UN peacekeepers:

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate.

Context:

UN peacekeepers and troops of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have increased patrols near the site of last week’s deadly raid on internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northeast Ituri province.

What’s the issue?

The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known by its French acronym as MONUSCO, recently exchanged fire with members of the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) militia. The clash occurred during an operation to cordon and search in the Uzi area of Ituri province.

• The Savo attack is the latest in a string of devastating raids by CODECO on sites for displaced people in Ituri, where ethnic tensions between the Hema and the Lendu communities have existed for years.

How are UN Peacekeeping operations funded?

• While decisions about establishing, maintaining or expanding a peacekeeping operation are taken by the Security Council, the financing of UN Peacekeeping operations is the collective responsibility of all UN Member States.
• Every Member State is legally obligated to pay their respective share towards peacekeeping. This is in accordance with the provisions of Article 17 of the Charter of the United Nations.

The top 5 providers of assessed contributions to United Nations Peacekeeping operations for 2020-2021 are:

1. United States.
2. China.
3. Japan.
4. Germany.
5. United Kingdom.

What is peacekeeping? It’s significance?

• United Nations Peacekeeping is a joint effort between the Department of Peace Operations and the Department of Operational Support.
• Every peacekeeping mission is authorized by the Security Council.

Composition:

1. UN peacekeepers (often referred to as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets because of their light blue berets or helmets) can include soldiers, police officers, and civilian personnel.
2. Peacekeeping forces are contributed by member states on a voluntary basis.
3. Civilian staff of peace operations are international civil servants, recruited and deployed by the UN Secretariat.

UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:

1. Consent of the parties.
2. Impartiality.
3. Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate.

UNITE AWARE:

UNITE AWARE is a mobile tech platform developed by India to provide terrain-related information to the UN peacekeepers so as to ensure their safety. It is being developed in partnership with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Operational Support. India has spent 1.64 million USD for this project.

Insta Curious:

Did you know that In 2007, India became the first country to deploy an all-women contingent to a UN peacekeeping mission? Know about the current 13 peacekeeping operations. Read Here.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. Who funds peacekeeping operations?
2. Role of UNSC.
3. Composition of Peacekeepers?
4. Why peacekeepers are called as Blue Helmets?
5. Guiding principles of UN peacekeeping.
6. Ongoing peacekeeping missions.

Mains Link:

Write a note on UN Peacekeeping and its significance.

Sources: the Hindu.