from several dozen nations and the European Union ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Yemen where UN special envoy Hans Grundberg said the Houthis were holding all those detained in the crackdown incommunicado. The Houthis said Monday they had arrested members of an American-Israeli spy network, days after detaining the staffers from the UN and aid organisations. Major General Abdulhakim al-Khayewani, head of the Houthis' intelligence agency, announced the arrests, saying the spy network had first operated out of the US Embassy in the capital Sanaa. After it was closed in 2015 following the Houthi takeover of Sanaa and northern Yemen, he said, they continued

Major Radhika Sen is the second Indian peacekeeper to receive this award, after Major Suman Gawani in 2019

India has launched a new database designed to record crimes against UN peacekeepers and monitor progress in holding perpetrators accountable, India's UN envoy Ruchira Kamboj said on Thursday, asserting that New Delhi is at the forefront of advocating for accountability. The launch of the database was announced at a high-level meeting of the India-led 'Group of Friends' (GOF) on Tuesday. "Delighted to announce the launch of a new database designed to record crimes against Peacekeepers & monitor progress in holding perpetrators accountable. India is at the forefront of advocating for accountability, leading the Group of Friends dedicated to this cause," India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Kamboj, said in a post on X. The database is designed to serve as an online repository, empowering the Secretariat, Missions, and member states to monitor and address cases of malicious acts against peacekeepers, a press release by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN said. "This ...

World Peace and Understanding Day is celebrated to promote peace and goodwill across the world, and remind people of ways that can contribute to the world positively

India, one of the leading troop and police-contributing countries, has steadily supported the UN's initiatives to improve peacekeeping operations and the world body counts on New Delhi as a major partner in peacekeeping, a top UN official has said. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix highlighted technology, increasing the number and role of women in peacekeeping missions and accountability for crimes against the Blue Helmets as crucial areas of cooperation with India in an exclusive interview with PTI here ahead of the 2023 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial meeting. The Ministerial meeting is scheduled for December 5-6 in Accra, Ghana. It will bring together ministers and delegates from over 85 countries and international organisations to express their collective commitment to UN Peacekeeping, the UN said. "We very much count on India. India is one of the major partners to peacekeeping. It's one of the leading troop and police-contributing countries, but in ..

The Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping-India conducted a course for military officers of 16 friendly foreign countries and the Indian Army to enhance leadership skills, tactical thinking and operational effectiveness, according to a statement. The United Nations Pre-Deployment Course (Training of Trainers) was conducted under the aegis of the Indian Army from November 6-24, it said. The course, themed on the UN framework and designed as an empowering and collaborative training programme, was organised jointly in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs, a defence statement issued on Friday said. The event underscores India's commitment to fostering greater international cooperation in UN Peacekeeping Operations, it said. The course aimed at enhancing leadership skills, tactical thinking and operational effectiveness among officers, creating a platform for cross-cultural exchange and professional growth, the statement said. Participants engaged in a series of dynamic

The International Day of Peace has started by the UN General Assembly and the day is dedicated to strengthening the ideals of peace and marking an end to conflict and violence worldwide

India is a "major partner" in the UN's strategy for the digital transformation of peacekeeping, the United Nations peacekeeping chief has said, as he lauded the country's commitment and engagement through key initiatives such as ensuring accountability for crimes against the Blue Helmets. India is currently the third largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping, with over 6,000 military and police personnel deployed to Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, the Middle East and Western Sahara. "India is a major player in the world, in the UN, in multilateralism, and it's a major player in peacekeeping as well, including but not only through the importance of its contribution in terms of troops and police. We're also supported in many other ways, including in terms of the initiatives that we take to improve peacekeeping," Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told PTI in an exclusive ...

Sudan's warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, the United Nations' top official in the country told The Associated Press on Monday, even as the two sides clashed in the capital despite another three-day extension of a fragile cease-fire. The talks would initially focus on establishing a stable and reliable cease-fire monitored by national and international observers, Volker Perthes said. A string of temporary truces over the past week has de-escalated fighting only in some areas, while in others, fierce battles have continued to drive civilians from their homes and push the country into a humanitarian crisis. Perthes cautioned that logistics for talks were still being worked out. So far, only the military has announced it is prepared to join negotiations, with no public word from its opponent, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Any talks would be the first major sign of progress since fighting erupted on April 15 betwe

Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir said on Saturday that the armed forces were fully capable of defending the country, and its "efforts for peace should never be taken as a sign of weakness. Munir was addressing the passing out parade of cadets at Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Kakul, in the Abbottabad district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Asserting that Pakistan wants peace in the region and with its neighbours, the Army chief warned that our efforts for peace should never be taken as a sign of weakness. We have the will, capability and capacity to protect our sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we are well aware of the ways and means to do it," the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) said. He added that the Armed Forces would never shy away from any sacrifice to stabilise, secure and safeguard the future of the next generations. "I assure the people of Pakistan that we will never hesitate in rendering any and every sacrifice necessary for the defence of our sacred motherla

Two UN peacekeepers from Nigeria were killed and four others wounded in an attack Friday on a peace patrol in the town of Timbuktu in northern Mali, the United Nations said. The UN Security Council said a member of Mali's security forces was also killed in the attack. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said one of the peacekeepers killed was a woman. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council strongly condemned the attack. The council stressed that involvement in planning, directing, sponsoring or conducting attacks targeting UN peacekeepers may constitute war crimes. Mali has been in turmoil since a 2012 uprising when mutinous soldiers overthrew the president. The power vacuum that resulted ultimately led to a jihadist insurgency and a French-led war that ousted the jihadists from power in 2013. Insurgents remain active in Mali and extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have moved from the arid north to more populated central Mali s

"The (Kalyani M4) vehicle can withstand three tri-nitro-toluene charges under the wheels and one 50 kg IED blast at one side," stated the media release

The United Nations peacekeeping chief is undertaking a visit to India, among the largest troop contributing countries for its operations. Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix will visit India, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Japan. The multi-nation trip starts Thursday and will continue until October 15. Stphane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters Wednesday that in New Delhi, Lacroix will participate in a two-day meeting organised by the Challenges Forum, which brings together leading policymakers, practitioners and academics on key issues linked to peace operations. The head of the UN peacekeeping will then travel to Abu Dhabi, Islamabad and Tokyo. Dujarric said the purpose of Lacroix's visit is to thank the countries for their contributions and support to UN peacekeeping as well as to update on progress enhancing the effectiveness of peacekeeping. During his trip, Lacroix will meet senior government ...

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed outrage after UN peacekeepers opened fire and killed two residents of a town in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that borders Uganda

PM Narendra Modi discussed with UN Chief Antonio Guterres the recent attack on UN mission personnel in Congo and called for expeditious investigation to bring perpetrators of the incident to justice

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday expressed his sincere condolences to the government and people of India on the killing of two Indian peacekeepers serving with the UN mission in Congo

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday called on the Congolese authorities to swiftly investigate the deaths of two Indian and one Moroccan peacekeeper.