{"id":38873,"date":"2025-03-10T19:12:11","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T13:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=38873"},"modified":"2025-03-10T19:12:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T13:42:13","slug":"india-legacy-in-un-peacekeeping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-03-2025\/india-legacy-in-un-peacekeeping","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Legacy in UN Peacekeeping"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS<\/strong><strong>2\/ International Relations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India actively participates in UN peacekeeping operations, emphasizing dialogue, diplomacy, and cooperation as key pillars of its foreign policy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is UN Peacekeeping?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>UN Peacekeeping is a key mechanism used by the <strong>United Nations<\/strong> to maintain global peace and security.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It operates alongside other UN efforts, including <strong>conflict prevention, peacemaking, peace enforcement, and peacebuilding.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The UN Peacekeepers, known as <strong>Blue Helmets,<\/strong> get their name from the light blue of the United Nations flag.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"7596a4\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"492\" height=\"551\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Indias-Legacy-in-UN-Peacekeeping.webp\" alt=\"Indias Legacy in UN Peacekeeping\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-38874\" style=\"--dominant-color: #7596a4; width:360px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Indias-Legacy-in-UN-Peacekeeping.webp 492w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Indias-Legacy-in-UN-Peacekeeping-268x300.webp 268w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>History of UN Peacekeeping<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>UN Peacekeeping began in <strong>1948 <\/strong>with the establishment of the<strong> United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO)<\/strong> in the Middle East to monitor ceasefires.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>During the Cold War, missions remained limited due to geopolitical tensions, but the end of the Cold War in the <strong>1990s saw a significant expansion <\/strong>in both the number and scope of peacekeeping operations.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India&#8217;s Contribution to UN Peacekeeping<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India&#8217;s UN peacekeeping role began with the <strong>Korea<\/strong> operation in <strong>1953.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It has been a key contributor to global peace and security, with over<strong> 2,90,000<\/strong> peacekeepers serving in more than <strong>50 UN missions.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Currently, over <strong>5,000<\/strong> Indian peacekeepers are deployed in 9 active missions, working in challenging conditions to promote international peace.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This commitment stems from India&#8217;s ancient principle of \u201c<strong>Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam\u201d <\/strong>(the whole world is my family).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Women in Peacekeeping<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In <strong>2022<\/strong>, women made up <strong>7.9%<\/strong> of all uniformed personnel in field missions &#8211; up from just <strong>1% in 1993<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This included <strong>5.9%<\/strong> in military contingents, <strong>14.4%<\/strong> in police forces, and <strong>43%<\/strong> in justice and corrections roles. Among civilian personnel, <strong>30%<\/strong> were women.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Recognizing the need for greater gender inclusivity, the UN has set ambitious targets under its <strong>Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy<\/strong>, aiming for <strong>15%<\/strong> women in military contingents and <strong>25% <\/strong>in police units by <strong>2028.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Indian Contribution: <\/strong>India pioneered female peacekeeping with deployment of women medical officers to Congo in the 1960s.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>In 2007,<\/strong> India deployed the first-ever all-female Formed Police Unit (FPU) to <strong>Liberia.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As of February <strong>2025<\/strong>, India continues this legacy with over <strong>150<\/strong> women peacekeepers serving across six critical missions, including those in the <strong>Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Lebanon, Golan Heights, Western Sahara<\/strong>, and <strong>Abyei.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Achievements of India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>In 2023, <\/strong>India received the UN&#8217;s highest peacekeeping honour, the <strong>Dag Hammarskj\u00f6ld Medal,<\/strong> posthumously awarded to <strong>Shishupal Singh<\/strong> and <strong>Sanwala Ram Vishnoi<\/strong> and civilian UN worker <strong>Shaber Taher Ali.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Major Radhika Sen<\/strong> has been named the <strong>\u201cMilitary Gender Advocate of the Year 2023<\/strong>\u201d by the UN Headquarters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India&#8217;s Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK),<\/strong> established by the Indian Army in New Delhi, serves as the nation&#8217;s focal point for UN peacekeeping training.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In February 2025, CUNPK hosted the \u2018<strong>Conference on Women Peacekeepers from the Global South\u2019<\/strong> at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concluding remarks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India&#8217;s role in UN peacekeeping reflects its deep commitment to global peace, security, and multilateralism.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From its early involvement in the Korean War to its ongoing deployments in conflict zones worldwide, India has consistently upheld the principles of the UN Charter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2109587\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>PIB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India actively participates in UN peacekeeping operations, emphasizing dialogue, diplomacy, and cooperation as key pillars of its foreign policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38873"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38875,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38873\/revisions\/38875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}