UNITED NATIONS: Denouncing the political discord in the Security Council affecting peacekeeping operations, India has called for making its permanent membership more representative, especially with Africa's participation.
Making his first address to the Security Council on Monday, newly-appointed India's Permanent Representative to the UN Parvathaneni Harish said, "The lack of political unity in the Security Council, often witnessed in recent years, has negatively impacted UN peacekeeping. The Security Council needs to be more representative of today’s realities- particularly in the permanent category."
Because more than half of the Security Council’s work is focused on Africa, "India has been consistently calling for greater representation of Africa" as demanded by the continent's nations.
In their Sirte Declaration, named for the Libyan city where it was made, and the Ezulwini Consensus reached at the valley in Eswatini, the African nations demanded two permanent seats and three more elected seats at the Security Council.
Participating in the debate on strengthening peacekeeping operations, Harish said the Council should also consider authorising African Union-led peace support operations.
Harish noted that India is the largest contributor to peacekeeping, having deployed more than a quarter million troops in more than 50 missions over the last seven decades.
He said that "it is important for major troop-contributing countries to be actively involved in the decision-making process" to deal with the challenges that arise from the "lack of clarity in the mandates" from the Council.
Harish drew the Council's attention to the increasing risks peacekeepers face from "asymmetric threats, ranging from landmines to IEDs (improvised explosive devices)". He said peacekeepers should be equipped adequately to deal with the threats.
“Technology and innovation are critical to enhance efficiency", he said.
The General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution proposed by India to create a "Memorial Wall for Fallen United Nations Peacekeepers".
"It is now time to move forward with the establishment” of the memorial honouring the more than 4, 000 Peacekeepers who have made the supreme sacrifice, " he said, noting that 182 Indian peacekeepers have died "upholding the cause of international peace and security".
Earlier, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the under-secretary-general for Peace Operations, also referred to the geopolitical dissensions at the Council eroding support for peacekeeping.
"As geopolitical tensions have mounted, including here in this Council, and amid shifting global and regional dynamics, peacekeeping operations are increasingly unable to rely on member states to act in a strong, unified manner to support peacekeeping efforts or the political processes they are mandated to support, " he said.
"Peacekeeping missions are increasingly confronting drivers of conflict that have no borders, such as transnational organised crime, the illegal exploitation of natural resources, and the impact of climate change, " he said outlining the rising challenges.
Non-state actors - terrorist and rebel groups - "engaged in these illicit activities are also weaponizing cheap technologies such as improvised explosive devices and drones and are propagating disinformation and hate speech", Lacroix warned.
(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)