India gifts 2 lakh vaccine doses to ‘UN peacekeeping forces’
India recently delivered the 2,00,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the United Nations Peacekeeping Force (UNPKF) worldwide, sending a shipment bound for Copenhagen.
What is UNPKF?
The United Nations Peacekeeping Forces are employed by the World Organization to maintain or re-establish peace in an area of armed conflict. The UN may engage in conflicts between states as well as in struggles within states. The Peacekeeping Forces are subordinate to the leadership of the United Nations.
What is the objective of UNPKF?
The Objective of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force (UNPKF) is to provides security, political, and peacebuilding support to countries under conflicts. It helps countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace.
What is the significance of the UNPKF?
- It was created in 1948. They are often referred to as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets because of their light blue berets or helmets. Member states contribute their manpower for Peacekeeping forces on a voluntary basis.
- The United Nations Charter gives the United Nations Security Council the power and responsibility to take collective action to maintain international peace and security. For this reason, the international community usually looks to the Security Council to authorize peacekeeping operations through Chapter VII authorizations.
- Reporters witnessed a rapid increase in prostitution in Cambodia and Mozambique after UN peacekeeping forces moved in. In the 1996 UN study "The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children", the former first lady of Mozambique Graça Machel documented: "In 6 out of 12 country studies on sexual exploitation of children in situations of armed conflict prepared for the present report, the arrival of peacekeeping troops has been associated with a rapid rise in child prostitution."[43]
India and the UNPKF
- India has suffered the highest number of fatalities (164 out of 6,593 personnel) among countries that have sent forces to the United Nations peacekeeping mission since 1948.
- India is consistently among the top troop-contributing nations to the UN. At present, 5,424 personnel of India are serving in eight countries. It is currently the fifth-largest contribution.
- India’s contribution to the regular budget is 0.83% and 0.16% of the peacekeeping budget.
- Close to 3,800 personnel have been killed during missions since 1948. Of them, 164 were Indians. Most of the deaths occurred during missions to Congo in the 1960s and former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.