India Supports Stronger UN Action Against Attackers Of Peacekeepers

NEW YORK- India has backed a UN Security Council resolution calling for stronger action against those responsible for attacks on peacekeepers and supporting the involvement of troop-contributing countries in investigations when their personnel are victims.

The resolution, adopted unanimously on June 23 and co-sponsored by more than 150 countries, including India, reiterated that attacks on peacekeepers or their facilities could amount to war crimes and called on all parties to conflicts to comply fully with their obligations toward UN personnel.

For India, one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping missions, the issue carries particular significance. According to UN data, 69 Indian peacekeepers are among the 1,150 peacekeepers killed in attacks since UN peacekeeping operations began in 1948.

It encouraged troop- and police-contributing countries to deploy, “on a voluntary basis, as appropriate, trained investigative personnel” to assist host countries in probing cases involving the killing of or violence against UN personnel.

In the most recent series of attacks, seven peacekeepers have been killed so far this year in Lebanon, where UN personnel have been caught in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

Christina Markus Lassen, Denmark’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, whose country along with Pakistan sponsored the resolution in the Security Council, said it sent a strong message to perpetrators that the international community was watching and that “crimes will not go unpunished”.

She added that the unanimous support for the resolution reassured peacekeepers that “the Council is behind them” and troop-contributing countries that “this Council is ready, willing and able to step in”.

The resolution asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to ensure that clear factual records of attacks on peacekeepers are maintained and called on countries involved and “other relevant actors” to cooperate with investigations.

It also requested Guterres to submit a report to the Security Council within 120 days on the status of investigations into attacks on peacekeepers.

Protecting peacekeepers remains a major priority for New Delhi, which currently has 4,264 personnel deployed in UN peacekeeping missions. India launched the Group of Friends to Promote Accountability for Crimes Against Peacekeepers in 2022 to strengthen the safety of peacekeepers and promote accountability for attacks against them. (IANS)