India Puts Peacekeeping At Centre Of Its UNSC Candidacy
NEW YORK, NY- Peacekeeping is a priority in India’s bid for election to the UN Security Council for 2028-2029, with the country committed to ensuring that the UN’s core mechanism has the resources it needs and that its operations are protected, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN P. Harish said.
“Because we regard peacekeeping as irreplaceable to this Council’s core purpose, India has made it a priority for our Security Council candidacy for 2028-2029,” he said on September 18.
“We reaffirm our commitment to a peacekeeping architecture better resourced, protected, and representative of the world it serves,” he said.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar launched India’s candidature at the UN in June for a non-permanent seat representing the Asia-Pacific region in the elections to be held next year.
The manifesto he announced is called Shanti — Peace — an acronym for ‘Securing Holistic Advancement through Norms, Trust (and) Integrity’.
Speaking at the Security Council’s open debate on peacekeeping, Harish highlighted India’s record as the largest troop contributor to peacekeeping, having deployed nearly 300,000 troops across more than 50 missions.
“184 Indian peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice as Blue Helmets (and) our approach is shaped not by rhetoric but by their sweat and blood,” he said.
Harish also made several suggestions to make peacekeeping more effective. He said countries that contribute troops and police “should have a structured voice in shaping mandates, through consultation before they are adopted or reviewed”.
The mandates must have “a clear political process, with which this Council must stay engaged”, he said.
He also suggested rationalizing peacekeeping mandates to avoid waste and ensure the best use of resources. “Missions sustained on political life-support without operational rationale drain resources that are needed elsewhere and undermine the credibility of peacekeeping as a whole,” Harish said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also called for a longer-term vision of peacekeeping missions before they are deployed.
He called for closer consultation with countries where peacekeeping operations are deployed and said peace “must be built from within — by the national actors, who hold the key”. (IANS)
