India says UN keeping different peacekeepers on different levels with new framework

India, one of the largest troop-contributing countries to UN Peacekeeping operations, has said that call for caveats in deployment is "unfair" and places different peacekeepers on different levels.

Ruchi Ghanashyam, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, speaking at the high-level event on Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) on the margins of the 73rd session of UN General Assembly here Tuesday, said India welcomes the development of the 'Integrated Performance Policy Framework', covering all the stakeholders.

"At the same time, we need to address the insistence by some on caveats in deployment. We see this as unfair and placing different peacekeepers on different levels," she said.

Caveats enable some troop-contributing countries to limit the roles of their personnel while on peacekeeping duty.

India has endorsed the Declaration of Shared Commitments on Peacekeeping and commended Secretary General António Guterres's initiatives to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of UN peacekeeping to address the changing realities based on the lessons learned.

Noting that there is no substitute to professional competence, Ghanashyam said Indian peacekeepers have been at the forefront in setting the highest standards in peacekeeping in their longstanding contribution to nearly 50 UN missions since peacekeeping operations began.

She stressed that India sees partnerships as a useful tool to build capacities of Troop and Police Contributing Countries.

"As a tangible demonstration of this, India will co-deploy Kazakhstan troops as part of our own contingent in UNIFIL (Lebanon) in the coming month," she added.

She also informed the high-level event that The Centre for UN Peacekeeping (CUNPK) in New Delhi contributes to training and capacity building efforts of peacekeepers worldwide, especially for African partners and women peacekeepers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has joined Secretary-General's Circle of Leadership last year and India also signed the SG's Voluntary Compact in 2017 as part of its commitment to preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA).

India is now contributing to the development of a learning programme by the Secretariat on conduct and discipline issues with an emphasis on preventing SEA.

India, which had deployed the first ever all-women police unit in Liberia, had reached the target of contributing 15 percent women, military observers, last year.

"We believe in the important role of women peacekeepers. This needs to be incentivized to encourage a much greater participation of women in peacekeeping," she added.