India essential supporter of peacekeeping: UN peacekeeping chief Lacroix

United Nations peacekeeping chief, Jean-Pierre Lacroix. File
| Picture Credit score: The Hindu

“India is a vital supporter of peacekeeping, together with its help for varied efforts, akin to its lead on efforts to make sure accountability for crimes in opposition to peacekeepers,” the UN’s high peacekeeping official Jean-Pierre Lacroix has mentioned.

Underneath-Secretary-Normal for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix’s feedback got here throughout a press briefing on Thursday (Could 29, 2025) on the event of Worldwide Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.

He had visited New Delhi to attend the first-ever Convention for Ladies Peacekeepers organised by India on February 24-25. “Sure, I actually needed to go to New Delhi and to that convention,” Mr. Lacroix mentioned in response to a query by PTI in regards to the convention and his evaluation of it.

“To start with, as a result of India is a vital troop and police contributing nation. It is also a vital supporter of peacekeeping, past the essential contribution of women and men from India, but additionally by way of supporting varied efforts. I am considering particularly, however there are a lot of different examples, of the lead from India on the accountability for crime in opposition to peacekeepers,” Mr. Lacroix mentioned.

The Delhi convention with the theme of ‘Ladies in Peacekeeping: A World South Perspective’ was organised by the Ministry of Exterior Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK).

It introduced collectively girls peacekeepers from 35 Troop Contributing International locations (TCCs) from the World South to debate the evolving challenges in peacekeeping and the essential position girls play in advancing peace and safety. The official added that the difficulty of ladies in peacekeeping has two dimensions.

“It is extra girls in peacekeeping, which ensures a simpler peacekeeping, and it is extra empowerment of ladies via peacekeeping, by way of the position of ladies in political processes, their empowerment, ensuring that they’re half and parcel of all these peacebuilding and peacekeeping efforts,” he mentioned.

Noting that “there may be nothing ideological on this”, the UN peacekeeping chief mentioned it’s “simply plain realism that ladies must be totally concerned and taking part in all these efforts, and that is why we’re persevering with our effort to have extra girls in peacekeeping.”

Accompanied by Appearing Navy Advisor of the United Nations Main Normal Cheryl Pearce on the briefing, Mr. Lacroix famous that the world organisation is “doing good by way of the numbers of ladies peacekeepers “though we nonetheless have extra to do”.

He added that UN peacekeeping remains to be having challenges by way of the fashioned army items as a result of the assets of member states are usually not so excessive. “Additionally, by way of senior feminine basic, though, fortunately, we’ve got a wonderful instance of that,” he mentioned, referring to Pearce.

“However sure, we’d wish to have extra senior feminine generals making use of for positions of Pressure Commander and Deputy Pressure Commander. It’s a piece in progress,” he mentioned.

India is the 4th largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping. It presently deploys greater than 5,300 army 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.

India was the primary nation to deploy an all-women Fashioned Police Unit to Liberia in 2007. In January 2023, India additionally deployed an all-women’s platoon of peacekeepers as a part of its battalion to the UN Mission in Abyei, the one largest deployment of ladies peacekeepers lately.

In December 2022, India, throughout its presidency of the UN Safety Council on the time, launched a ‘Group of Associates’ to advertise accountability for crimes in opposition to peacekeepers. India had additionally introduced the launch of a brand new database designed to report crimes in opposition to Peacekeepers and monitor progress in holding perpetrators accountable.